Are you looking for a fun and simple craft to enhance fine motor skills in your little learners? Heart sun catchers are the perfect project for your preschoolers or kindergarten kids! These are easy to make and add a bright splash of color to your classroom windows. They are also a great way to switch things up, as students collaborate to make these hearts as part of a group project. Here’s a quick guide to creating these adorable heart crafts for Valentine's Day or any random day of the school year!
Teacher Hack:
Make one BIG sheet and then use a die cut machine to create multiple hearts quickly!
Materials Needed:
Clear contact paper
Tissue paper in various colors
Die cut machine (optional)
Scissors (if not using a die cut machine)
Heart template (if cutting by hand)
Instructions:
Prep the Tissue Paper: Begin by selecting bright, cheerful colors of tissue paper. Use small sheets or long strips. Students will tear the strips into pieces (or they could use scissors). It doesn’t have to be perfect; the more random the shapes, the better.
Peel and Stick: Here comes the fun part for the kids! Peel the backing off one large piece of contact paper. Let the kids stick the tissue paper pieces onto the sticky side. They can mix and match colors to their hearts' content. I have multiple kids come over at a time to work together.
Seal the Deal: Once the contact paper is covered in tissue paper, place another piece of contact paper on top to seal it.
Cut Out the Hearts: If you are using a die cut machine, grab the heart die that goes with it to get a rough idea of what size your hearts will be. Then, make rough-cut squares or rectangles that correspond to that size. Run them through the die-cut machine with the heart die. You could also do this by hand, folding the contact paper slightly to cut out a curved heart shape.
Final Touches: Punch a hole at the top and thread some string through if you’d like to hang them up.
Display: Stick the completed hearts onto your classroom windows and watch them glow as the sunlight shines through.
The Power of Group Projects: While individual crafts are fantastic for fostering independence, it's also beneficial to switch things up with a group project. Group projects encourage collaboration and communication among children, teaching them to share materials and ideas, and to work together towards a common goal. As they sit together and contribute to a larger piece, they not only enhance their social and emotional development but also feel the pride of being part of a team. The finished product becomes a symbol of their collective creativity and effort, which is especially heartwarming to see!
This activity is not only a great way to work on fine motor skills, as kids pick up and tear small pieces of paper, but it’s also a wonderful opportunity for them to work together and interact with one another. Plus, it’s a mess-free craft!
Let’s fill our classrooms with a little more color and a lot of love with these easy-to-make heart sun catchers. What fun crafts do you do around Valentine's Day? Let me know in the comments below!
Looking for more Valentine's FUN?
Your preschoolers will adore these Easy Peasy Name Activities. They're perfect for your students in Preschool, PreK, or Kindergarten. These activities are called easy peasy for a reason... Simply type your class list and all your printables✨INSTANTLY✨ generate! YES!! ⭐
This set of name practice activities has a Valentine's theme. The activities are standards-based and will also build those oh-so-important fine motor skills! ✂️ Win-win!
If your kiddos are on the way to learning how to identify and write the letters of their name, this resource is for you. Simply type your students' names into the class list form, and voilà! Instantaneously, all those fantastic name activities will be generated. It's like magic! ✨
