Sunflower Crafts and Activities for Kids

Sunflowers are one of the most recognisable flowers of summer, making them the perfect inspiration for fun and creative activities with children. Their bright yellow petals, towering stems and fascinating life cycle provide endless opportunities for arts and crafts, outdoor adventures and educational learning.

Whether you’re entertaining little ones during the summer holidays, looking for nature activities for kids, or searching for children’s activities near you, there are plenty of ways to bring the beauty of sunflowers into your family’s day.

If your child enjoys getting creative, gardening or exploring the outdoors, Club Hub UK can help you discover local arts and crafts classes, gardening clubs, forest schools, holiday clubs and other exciting children’s activities across the UK.

Why Sunflowers Are Great for Children’s Learning

Sunflowers aren’t just beautiful to look at—they’re packed with learning opportunities.

Sunflower-themed activities can help children develop:

• Creativity
• Fine motor skills
• Observation skills
• Patience
• Scientific understanding
• Early maths skills
• Confidence through hands-on learning

They also encourage children to spend more time outdoors, connecting with nature and learning how plants grow.

Grow Your Own Sunflowers

One of the most rewarding summer activities is growing sunflowers together.

Children can plant sunflower seeds in pots or directly into the garden, water them regularly, measure their height every week, keep a sunflower growth diary, draw pictures as they grow and count leaves and petals.

Growing a sunflower teaches children patience and responsibility while introducing them to the life cycle of plants. You could even hold a friendly family competition to see whose sunflower grows the tallest.

Make Handprint Sunflowers

Handprint crafts are always popular with younger children.

You’ll need yellow paint, brown paint, white card or paper and green card or paint. Create yellow handprints to form the petals, paint a brown circle in the middle for the seeds, then add a green stem and leaves.

These crafts make lovely keepsakes and colourful decorations that children can proudly display.

Create Paper Plate Sunflowers

Paper plates are perfect for simple sunflower crafts.

Paint the plate yellow before adding brown tissue paper, buttons, pom-poms, coloured paper or craft foam to create the centre of the flower. Finish with large yellow petals around the edge and display your sunflower at home or in the classroom.

This activity is ideal for toddlers, preschoolers and primary-aged children.

Make a Sunflower Nature Collage

Head outdoors and collect natural materials such as leaves, twigs, grass, flower petals and small stones.

Use these to create a giant sunflower collage. This activity combines outdoor exploration with creative play while encouraging children to appreciate nature and the changing seasons.

Build a Giant Cardboard Sunflower

Using cardboard or large sheets of paper, children can create a life-sized sunflower.

Decorate it with paint, tissue paper, fingerprints, handprints or stickers. Older children could write positive words, favourite memories or things they are grateful for on each petal before displaying it on a wall.

Sunflower Seed Counting Activity

Sunflower seeds make excellent maths resources.

Children can count seeds into groups, create simple patterns, practise addition and subtraction or estimate how many seeds are inside a sunflower head.

Learning through play helps develop number confidence while making maths much more enjoyable.

Paint with Sunflower Colours

Challenge children to create artwork using only sunflower-inspired colours including yellow, orange, brown and green.

They could paint summer gardens, bees, butterflies, fields of flowers or bright countryside landscapes while experimenting with colour mixing and different painting techniques.

Learn About Pollinators

Sunflowers are loved by pollinating insects.

Talk to children about bees, butterflies, hoverflies and ladybirds and explain why pollinators are so important for flowers, plants and the food we eat.

You could even head into the garden and see how many different insects you can spot visiting flowers.

Go on a Sunflower Scavenger Hunt

Create a simple nature checklist before heading outdoors.

Can children find yellow flowers, bees, butterflies, birds, seeds, green leaves, trees or different insects?

Nature hunts encourage observation skills while making walks in the park or countryside much more exciting.

Make Bird Feeders

Sunflowers provide food for lots of wildlife.

Children can create simple bird feeders using pine cones, bird seed, sunflower seeds and string before hanging them in the garden.

Encourage children to keep a diary of the birds they spot visiting throughout the week.

Read Books About Sunflowers

Reading together helps children learn even more about plants and nature.

After reading, encourage children to draw their favourite scene, write sunflower facts, create their own sunflower story or design a brand-new flower.

Combining books with creative activities helps reinforce learning while encouraging imagination.

Sunflower Sensory Play

For babies and toddlers, create a sensory tray using yellow scarves, artificial flowers, wooden spoons, measuring cups and natural materials.

Older toddlers may enjoy adding water or scooping sunflower seeds between containers, while younger babies can safely explore different textures under close supervision.

Sensory play supports early development while encouraging curiosity and exploration.

Bake Sunflower-Themed Treats

Cooking together is another wonderful activity.

Try making sunflower biscuits, flower cupcakes, fruit flowers or sunflower-shaped sandwiches.

Children can help with measuring, mixing and decorating while developing practical life skills and enjoying a tasty treat afterwards.

Fun Sunflower Facts for Kids

Did you know that some sunflowers can grow over three metres tall? Young sunflowers turn to face the sun as they grow, and a single sunflower head can contain hundreds or even thousands of seeds.

Sunflower seeds provide food for birds, wildlife and people, and there are more than 70 different species of sunflower found around the world.

Encourage children to research even more fascinating sunflower facts and share them with family and friends.

Visit a Sunflower Field

During late summer, many farms across the UK open beautiful sunflower fields for visitors.

Families can enjoy nature walks, picnic areas, photo opportunities, tractor rides, children’s activities and maize mazes while making lasting summer memories together.

A visit to a sunflower field is a wonderful way to end the summer holidays.

Find Children’s Activities Near You

If your child enjoys arts and crafts, gardening or exploring nature, there are plenty of activities available throughout the year.

With Club Hub UK, you can search for arts and crafts classes, gardening activities, forest school sessions, outdoor learning groups, holiday clubs, baby and toddler groups, family events, nature activities, sports clubs and thousands of other children’s activities across the UK.

Simply enter your location, choose your child’s age and browse local activities designed to inspire children of all ages. Whether you’re looking for a weekend activity, an after-school club or something fun to do during the school holidays, Club Hub UK makes it easy to find children’s activities near you.

Let Children’s Creativity Bloom This Summer

Sunflowers remind us that learning doesn’t always happen in the classroom. Whether you’re growing flowers in the garden, creating colourful crafts at the kitchen table or exploring nature together, every activity helps children build confidence, creativity and curiosity.

Looking for even more inspiration this summer? Club Hub UK helps families discover children’s activities near them, including arts and crafts classes, holiday clubs, forest schools, outdoor adventures and family events across the UK.

Start your search today and help your child discover a new hobby, make new friends and create wonderful summer memories.