Botanical Sun Catchers

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Sun catchers are a great way to add a bit of colorful cheer to your home or classroom! With these beautiful Botanical Sun Catchers, students can compare and contrast different types of flowers and leaves, plus they can work on developing important fine motor skills. If you don’t have access to fresh flowers, a bouquet that is towards the end of its life will work nicely for this activity. These sun catchers would also make lovely handmade gifts for family and friends!

*For even more fine motor skills practice, be sure to grab our Kindergarten Clip Cards BUNDLE!

Botanical Sun Catchers

As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, we love to spend as much time outside as possible. I was excited to tie in our love of nature with strengthening fine motor and patterning skills. These botanical sun catchers are fun and easy for kids to make and super pretty to hang up and display proudly!

Supplies Needed:

• Clear self-adhesive shelf liner
• Flower petals – the more variety, the better!
• Leaves
• Paper plates
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Pipe cleaners or yarn for hanging (You will definitely want to hang these up!)

Making the Sun Catchers

To begin, cut out the center of a paper plate and attach the clear shelf liner to the back with the sticky side facing the front of the plate.

Invite students to arrange bits of flower petals and leaves onto the shelf liner. This would be a great time to explore patterns, compare and contrast different types of flowers, and work on developing fine motor skills!

Once the students have arranged the flower petals and leaves, cover their designs with another layer of clear shelf liner (cut to fit inside the paper plate). Use a hole punch to make two holes near the top of the plate, and attach some yarn or a pipe cleaner for hanging.

Display the botanical sun catchers proudly in a sunny window of your classroom or home. When the sun shines through, these sun catchers are sure to add a bit of colorful cheer to any space!

RELATED RESOURCE: Pattern Centers and Activities for Pre-K & Kindergarten

More Nature Learning Activities to Explore

• Pond Life Activities for Kids
• Planting With Kids (free “Parts of a Plant” printable)
• 5 Tips for Exploring Nature with Kids
• Tree Nature Study
• Nature Activity – Leaf Detectives!

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Valerie

Valerie Deneen is the author of Inner Child Fun, where she inspires parents to spend more quality time with their kids, and less money doing it. Inner Child Fun celebrates simple pleasures for all ages—with more than 1,000 frugal and creative projects sure to bring out the “kid” in you too! Follow Valerie on Twitter or say “Hi” on Facebook.

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