Easy Sun Smudge Art for Kids - Taming Little Monsters

This Sun Smudge Art for kids is a fun and easy art project to try this Summer. Use it as part of a weather, summer or sun safety themed unit in your early years classroom.

The Summer break can be tough on parents who aren’t used to having their kids home every day. If you’re trying to get ready for this Summer, then start with these Summer activities for kids. Or invest in the Summer Activity Pack, which is filled with educational ideas for young kids.

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.

Summer Arts and Crafts for Kids

Doing arts and crafts with your kids is a great way to spend some time together on a hot summer day. Here are some more of my favorite summer themed kids art ideas to try.

For more ideas, visit 40 Summer Crafts for Kids.

Materials Needed

Yellow paper
Oil pastels in yellow, oranges, white and black
Cardboard
Scissors
Pen
Adhesive putty or blu tack

How to make Sun Smudge Art

Block out the sun’s center

1. Cut a piece of cardboard into a circle

Make this piece of cardboard the same size as you want the middle of your sun picture to be. I used a paper cup to trace around, but you can use a bowl or draw freehand if you prefer.

2. Place the cardboard in the middle of the paper.

You can stick the cardboard to a piece of yellow craft paper using blu tack or adhesive putty. This will make sure that the cardboard doesn’t slip around while you’re doing the next steps of this sun art project.

Make the rays of the sun

3. Draw the rays using oil pastels.

I used different shades of yellow and orange as well as white to make the rays of my sun. I also experimented with different widths of rays, I wanted to see what would happen if I made some of the lines thicker than others.

4. Smudge the rays.

Use your finger to smudge the lines of colors, starting from the center circle outwards towards the edge of the page.

The more you smudge the lines the more the colors blur together. So if you want to have more distinct colors in your final picture, you’ll only need to go over the lines with your finger once or twice.

Make the sun’s face

5. Remove the cardboard.

Carefully remove the cardboard from the center of the paper. Trying your best not to smudge any of the oil pastels onto the middle of the circle.

6. Draw the face.

Use a black pastel or black marker to draw a face in the middle of the circle. I used a generic smiley face, but a sun with sunglasses would look great too.

What You’re Learning

Creativity

Let your kids’ imaginations grow as they come up with unique ways to make their own sun. They may decide to:

Make a sun using different colors
Make rays that are zigzags instead of straight
Draw a sad or angry face on the sun. This is especially good if your children are having a challenging day and need to express their emotions in a healthy way.

Planning and Organization

This sun smudge art has several steps that need to be done in a specific order for this picture to work.

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.

Sun Safety

Making a sun picture is a great opportunity to talk to your kids about sun safety. Discuss sunscreen, hats and other things we do to make sure that we are protected from the sun’s rays.