Simple watermelon suncatchers

Brighten up your classroom for summer with this fun activity!

This is just a fun watermelon idea I thought I would take a minute to share with you. I just love watermelon and with summer time quickly approaching, we spent a little time learning about watermelons in our classroom.

The How-To

To make a watermelon suncatcher, we started by putting one good squeeze of hair gel (purchased from the dollar store) in a Ziploc baggie.

Then we added a few drops of red food coloring and some black seeds cut out of foam.  I had planned for the children to use real watermelon seeds but it turned out that the real watermelon I brought to school that day was a seedless watermelon so I had to do a quick change of plans.

Once the gel, seeds, and food color were in the baggie, the children pressed the air out of the baggie and then sealed the baggie shut.

To add a little extra reinforcement, we added clear packing tape to the tops of each baggie so they wouldn’t open up during our color blending.

Sensory Exploration

The children squeezed the baggies until all the gel and food color was blended together. I also invited the children to lay the baggies flat on the table to see if they could push their seeds around the baggies with their fingers.

To finish off our baggies, we added green tape to the top of the baggies to serve as our watermelon rind. Well, I added the green tape – have you ever handed a group of preschoolers a roll of tape and a baggie? I can tell you it’s quite tricky.

And then we taped our suncatchers in the window and they looked fabulous.

Enjoying our Watermelon Suncatchers!

The suncatchers added a beautiful, soft glow to the classroom window I just love it!

Available on Amazon

Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

Subscribe to My Newsletter

Latest Blog Posts

P is for Pizza!

While learning about the letter “P” we decided to explore with pizza! Pizza is an all-time favorite food for many preschoolers, and activities involving pizza

Read More »