Autumn Sun Catchers

Here is one of my all time favorite Autumn craft projects. It's an easy craft for very young children and involves getting outside and collecting, which many 2 and 3 year olds especially enjoy doing.

You will need:

• An eager child and a fall day
• Natural materials
• hand made paper (if available & desired)
• clear contact paper
• hole punch
• yarn
• twig
  

Take a nature walk and bring a bag to collect pine needles, grasses and leaves. Natural items that can be placed between clear contact paper without causing too much of a wrinkle. Also provide natural fiber color papers that can be cut or torn to add to your Autumn collage.
Arrange items on sticky side of contact paper, reposition if needed, and cover with another piece of clear contact paper. These collages I've found work better if kept on a small scale but can be created large too. With sticky paper like this young children can get frustrated.
To display: Punch two holes at the top and thread a piece of yarn, attach yard to a twig (also found outside) and hang like a picture in a window.

Our Autumn Sun Catchers have been up since last fall and visitors often notice them, making my son feel very proud. He usually says, "You can make one too, they're really easy, want me to show you?"

~~~MM (original)