The Miracle of the Sun happened on October 13, 1917, at Fatima when Our Lady appeared to 3 young shepherd children- Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta. The miracle of the sun was witnessed by around 35,000 people! The sun was described as having an “exceedingly swift and whirling movement”, and as “the most magnificent fire wheel that could be imagined, taking on all the colors of the rainbow and sending forth multicolored flashes of light, producing the most astounding effect” – to quote a few. So we crafted some Miracle of the Sun Spinner toys! 🙂
These are very cheap and easy to make, not to mention a ton of fun! These have been a hit with me, my kids, and yes- even my husband! Check out how they actually spin and “dance” like the sun did that day at Fatima:
- Foam Board
- Embroidery Floss
- Markers
- Hole Poking Tool (I used a corn-on-the-cob handle thingy)
- Markers
- Scissors
First, trace a circle onto your foam board using a drinking glass and cut it out with some scissors. Then poke 2 holes in the middle of the circle using your corn-on-the-cob handle thing. (Try to get these holes as close to the center of your circle as possible).
Now let your kids color their version of the miracle of the sun on their circles, and encourage them to use their imaginations! It will help if you read some descriptions of the miracle of the sun to them while they work.
They can also follow along with my how to draw a miracle of the spinning sun video for Catholic kids here.
For each spinner you will need 2 pieces of embroidery floss. Each piece should be about an arm’s length. Thread one through each hole of your spinner and knot them together on both ends. This will put your spinner on one big “loop”.
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Now it’s time to have fun!!! Hold your strings on each end, and twist your sun spinner up just a little bit. Pull the strings in opposite directions at the same time- but just for a second! Let the strings go loose and it will begin to twist itself up. When it stops spinning, pull both of the strings in opposite directions again and let it spin some more. Soon, your sun will be dancing, spinning, whirling, and jumping around!
I hope you all enjoy this craft- I know we did! This was a really fun way for my kids to learn about Our Lady of Fatima and the miracle of the spinning sun.
You may also like my printable Our Lady of Fatima diorama craft, so check that out here!
You can find all of my Our Lady Of Fatima resources for kids here.
These are so much fun to do! They are so colorful too! 🙂
thanks for the tutorial and video. so neat!
creative craft! i can't believe we are already in oct 2010. where did this year go.
Thanks so much for the tutorial. I'm going to make this with a lovely girl that I've been taking care of. We sure will have so much fun while her parents are away this weekend. I love reading your blog. I've done craft projects and posted on http://www.makemania.com Take a look at mine and feel free to promote cute craft projects from your blog!
Hi Lacy, I love this idea of the spinning sun but does it need to be on foam board or can you just use paper cardboard and how thick should it be? I’ve tried making some with a half inch thick piece of foam board but I can’t get it to spin much at all. I’ve watched your video but it doesn’t show how to start it off. Can you please explain this a bit more. Thank you and God bless.
A 1/2 inch thick piece is thicker than what I used. Mine is probably about 1/4 inch thick. You hold the string at both ends and “charge” it by twirling it like you would if you were spinning a jump rope for a little doll that could jump rope in it. When it’s really twisted up, pull the strings in opposite directions (tight) and it unspins quickly. That’s how you get it started. I hope this was helpful!