A little paper for big imaginationsMade for grown-ups & little ones
Ready Play Days

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Paper · The activity desk

Paper plate sunshine

Make a smiling sun with paper rays.

Let's play →

A little plan for play

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What you need

A plain paper plate, a full sheet of paper, child-appropriate crayons, a glue stick, and adult scissors.

Age: 3–5 years; choose for the individual child.

Stay with the child throughout. Check the space and supplies, including anything within reach of younger siblings. Skip any activity that is unsuitable. Stop if a child puts non-food material in their mouth or becomes distressed. Use intact books, full sheets of paper, a large child-appropriate crayon and a clean, dry towel. Follow product labels; remove torn paper and keep broken crayons and caps away from children. Adult handles and stores supplies.

Set up: An adult cuts four wide strips from the sheet and puts scissors away.

Adult's role: Stay beside the child and supervise glue use.

Let's make it happen

  1. Color the paper plate and draw a face on it.
  2. Color the wide strips. Glue one end of each strip behind the plate so the other end sticks out as a ray.
  3. Let the glue dry flat, then count the rays together.

Make it simpler: Use two wide strips for rays.

Clean up: Close the glue stick and collect paper scraps.

Adult handles scissors and stays beside the child. Keep paper and glue away from mouths.

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