I have the most delightful Autumn craft to share with you today. Suitable from the youngest age these beautiful Autumn sun catchers will not only bring beautiful Autumn colours inside but it is solely all about the process!
We love the activities you get up to and are often inspired by the crafts and activities you send in for us to share on our facebook page - Learning and Exploring Through Play.
This activity is by Becky Johnson who is a registered childminder in the UK.
You will need:
Paint
Sticky Back Plastic
Leaves
String
Paintbrushes/Sponges
This activity gives the perfect opportunity to go on an Autumn Walk! We have already been on several and the children love running around in the leaves and throwing them up in the air and dancing around as they fall back down.
Take a bag or a basket with you and encourage the children to gather lots of different coloured leaves together. Do this on the day you know you will be doing the craft as leaves wont keep when you bring them indoors. The heat will make them dry out and start to curl and go crunchy.
Cut out the centre of the plate so the edge just remains. Use paint brushes, sponges, fingers (whatever your children wish to use) to paint the edge of the plate.
Younger children may prefer doing activities and crafts in their high chairs. I know with my twin boys who are 18 months at the moment - they are much more attentive and focused on activities and crafts if they're in their high chairs.
When I attempt anything like this at the table they are far too distracted and would rather climb off the chairs and attempt to turn the table over. (We will get there with them one day).
Leave the plates to dry.
Stick the plastic down onto the table with the sticky side facing upwards. Children can place the leaves down onto the plastic and without needing glue the adhesive will keep the leaves in place.
Ask children about what colours they can see in the leaves. Ask them if they know what season it is? Do they know why leaves change colour or why they fall from the trees?
Ask the children what do the leaves feel like? Can they remember where they found the leaves? Lots of excellent talking points with this activity and I love how they can create alongside their peers.
A couple of other lovely leaf activities you may want to try with your left over leaves are -
The leaf sticking was great to observe! The children were so excited exploring the colours and textures with one another. If you haven't used sticky backed plastic before I highly recommend it for activities like this!
An alternative is using a laminator and pouches to create your suncatchers, however you must take cation when putting leaves through as they can easily get stuck. The veins that run through the leaves can be very thick in parts.
It was then time to attach the plastic onto the plates which the children did really well. You can use scissors later to remove the bits around the edges. The children loved rubbing their hands over the smooth plastic and feeling the lumps and bumps of the leaves underneath.
The suncatchers looks stunning hanging up on a piece of string in the window. The parents have enjoyed taking them home too!
What Autumn crafts and activities have you been busy enjoying with the children? I would LOVE to see them so please do connect with us over on social media! It would be great to features your fun ideas!
I would like to say a huge thank you to Becky for sharing her beautiful Leaf Suncatchers with us today!
Other Autumn activities to check out:
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