Want to craft a unique Valentine’s Day craft that is sure to put a smile on your loved one’s face? Try making this Valentine suncatcher! This fun and easy activity only requires minimal preparation yet appeals to kids of all ages and skill levels. What better way to celebrate the holiday than with handmade joy?
Tissue Paper Valentine Craft – Heart Suncatchers
Have you been caught by the love bug in your preschool classroom? Every year, my preschoolers and I look forward to these suncatchers. But the truth is, all kids will love this art project. For older kids, it’s a special and easy valentine they can make for friends. For younger kids, they make an amazing fine motor craft during your preschool Valentine’s Day party.
Where I live, during January and the month of February, we get the most amazing winter sun shining through our kitchen windows. It warms our house and makes us smile.
These suncatchers, with the winter sun, bring a cheeriness into our home. You can make giant suncatchers using large sheets on construction paper, or a bunch of mini suncatchers that be hung all over your sliding glass door.
Either way…this is a fun craft for kids and preschoolers that makes everyone really happy! Be sure to add them to your February lesson plans for preschoolers.
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12 Fine Motor Task Boxes$10.00
FAQ About Doing Crafts with Preschoolers
Crafts for three year old don’t need to be complex or fancy. In fact, the simpler the better! Here are some easy crafts for toddlers and preschoolers.
~ found items collages
~ sticker collection sheets
~ handprint crafts
~ collages
~ oil and water droplet painting
~ puppets
Make crafting with preschoolers easier by first choosing out preschool crafts that the students can do primarily on their own. Provide an example of what the craft could look like, and then invite your preschoolers to make their own. (It doesn’t have to look exactly the same).
Have a designated work space, like a tray, to keep the mess contained, and make sure that all supplies are readily available.
The easier the preschool craft, the more you will enjoy doing crafts with preschoolers. These are some of our favorite craft ideas for preschoolers.
~ layering shapes
~ suncatchers
~ “splat” fine motor crafts
~ scissor cutting crafts
~ alphabet matching crafts
~ torn paper crafts
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12 Fine Motor Task Boxes$10.00
Valentine’s Suncatchers Craft for Preschool
I’m always on the look out for excellent valentine crafts for preschoolers, and this one was a hit! It works on fine motor skills, scissor cutting skills, and creativity all while making a beautiful piece of artwork.
Materials
- construction paper
- contact paper
- tissue paper
- scissors
The Set Up
Depending on the skill level of your preschoolers, you may want to do some work in advance. If you’re doing this as a valentine craft for preschoolers, them you’ll definitely need to do some work in advance.
Gather your supplies in advance before starting this activity with your preschoolers. If you are working with kids younger than 4, you may want to cut the tissue paper in advance. Older preschoolers can cut their own tissue paper squares as part of the activity.
How to Make the Suncatcher
Begin by cutting out a few hearts of diminishing sizes. Cut out the center of each heart and sequence the hearts on the sticky side of a piece of contact paper.
Pro tip! Sometimes preschoolers and toddlers get frustrated when using contact paper because the paper can move around and stick to things it shouldn’t. Prevent this by using masking tape to keep the corners of the contact paper down. This will also keep sleeves from catching.
Next, invite your preschooler to snip the tissue paper into about one inch squares. They don’t need to be perfect. In fact, the pieces can be crumpled and torn and the art project still turns out beautifully.
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12 Fine Motor Task Boxes$10.00
Then, invite your child of students to add pieces of tissue paper to the heart. I had to remind my kiddies to only place tissue paper inside the hearts, since we’ll be cutting away the exterior.
Once the hearts are full of tissue paper, and there are little to no gaps, add another layer of contact paper on top, encasing the hearts as though you were using contact paper to laminate.
Alternatively, you can build the hearts on a laminating sheet and run it through the laminator to encase the suncatchers. This works as a wonderful alternative if you don’t have any contact paper on hand, or if your kiddos constantly mess up contact paper by wrinkling it or getting it stick to hair, clothing, or dirt.
But don’t forget to still take down that laminator paper!
Hanging from the windows, these suncatchers contrast the purple construction paper heart with vivid hues of red and pink. The classroom will be brighter all season long!
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12 Fine Motor Task Boxes$10.00
More Suncatcher Crafts
Suncatchers are one of my favorite crafts to make with preschoolers. Here are some more ideas.
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
Made these yesterday with my 4th graders and they loved it!!! Next wrk my mom and her 1st graders take it on!! My window looks beautiful!!! Thanks for this idea!!