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Summer Crafting Activities for Children

17th Apr 2013

So it’s finally summer; the season of barbeques, garden parties, picnics and long, warm evenings.

But, if you’re a parent, then the start of summer is likely to signify the start of something far more important for you and your family; the school summer holidays.

If you’ve got children, then you’ve probably already started to cast your mind towards what you‘re going to do to keep them occupied for 6 whole weeks.

You’d love to take them out everyday to do a whole host of exciting activities, but in reality, it’s just not financially viable. So, you’re looking for a few cost-effective activities that’ll keep them entertained at home.

And that exactly what I’m here to help you with!

Here are some great summer-inspired crafting activities that will help to keep your children quiet for a few hours!

Handprint Sunshine

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 (Image: theearthisourteacher.blogspot.com)

Now, all children love playing with paint, so it’s time to get stocked up on lots of it for this simple and fun summer activity.

Whilst the sun is shining outdoors, let the children use it as inspiration for creating their very own.

All they’ll need is a paper plate, some orange, yellow or red paint, and their hands!

Use the paper plate for the center of the sun, and let the children paint to their heart’s content! They can either use their hands to print individual handprints on a separate piece of card that can then later be cut out and stuck on the center, or you can mount the paper plate onto a piece of card that they can print their hands straight on!

As this activity is likely to get quite messy, I’d advise to let them do it outside – well away from any white walls indoors!

Pencil Pinwheels

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(Image: crafts.slides.kaboose.com)

These are a great summer crafting idea for children – and as the weather starts to improve, they can use them outside and watch as they spin in the wind!

To make them, your children will need:

  Coloured card stock

  Thumbtack or stick pins

  Pencils with new erasers

  White PVA glue

  Scissors (make sure you supervise your children at all times when using scissors)

  Sequins, glitter, paint for decoration (If you’re running low on any craft materials, a whole range of items can be found from sites such as www.homecrafts.co.uk)

  Wheel pattern (plenty can be found and downloaded from the Internet)

And, the method to create them is simple! Just follows these 5 easy steps:

1. Download a pattern from the Internet and print it onto your coloured paper or card. If the card is too thick to feed through the printer, it may be a good idea to print it off using plain paper and then mount it onto the card

2. Carefully cut around the pattern – I would advise that you do this for your children due to the safety considerations surrounding scissors.

3. Use the stickpin or thumbtack to carefully push through all of the holes indicated on the pattern.

4. Once all of the holes have been made, take one corner of the pattern and fold it into the center of the pattern. Fold the next corner in the same way and repeat for all of the remaining corners. Pop a little bit of PVA glue into the center of the folds and wait until dry.

5. Once it has dried, use another stickpin or thumbtack to pierce through the center of the folds and through the eraser of the pencil to hold it all in place.

6. Then let your children decorate their pinwheel with in any way they like; paint, glitter, or sequins.

Grass Heads

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(Image: brwnidgrljenn.blogspot.com)

Now, I’m sure we all made these as children, and the good news for you activity-hunting parents is that they’re still extremely popular amongst youngsters!

It’s time to cut up those old nylon stockings to make fun grass heads!

To create them, you will need:

– Nylon stocking
– Grass seeds
– Sawdust
– Small yoghurt pot
– PVA glue
– Goggly eyes and a felt tip pen

Again, the method is extremely simple:

1. Using an old nylon stocking, cut off an 8” section of the stocking that includes the toe.

2. Stretch the stocking over a cup or mug, and spoon in a few teaspoons of grass seeds.

3. Fill the rest of the stocking with sawdust to help make the stuffing. Once filled, tie a tight knot to keep it all secure.

4. If your children want to make a bobble nose for their grass head, grab a bit of the stocking and twist. Fasten the base of the nose with a small rubber band.

5. Now it’s time to decorate the face! Let your children stick on some goggly eyes, draw on a fun mouth or add some eyelashes, and place it on the yoghurt pot once finished to form it’s body!

Encourage your children to water it regularly and give it plenty of sunlight, and they can watch in amazement as the hair starts to grow!

 

This article was written by Charlotte Cordiano – a keen artist. In her spare time, Charlotte enjoys coming up with lots of great ideas to show others how they can make their very own arts and crafts creations. You can find out more about Charlotte, here.

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