Summer is craft time for me. I love to have time to craft with my kids without worrying about cleaning up for dinner. We can also include the neighborhood kids if they’re interested.
We’ve done these 6 crafts over the past 10 years. Except for the rainbow loom charms, kids of any age can do these crafts. I recommend the rainbow loom charms for ages 8 and up. If your child isn’t dexterous, wait a bit before trying the charms. They can be frustrating for younger kids.
Terrariums are the perfect craft for a rainy afternoon. Head to your local gardening center in the morning to buy supplies, take a break for lunch, and spend the afternoon creating small worlds in glass jars.
My kids love to rainbow loom year round. They’ve become experts on finding rainbow loom charms on YouTube to make. I love rainbow loom because it’s a portable craft, and relatively inexpensive. I have to warn you that the bands end up all over the house just like Legos along with completed projects.
Need ideas? 7 Amazing7 Amazing Rainbow Loom books for the RL fan
Not sure where to start with rainbow loom? Have your kids make charms for the July 4th holiday. With 4 weeks until the 4th, they’ll have plenty of time to craft charms to decorate their bikes and everything else they own.
As a former arts and crafts camp counselor, I love tie-dying. I’m all about the colors. I’m not all about the mess. Sharpie markers are one way to have the colors without the mess. Recently, I shared how to use sharpies to create tie-dye t-shirts in just about an hour at Crafty Garden Mama.
If your kids are bugging you to pull out the paints, but you have visions of paint on their clothes, the table, the walls, and the floors, it doesn’t have to be that way. Seriously. Recently, I shared on Chockababy how to do watercolors with kids without having a lot of mess. You can set up the painting area or use markers and coffee filters and spray the coffee filters outside with water. Either way, the kids will have fun, and you won’t stress about mess.
If your kids love collecting items in nature, they’ll love creating temporary art displays using their collected objects. Keep a box outside for your collection in case of critters. If you collect items on a nature walk, make your temporary nature on site and take photos for the memory book.
Another fun thing for kids doing this summer especially on a hot or rainy day is to make their own little mini books. I did a guest post for Lauren of The Vintage Mom about creating a lapbook to help kids maintain their academic skills over the summer. These lapbooks are perfect for preserving summer memories if your family does a big vacation this summer. Or, maybe your kids want to write their own stories.
What are your favorite craft projects for kids?
I’ve been planning our summer crafts. We did quite a few last summer. These all look fun. Pinned for later.
Theresa @DearCreatives recently posted..Got Summer Plans? Rollback Baby #Save4Summer #ad
Thanks for the great ideas! I especially like the terrarium 🙂
i love the terrariums. i thought itd be cute to make those and stick lil fairies inside. summer crafts are normally a 4th of july craft, blowing paint with the straw to make fireworks kinda thing. and for bday party crafts. that takes up a lot of time. i love making everything for my daugter’s parties; makes it more special.
What an awesome list! I absolutely love the terrarium idea. Right now, my almost 2 year old is still pretty content just drawing with chalk on the sidewalk haha 🙂
Karissa recently posted..12 Reasons to Switch to Cast Iron Cookware
We love terrariums! Generally, in a summer we like to do a lot of outdoor projects, like Lava Lamp and baking soda explosions. As to crafts we like so many it would take me a whole day to list it. The last one we did was magic wands and the next one on the list is fence painting.
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We have an indoor and outdoor fairy garden so a lot of our crafts tend to be focused on that. I love the terrariums and think those would be a great addition to our fairy village.
Chrystal | Nevermore Lane recently posted..Stop the Spread of #unprotectedtext
My almost 2 year old absolutely loves “helping” in my garden (though she picks more flowers than she probably should) and I bet she would love to do the terrarium!
Taylor S. recently posted..Paleo Fresh Cherry Sauce
Sounds like a fun project for you!
I really want a terrarium that looks like a cliff with a unicorn on it. I might have to make a trip to home depot.
Amethyst Moon recently posted..My Alarm Hadn’t Even Gone Off Yet!
I love that!