How to Make Fall Leaf Sun-Catchers

A very simple craft that can be adapted to almost any season is a sun-catcher. This may sound counterintuitive in the setting of fall and winter but there is always some sunlight coming through those windows. Today we set aside time to make some fall leaf sun-catchers.

Making some fall leaf sun-catchers is great for some creativity and for fine motor skills. My kiddos span a large range of ages: toddler, preschool, and school-age. The fun part of this craft is that they can each find a way to fine tune this to their specific desires. With my toddler, fall leaf sun-catchers focused on her fine motor skills. For my preschooler, we focused on colors. And finally for my school age kiddos, one focused on mixing colors while the other focused on creativity and design. I love finding activities that are adaptable to many ages and can entertain each of my kiddos in a specific way!

Supplies:

Contact paper
Construction paper or cardstock
Tissue paper
Scissors
Cricut (optional, though helpful!)

How To Make a Fall Leaf Sun-Catcher:

Cut out a shape of the leaf you desire to make your sun-catcher out of construction paper or cardstock.
- Tip: I tend to use my Cricut machine to cut out some leaf shapes. (This saves me some time as my kiddos aren’t overly confident in cutting inside an item yet.)
Place the cut out on the contact paper.
Depending on the age of the child, either have them cut or have already small pieces of tissue paper cut.
Place small scraps of tissue paper on the contact paper.
Cover the area of the leaf.
Place another piece of contact paper on top.
Cut out the shape of the leaf.
Display it in a window to see the light shine through!