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Simple Paper Plate Sunflower Craft for Kids

Are you looking for a simple flower craft for toddlers and preschoolers? This Paper Plate Sunflower Craft is perfect for kids of all ages who are interested in a craft project this Summer or Fall.

You’ll only need a few simple supplies to make this little project. But the best part is that these bright yellow sunflowers will look wonderful hanging up on your classroom wall or the fridge door at home.

If you want to make your Fall themed lessons a breeze, then check out the Fall Activity Pack. It’s filled with math and literacy centers, fine motor activities and arts and crafts templates. All of which are aligned with preschool learning standards. Check it out today.

Disclosure: Adult supervision is required for all activities at all times. Some of the links provided in this blog are affiliate links. I will be paid a commission if you use this link to make a purchase.

More Fall Themed Arts and Crafts to try

I love a great craft on a rainy day. It’s always a fun way to spend time with my kids. Here are some more Fall themed kids art ideas that both younger and older children will love.

  1. Egg Carton Apple Tree Craft
  2. Egg Carton Pumpkin Craft
  3. Corn Painting (Process Art for Kids)
  4. Egg Carton Sunflowers
  5. Hedgehog Sunflower Seed Craft

For more ideas, take a look at these 30 Amazing Fall Arts and Crafts for Kids.

Materials Needed

  1. Paper plate
  2. Black marker
  3. Yellow and brown paint
  4. Craft glue
  5. Sunflower seeds


How to make a Paper Plate Sunflower Craft

1. Use a black marker, pen or pencil to draw a circle in the middle of the paper plate, as well as a series of petals around the edge.

You can use a paper cup or small bowl to trace around to make the center circle. Tracing around a bowl is the easiest way for toddlers and preschoolers to make a circle, and tracing is an important skill for them to learn.

You can make the sunflower petals as large or small as you like. Or if you’re doing this activity with young children, just encourage your kids to make straight lines radiating outwards. They may find it too tricky to have the lines curve and meet at the top.

Remember that it’s more important to get the kids involved in this fun craft at their own level. If some steps are too difficult for them to do, find a way to make it easier and include them in the entire process.

2. Paint the petals with yellow paint.

Color the outer edge of your paper plate yellow with some paint. If you don’t want to use acrylic paint you can always decorate your cute sunflower craft with watercolors, crayons or even by pasting yellow tissue paper instead. Offering different ways to make the petals yellow is a great way to let children express their own unique ideas.

3. Mix some craft glue into your brown paint. Then use the mixture to paint the circle in the center of the flower.

Mixing glue in with the paint means that you don’t have to wait for the paper plate sunflower to dry before adding the sunflower seeds onto your small paper plate. This is a great idea if you are doing this easy craft with kids who want to finish their own sunflowers in one sitting.

4. Sprinkle real sunflower seeds onto the wet paint/glue mixture.

If you prefer, you can also wait for your sunflower to dry before you glue sunflower seeds to the middle. This is probably the best option if you only have a glue stick, instead of liquid glue available to use.

Another option, if you don’t want to use sunflower seeds, is to paint the seeds onto the plate using a different shade of brown. You can either use bubble wrap to make the dot patterns, fingerprints or something like q-tips, to make small circles all over the flower center.

5. Let your adorable paper plate sunflower dry.

When your sunflowers are finished, you can always hang them up on your classroom wall to create sunflower fields. Glue them onto a sheet of green construction paper. Or just leave these beautiful flowers as they are.

What You’re Learning

Creativity

Arts and crafts are a great way to use your imagination and then create something that represents that idea in the real world. This is important not only for artistic pursuits, like painting or music, but also for problem solving. Which is an essential life skill that everyone needs to develop.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills refer to the small muscles in the hand and fingers. Developing these skills are important in being able to write when the kids go to school, as well as being able to complete tasks independently. (For example, dressing and feeding themselves).

Holding a paintbrush, as well as picking up and sprinkling sunflower seeds are all going to help young kids develop:

  1. Pincer and/or tripod grip
  2. Hand-eye coordination
  3. Dexterity.
  4. Hand Strength

Science

Take this opportunity to talk to your children about where sunflowers come from. How the seeds grow and the wonderful things we can make with them (e.g. sunflower oil). This is the perfect way to have a mini science lesson with your children while they play.

Planning and Organization

This beautiful sunflower craft has several steps that need to be done in a specific order for this picture to work. For example, you need to apply the glue first, before you can attach your sunflower seeds.

Organizing the required materials beforehand, as well as planning out each step before you do it, is a great way for kids to strengthen their executive functioning skills.

Are you going to make this Paper Plate Sunflower Craft with your kids?
Don’t forget to pin the idea for later.

Make your Autumn themed lessons easy with the Fall Activity Pack. Print and play activities for preschool and kindergarteners.

Fall Activity Pack

87 Pages of Fall themed play based learning activities. Perfect for preschool and kindergarteners.