Sun Suncatcher Template
With summer on our doorstep (finally!) and the Summer Solstice just around the corner, we have a fun little Sun Suncatcher Craft for preschoolers to make. These Sun Suncatchers can be made with contact paper and tissue paper, or you can go eco friendly and make this as a sun coffee filter craft instead. Both options would look gorgeous and have some wonderful educational benefits!
Two ways to make suncatchers
As you know, we LOVE making sun catchers, and have made a fair few in the past.
Suncatchers are fun to make throught the seasons. Here are two lovely examples:
- The Apple Suncatcher – made with coffee filters
- The Poppy Suncatchers, using contact paper and tissue paper
They both look great in your window.. but they are both made in different ways.
For the apple suncatcher, students can explore a bit of color mixing – which is wonderfully mesmerisizing.
For the contact paper method, it is a great opportunity to either practice cutting skills (cutting out the tissue paper) or tearing skills. These also look wonderfully effective!
There are three options for using the Sun Templates:
For this reason, I have created these three options
Make it medium sun suncatcher
This is paper effective – use one sheet of paper cut out and placed onto contact paper. As the sun is smaller, it will take a little more dexterity to cut ouy the sun rays.
Make it large sun
This is larger version of the sun – which is a little easier to cut out and great for bigger windows/ bigger spaces – e.g. in the calssroom.
ONLY decorate the centre of the sun/ coffee filter sun
This is a great one to use with coffee filters or simply as a coloring page/ collage pages. If working with a coffee filter, you would only need to cut out the central circle. I would print this template straight onto yellow or orange card stock or sturdier paper.
Supplies needed to make Suncatcher Suns:
The contact paper method
- Construction paper (oranges and yellows would look great, though “traditional black” is fine)
- Pencil and scissors (to trace and cut your pumpkin templates)
- Contact paper
- Tissue paper in yellow, orange, or even a little red
- Scissors
ALTERNATIVELY do the coffee filter method and use:
- (As before) Construction paper (oranges and yellows would look great, though “traditional black” is fine)
- (As before) Pencil and scissors (to trace and cut your pumpkin templates)
- Coffee filters
- Water based pens
- A water spray bottle
- Scissors and glue
To be fair, I think the coffee filter suncatcher suns, are probably more eco friendly? And if you are working in a classroom, these could work out cheaper too!
Having said that, cutting or ripping your tissue paper into squares and smaller pieces is a great finger strengthing and cutting skills exercise! So think about your classroom outcome targets and use the variation based on that!
For a limited time only, you as a Red Ted Art reader can get this for free, by entering $0 at check out. Or visit my Teacher’s Pay Teacher’s store to make a contribution towards the upkeep of this website.
To make your sun Suncatchers:
Contact paper sun suncatchers
- Cut out your sun shape from black paper, using your templates and preferred size.
- Stick onto contact paper.
- Cut up or tear up tissue paper.
- Stick onto the conatct paper.
- Trim the edges if needed.
For Coffee Filter Sun Suncatchers
- Have fun coloring your coffee filter – you can do this with yellow and orange pens and squirting with water. Or using watercolors.
- Let dry fully.
- In the meantime print the simple sun template onto yellow card. Cut out the centre and stick onto the coffee filter.
- Cut out the rest of the sun (ie with spokes).
- Ready to hang!
Enjoy both makes!
Check out our cute Sun Paper Crown too:
Check out the rest of our Summer Solistice Activities:
