Apple Sun Catcher Craft for Kids

Around here, we love making glue sun catchers. They are made from simple ingredients that you already probably have around the house. Also there is something therapeutic and soothing about moving the colors around the glue with your toothpick. I decided that it would make a cute craft and an easy seasonal decoration to use some apple themed colors in the sun catcher and then decorate it afterwards to make it into an apple. (Obviously, you do not have to make yours into an apple. To make a plain non apple sun catcher just choose any colors you wish, and skip the pipe cleaner leaves. However, I think that the apples are seasonal and fun!)

You Will Need:

• nontoxic liquid glue (like Elmer's or equivalent generic)
• food coloring (green, red, and yellow are all great colors for the apple theme)
• toothpicks (I provided 3, one for each color, so she could choose whether she wanted to mix the colors or keep them separate)
• clean plastic lids (the ones from the giant yogurt containers work great!)
• small bits of yarn for hanging (brown is great to make it look like a stem)
• green pipe cleaners for forming into leaves
• hole punch

Making the Apple Sun Catcher Craft

To set up, you will need to pour a good amount of glue into the plastic lid. Your preschooler can do this part too, if they have the patience. As soon as the entire lid is covered in glue, place a few drops of each color of food coloring into the glue.

Invite your child to swirl the color around the glue with their toothpick. The more you swirl the colors the more integrated and solid your final sun catcher will look. You can make them multiple times with different color combinations to create different effects (or varieties of apples).

When your artist is satisfied with the finished product, set it aside to dry. This can be a rather long process depending on your weather conditions. The last time we did this craft, it was really humid and it took a week for the sun catchers to dry!

When it finally is dry, you will know because the glue will turn from white and opaque to clear and transparent. To remove your sun catcher from it's mold, wiggle the lid around the edges back and forth to help separate the dried glue from the lid. Then slowly and carefully peel the sun catcher from the mold.

Now, you can decorate it into an apple. Punch a hole in the top with the hole punch. Next tie it to some yarn and shape and attach the pipe cleaner leaves. Hang it in a sunny window and enjoy!

Also, be sure to check out the Interactive Apple Book on my Teachers Pay Teachers Store! Learn about the parts of an apple, the life cycle of the apple, the seasonal cycle of the apple tree, and more!

Thank you for checking out our apple sun catcher craft. I hope that it makes a useful addition to your preschool apple theme or just a fun craft to do at home with your kids! If you found this useful, consider sharing with your friends on social media. If you have any questions or comments write them down below and I'll try to answer them as best I can. Happy learning!