Suncatchers for Kids to Make

Whatever side of the world you are on, this time of year feels like a time when we need to soak up all the sun we can. Bring a little sunshine into your home or classroom with these suncatcher crafts kids can make. (They’d also be fun Mother’s Day presents or teacher appreciation gifts.)

If you’re making these at home and want to go the super easy route, you can buy a kit of Perler bead suncatchers, which has the peg board, pattern sheet and all the beads you need to make several suncatchers. They aren’t super see through but they are pretty to hang in a window. Or use the supplies you have to make designs of your choosing.

Speaking of supplies you already have, if you have a lot of pony beads you can also melt them down into a suncatcher using silicone molds or an old muffin tin. Check out the instructions from One Little Project (and as noted please do this with a toaster oven you can take outside since melting plastic fumes are nasty).

One Little Project has another pretty one done with flat glass pieces, which I feel like I have a ton of in my house so that would be an easy one for most people to do. If you don’t have glass beads you can easily find them at a dollar store.

Probably the easiest suncatcher idea here, and one that kids can do pretty much on their own, is this one using a coloring page from 100 Directions. As shown the pages are just printed on regular printer paper, but it might be fun to experiment with tracing the design onto tracing paper, parchment or even tissue paper to see how different kinds of paper allow the light through.

Another easy one involves going on a nature walk to make the sun shaped suncatcher craft from Fox Farm Home. These are so pretty with petals and grasses in them, but you could do a similar project any time of year with whatever relatively flat objects you can find outside.

These upcycled plastic suncatchers were made for Earth Day, but you can make them any time of year with different designs drawn on them. Use clip art as a guide or just let kids color them. Get all the details from Books and Giggles.

Pony Bead Suncatcher

Butterfly Suncatchers

Daffodil Suncatchers

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Perler Bead Projects for Kids

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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Have you read?

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