Getting your kids involved in arts and crafts is a fantastic way to strengthen their imaginations, entertain them and spend time with them. In the summer, there are plenty of arts and crafts you can do indoors or outdoors. Here are five fun and easy arts and crafts projects you can do with your kids this summer.
1. Start a Family Scrapbook
Whether you’re planning to go on cruises 2022, head off on a family road trip or stay home, a family scrapbook is a great idea to let your kids get creative and store your family photos in a unique way. There’s no one right way to make a scrapbook and you can even have each family member choose to make his or her own pages depending on his or her interests or favorite summer memories. You can even add other things, such as ticket stubs, flyers, stickers and notes about each memory. Instead of simply adding photos to an album, you and your kids get to choose the placement of each photo and add more personality to each page.
2. Turn Nature into Art
You can easily do arts and crafts with things found in nature, even in your own backyard. Leaves and rocks are common components of nature art. You can dip leaves in paint to create impressions of the leaves’ patterns on paper, creating collages. You can also collect stones of all shapes and sizes, though keep in mind that the larger the stone, the heavier it will be. Encourage your kids to choose the shapes they like best and consider what they want to paint on them. Then, wash the rocks carefully and let them dry before painting them. You can arrange them in your garden, by your front door or indoors.
3. Paint With Unique Tools
If your kids like to paint, consider providing them with different tools than paintbrushes and paper to do so this summer. People can paint using squirt guns, water balloons and bubbles. Each of these methods will result in unique abstract art that you and your kids can have fun experimenting with and creating. You can also paint on different surfaces than paper, such as canvas bags and clothes. If you want to paint cloth, then remember to get fabric paint, because fabric interacts with paints differently than paper-based materials.
4. Craft Kid-friendly Jewelry
You don’t need to know how to make fine jewelry to create fun arts and crafts. There are many options available for kid-friendly jewelry crafts. You can choose from many different materials, but people tend to choose to use these materials to make necklaces and bracelets. Friendship bracelets, made by twisting differently colored cord or yarn together, are easy and fun to make. You can also make beaded bracelets. Both of these options can be used to make necklaces; you just need to make them longer. For a unique option, you can make flower crowns with your kids by braiding wildflowers or store bought flowers together.
5. Make Art out of Recyclables
You might be surprised what you can do with the cardboard from your toilet paper and paper towel rolls or with used popsicle sticks. As long as the recyclable materials are clean, you can use them to create art instead of getting rid of them. Make binoculars and kaleidoscopes or homemade rain sticks out of your paper towel rolls. Encourage your kids to get creative with popsicle sticks, making picture frames, sculptures, stick figure dolls and more.
The best thing about summer arts and crafts is you can get a little messy. If you and your kids want to paint with bubbles, squirt guns or water balloons, for example, all you need to do is set up your paint area outside on your lawn or driveway. Try one or several arts and crafts projects throughout the summer and ask your kids which ones they’ve enjoyed the most.
