Ladybug Craft for Toddlers and Preschoolers – Pretty Suncatcher for the Window
We love making suncatchers here in the Rainy Day Mum house, they are easy to make and low mess (which is always a bonus). This Easy Ladybug Craft for Toddlers and Preschoolers makes a beautiful Ladybug Suncatcher for your windows. Ladybugs or Ladybirds as we call them here in the UK are one of our favourite Bugs we have been inspired many times and all of our ladybug crafts and activities for toddlers and preschoolers can be found in one easy place if you are looking to extend this idea further.
Featured Ladybug Book to Read before and after you Create the Ladybug Suncatcher Craft
We have included links to the book and materials we used to create this craft. If you buy via these links we may earn a small commission.
Yoo Hoo Ladybug by Mem Fox is aimed at preschoolers with great repetition and the fun of finding where the ladybug is hidden in each toy filled pictures. T was entranced once she got the idea. No matter how many times we’ve ready it, she seems to make a game out of not knowing where the ladybug is.
Ladybug Hunt
To bring the book alive we first headed outside on a Ladybug hunt – this is still one of the kids favourite activities no matter how many times we do this – made all the more exciting by the addition of our bug boxes this year (although I hate to tell them that two are empty as far as I can see and the other is being inhabited by some sort of solitary bee!).
Finding them is easy this time of the year and we’ve left some (ok a lot) of our garden to go wild which encourages them as it’s full of aphids their favourite food. If you would like to attract more ladybugs to your own garden so your children then check out our list of plants that attract ladybugs that you can plant at home.
How to Make your Own Simple Ladybug Suncatcher
Liking to do a craft to bring the books alive with T and help her with early literacy skills we decided that we wanted to make a ladybug. We’d recently made some egg carton ladybugs and in the past had some paper plate ladybugs, as well as finger, painted ladybugs so this time we decided to make a sun catcher as we haven’t made one recently.
Materials needed for This Ladybird Craft for Toddlers and Preschoolers to Make a Suncatcher
Black Construction Paper or Cardstock
Scissors for you to cut out the ladybird template shape
Contact Paper (Sticky Back Plastic)
How to make a Ladybug Sun Catcher
This was the first time in a long while that I have used sticky back plastic or contact paper with T. So first off there was a bit of an exploration of the material – I love her view of it – “It’s glue but not messy – I can use it in the lounge”.
I then cut out a solid ladybug shape from black card and then cut out the wings area leaving a black head and a thick outline around the edge. To make it have two wing halves I cut a thin strip the length of the wings and placed it all onto the stick back plastic.
We then got onto the fun bit – tearing up tissue paper this is great for fine motor skills and T loves tearing paper up I am working with her to tear into regular shapes instead of random strips and we are getting there.
Once everything is torn up she stuck the tissue paper down over the ladybugs wings it doesn’t matter if it goes over the outside edge as it will be cut away.
Once all is stuck cut out the ladybug from the sticky back plastic – if you cut just inside of the ladybug it’s easier to cut.
Using the part that you cut out for the wings cut out a number of spots and then cut some of the sticky back plastic and use that to stick the spots on. I took that as an opportunity to sit and do some counting, and maths language with T as we placed the spots down.
Check out this activity for doubling with ladybug spots that we did after completing our ladybug craft.
All finished stick to a window where the sun will come in and you have a beautiful ladybug Sun Catcher to go with the book Yoo Hoo Ladybug by Mem Fox.
Virtual Book Club for Kids
This months virtual book club for kids author is Mem Fox – if you would like to find out more about joining in with the Virtual Book Club or what it is then check out our information page to find out more.
Check out these other Ladybug Activities and Crafts based on the book Yoo Hoo Ladybug by Mem Fox as well as other activities and crafts for other popular Mem Fox Books.
More Ladybug Crafts for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Paper Plate Ladybugs inspired by The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle (or The Bad Tempered Ladybird as it is called in the UK and Australia)
Pin This Ladybug Preschool Craft to Make Later
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Adoreable love it, 🙂