If you are looking for a cheerful paper plate sunflower craft for fall, summer, or a flower-themed learning unit, this simple project is a fun one to add to your plans. With a paper plate, a few basic craft supplies, and my free printable sunflower template, children can create a bright sunflower while getting plenty of cutting, coloring, painting, and gluing practice along the way.
I created this sunflower craft to keep the prep simple for parents and teachers. The printable template includes the pieces needed to turn an ordinary paper plate into a sunflower, including the flower shape, center, stem, and leaves.
It works especially well for preschool and kindergarten, whether you are planning a fall theme, learning about flowers and plants, or simply need an easy craft for a quiet afternoon.
Why Make a Paper Plate Sunflower Craft?
Sunflowers are one of those themes that can happily straddle summer and fall. Their bright yellow petals make them perfect for summer flower activities, while their association with gardens, seeds, and harvest season makes them just as easy to incorporate into fall lessons.
Paper plate crafts also give children something a little different from a traditional worksheet. Cutting, tracing, painting, and assembling the pieces adds hands-on fine motor practice while children create something they can actually display when they are finished.
I especially like pairing crafts like this with educational printables because it gives children a change of pace without completely stepping away from the theme they are learning about.
This sunflower paper plate craft could be used for:
- Preschool and kindergarten flower themes
- Fall and harvest units
- Summer crafts
- Sunflower life cycle lessons
- Plant and garden themes
- Fine motor centers
- Homeschool art activities
- Classroom bulletin board displays
- Early finisher activities
- Nature studies
Supplies for Your Paper Plate Sunflower Craft
One of the best parts about this craft is that the supply list is fairly short. My printable directions call for a paper plate, printable template, yellow and green paint or crayons, brown construction paper, scissors, and glue.
You will need:
Paper plate
A standard paper plate becomes the main flower.
Free printable sunflower craft template
The template helps create the petals, flower center, stem, and leaves.
Yellow paint or crayons
Children can choose how they want to color their sunflower.
Green paint or crayons
These can be used if you would rather color the stem and leaves instead of tracing them onto green paper.
Brown construction paper
This creates the large brown center of the sunflower.
Green construction paper
This is another option for making the stem and leaves.
Scissors
Glue
I would use washable paint when making this with younger children. Crayons are a nice alternative when you want an activity with less drying time and an easier cleanup.
How to Make a Paper Plate Sunflower Craft
This craft is simple enough to use with younger children, although preschoolers may need help with some of the cutting.
Step 1: Color or Paint the Paper Plate Yellow
Begin by coloring or painting the paper plate yellow.
If you are using paint, set the plate aside until it is completely dry before moving on. This is also a good opportunity to prepare the remaining pieces while you wait.
Using crayons instead makes this an easy no-paint option for classrooms or days when you want to skip the paintbrush cleanup.
Step 2: Trace the Sunflower Shape
Place the printable sunflower template over the paper plate and trace around the outside edge.
The large flower outline on the template creates the sunflower’s pointed petals.
An adult may want to help younger children with this step.
Step 3: Cut Out the Sunflower
Carefully cut around the traced lines to create the sunflower petals.
Cutting around all those petals provides quite a bit of scissor practice, so this part can be especially useful for kindergarteners who are developing their cutting skills.
For younger preschoolers, an adult can cut the more difficult sections ahead of time.
Step 4: Add the Brown Sunflower Center
Use the circle from the printable template to create the center of the sunflower.
Trace the circle onto brown construction paper and cut it out. Glue the brown circle onto the center of the yellow sunflower.
The contrast between the brown center and yellow petals really makes the flower begin to pop.
Step 5: Make the Stem and Leaves
Next, use the printable stem and leaf pieces.
Trace the stem and two leaves onto green construction paper and cut them out. The printable provides one long stem and two leaves with simple vein details.
If you would rather keep everything on white paper, children can color the printable pieces green instead.
Step 6: Assemble Your Paper Plate Sunflower
Glue the stem to the back of the sunflower so it extends below the paper plate.
Next, glue one leaf to each side of the stem.
Allow everything to dry, and your paper plate sunflower craft is complete!
An Easier Sunflower Craft Option for Preschoolers
Preschoolers can absolutely participate in this craft, but there are a few ways to make it easier if the petal cutting is too challenging.
You can prepare the paper plate sunflower shape ahead of time and let children concentrate on painting, gluing, and assembling the pieces. Another option is to have an adult trace the template and then help children work slowly around the petals.
There is no need for every petal to look identical. A slightly wiggly, child-cut sunflower has far more personality than a flower that looks as though it escaped from a factory.
The finished project is ultimately about giving children an opportunity to create.
Learning Ideas to Use With This Sunflower Paper Plate Craft
A craft can easily become part of a larger learning activity.
Before making the sunflower, talk about the basic parts of a flower. Children can identify the flower, stem, leaves, and seeds or flower center as they assemble their craft.
You could also discuss what plants need to grow, including sunlight, water, soil, and air.
For older preschoolers and kindergarteners, introduce the sunflower life cycle. Talk about how a sunflower begins as a seed, grows roots and a stem, develops a bud, and eventually blooms.
Another simple activity is sunflower observation. If you have access to a real sunflower, let children examine it before beginning the craft. They can compare its colors, petals, leaves, and center to the pieces they are using.
Fine Motor Skills Hidden Inside This Sunflower Craft
Craft time may feel like a break from academics, but there is plenty of learning tucked between the petals.
Cutting around the sunflower and leaves encourages children to control their scissors as they follow curved and pointed lines. Coloring and painting involve hand and wrist movements, while tracing the template requires children to coordinate what they see with how they move their pencil.
Gluing and positioning the individual pieces adds another layer of hand-eye coordination.
Other children’s craft resources similarly highlight cutting, folding, gluing, and related art activities as opportunities to practice finger dexterity and hand-eye coordination.
That makes this project a nice companion to handwriting, tracing, and other preschool fine motor activities.
Picture Books to Pair With a Paper Plate Sunflower Craft
Adding a picture book before craft time can turn this into a more complete sunflower lesson. I would look for books that introduce sunflowers, seeds, gardens, or plant growth in a way that is appropriate for your child’s or students’ age.
A few books to consider are:
Sunflower House by Eve Bunting
A sweet story that can lead to conversations about sunflowers, gardens, and imaginative outdoor play.
From Seed to Sunflower by Gerald Legg
A helpful choice when you want to connect the craft to science and the sunflower life cycle.
A Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston
The beautiful illustrations make this a lovely addition to a broader lesson about seeds and plants.
The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle
This classic works well for discussing how seeds travel and grow into flowering plants.
This Is the Sunflower by Lola M. Schaefer
A sunflower-themed read-aloud that pairs naturally with the finished craft.
After reading, children can make their sunflower while you continue talking about what they learned from the story.
Add a Simple Sunflower Seed Activity
If you want one more hands-on activity, bring in real sunflower seeds for children to observe.
Give each child a small group of seeds and a magnifying glass. Ask them to look closely at the size, shape, color, and texture.
Kindergarten children can also use sunflower seeds for simple math practice. Have them count groups of seeds, create sets, compare which group has more or fewer, or practice simple addition.
Just remember that small objects require appropriate adult supervision, particularly around younger children.
More Sunflower Printables for Preschool and Kindergarten
If you are putting together an entire sunflower theme, you don’t have to stop with the craft.
I have also created sunflower worksheets for preschool and kindergarten that can help you extend the theme into early learning activities.
You can pair sunflower crafts with activities involving:
- Letter recognition
- Number practice
- Counting
- Shapes
- Tracing
- Fine motor skills
- Sunflower vocabulary
- Sunflower life cycle activities
- Coloring
- Early math and literacy skills
Combining a few printable activities with a book and this craft can turn one simple theme into an easy homeschool lesson or classroom center without requiring an elaborate lesson plan.
More Paper Plate Crafts to Try
Once the paper plates are already out, you can continue with other seasonal animals, flowers, and themed crafts.
Paper plate crafts are especially useful when you want projects that use inexpensive supplies and can be adapted for different age groups. Other craft sites also frequently combine printable templates with basic paper plates, coloring materials, glue, and construction paper, which keeps prep manageable for younger children.
Try pairing your sunflower with other fall paper plate crafts such as an owl, squirrel, fox, scarecrow, pumpkin, or acorn. Together, they could make an adorable fall classroom display.
Pin This Paper Plate Sunflower Craft for Later
Not ready to make your sunflower today?
Save this paper plate sunflower craft to your favorite preschool crafts, fall activities, sunflower activities, or kids’ craft Pinterest board so you can easily find it when you are planning your next lesson.
It is an especially handy one to save for a fall unit because you can use the same activity for flowers, plants, gardens, seeds, nature, or harvest themes.
Get Your Free Paper Plate Sunflower Craft Template Here
Ready to make your sunflower?
I created this free paper plate sunflower craft template to make preparing the activity as easy as possible. The printable includes the pieces you’ll need to complete the sunflower craft, along with simple instructions.
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For best results, print the template on US Letter paper. Regular printer paper works well for tracing, while cardstock is a good option if you would like a sturdier template that can be used more than once.
A Sunny Craft for Your Next Flower or Fall Theme
This paper plate sunflower craft is simple enough for preschoolers while still giving kindergarten children plenty of opportunities to practice cutting, tracing, coloring, and assembling.
I designed the printable template so you don’t have to spend extra time drawing all the pieces yourself. Add a sunflower picture book, a few sunflower worksheets, or a simple seed activity, and you have the beginnings of a complete themed learning experience.
Whether those finished sunflowers end up on a refrigerator, homeschool wall, or an entire classroom bulletin board, each one can look a little different. That’s part of what makes children’s crafts worth displaying.
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