Keeping toddlers and preschoolers engaged can be a challenge, but the solution might be as simple as a piece of contact paper and a handful of colorful tissues.
Today we will show you how to put together a Sticky Sun Catcher activity, customized into the shape of a butterfly, which not only sparks children’s imaginations, but it also acts as a fun, aesthetically pleasing piece of craft that brightens up any room.
While little ones will enjoy the tactile and visual pleasure of creating their unique butterfly, the underlying educational benefits of this project are plenty, too!
Educational Development Benefits
This easy to set up Sticky Sun Catcher activity supports an array of key developmental areas.
Fine Motor Skills
This activity encourages little ones to pick and place small pieces of tissue, refining their fine motor skills.
You can see the pincer grip below picking up and sticking small sequins along with the colored tissue paper.
Color Recognition
It introduces children to different colors and promotes color recognition as they select and use various colored tissues.
Kids can also layer different colored tissue papers on top of each other to see how the colors mix as the light shines through.
Spatial Awareness
By placing the tissue on the butterfly template, children learn about spatial relationships and shape boundaries.
Simple activities like this are a fun and great way to work on visual skills and hand eye coordination in a super playful way.
Creativity and Self-expression
The freedom to choose and place colored tissues stimulates children’s creativity and self-expression. This is fun for kids of all ages!
Patience and Concentration
Completing the butterfly requires patience and focus, skills that are valuable throughout life.
Topics to Link In
- The Lifecycle of a Butterfly: This activity can act as a springboard for learning about the butterfly’s lifecycle.
- Color Mixing: Discuss how placing two different colored tissues together can create a new color.
- Light and Shadows: Explore the concept of light and shadows using the Sun Catcher on the window.
How to Make Butterfly Window Sun Catcher
In just a few minutes you can set up this fun and colorful window activity for your toddler or preschooler and you will have a fun creative station to come back to over the next few days.
Tissue Paper Butterfly Suncatcher Craft
The Sticky Sun Catcher craft involves creating a butterfly-shaped masterpiece using colored tissue paper on sticky contact paper.
Children enjoy picking and placing tissue pieces, fostering fine motor skills, color recognition, and creativity.
Once completed, the butterfly sun catcher adds a vibrant touch to any window, captivating kids and adults alike.
Materials
- Black cardstock or construction paper
- Contact paper
- Colored tissue paper
- Scissors
- Tape
Tools
- Scissors
Instructions
- Prepare the Butterfly Frame: First, cut out a butterfly shape from the black cardstock. Ensure it's large enough for the child to easily place tissue on it. You can use one of our butterfly coloring pages as a template, or to help copy the shape freehand.
- Prepare the Contact Paper: Cut out a piece of contact paper that's slightly larger than your butterfly frame. Peel off the backing, and carefully stick it onto the butterfly frame, ensuring the sticky side is facing out.
- Prepare the Tissue Paper: Cut the colored tissue paper into small, manageable pieces for the child, or you can use pre cut squares or tissue paper shapes.
- Set up the Activity Station: Now, tape the butterfly frame with contact paper onto a window at a height accessible to the child. Place the cut-out tissue papers nearby.
- Let the Fun Begin: Invite the child to place the pieces of tissue paper onto the sticky contact paper. Encourage them to cover the whole butterfly, overlap colors, and make their unique creation.
Notes
The timings are open ended. We leave this set up on the window for the little ones to come back to whenever they want to, over a few days.
Buy the Supplies
Below are affiliate links to the main supplies at Amazon, in case you need to order…
Variations
Now you’ve got the idea you can mix it up a bit in a few simple ways…
Change the shape
Not just butterflies, this activity can be modified into any shape, like a sunshine, rainbow suncatcher, a flower sun catcher, or even a favorite cartoon character. As you can see we also added crescent moon shapes along side our butterflies.
Use different materials
Along with tissue paper, children can also use sequins, feathers, or leaves. Many types of craft supplies will stick to the contact paper, so little ones can experiment.
Feeling the sticky texture of the contact paper itself is quite interesting for toddlers as a sensory experience.
My girl enjoyed touching and playing with her fingers on the sticky contact paper as well as attaching the tissue papers, and then seeing how different items stick to it gives them more to experiment with.
Seasonal Themes
Customize the activity to coincide with different seasons or holidays. You can use this technique to make stained glass windows for Christmas, for your living advent calendar window, or for all kinds of holidays and celebrations. The options are endless.
The Sticky Sun Catcher Activity offers an enriching blend of fun, creativity, and learning, promising countless hours of engagement for your little ones.
Plus, the end result is a radiant butterfly sun catcher that fills your room with a symphony of colors as the sun shines through.
This is creativity, learning, and play all in one package. Happy crafting!
Similar Activities
If you enjoyed this activity, you might also like these…
- Dinosaur Sticky Wall
- Pumpkin and Apple Tissue Paper Suncatchers
- Dried Pressed Flowers Suncatcher Craft
- Rainbow Sun Catcher Shadow Art
- Shadow Names Outdoor Summer Activity
More Butterfly Crafts and Activities
- Rainbow Butterfly Windsock Craft
- Easy Colorful Coffee Filter Butterfly Craft
- Making your own hummingbird and butterfly mobile
- Paper Plate Butterfly Life Cycle Craft
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.