It’s summer! Love the warm weather, loathe the phrase, “I’m bored.” Between Pinterest and other fun sites, I’ve put together a list of crafts and fun things to keep your sanity and keep them busy!
1. Carboard Cars by Kifli es Levendula
How cute is this toilet paper tube car craft from kifli es levendula? Start saving your empty rolls now, so you and your kids can make a garage full of these adorable autos. Simply paint the cardboard cylinders in bright colors and let dry, then cut out and paint (or color) circular “wheels” from a cardboard box and attach to the tube with brass-plated round head fasteners. Use scissors or an x-acto knife to cut a rectangular slot on the top of the tube and push the flap back to create a seat. Then let your kids decorate their vehicles with numbers, chevron stripes…or whatever strikes their fancy. Add a masking tape starting line and you’ve got the makings of a race!
2. Icecube painting Fill your ice trays with water and a couple drops of food coloring. Once frozen, send your kids outside with sheets of white paper.
3. Camp in. Too hot to go outside. Set up a tent indoors, better yet pretend you’re camping the beach. Lay out towels, make s’mores and let the fun begin.
4. Project runway. Have your kids dress up their stuffed animals and create a “runway” in your living room with pillows. Crank some music and let those stuffed pups stuff their stuff.
5. Bake/Cook: Experiment with recipes and find ones your child can learn to do on their own.
6. Decorate Flip Flops. Load up on your child’s favorite color of beads, sequins and flowers. Then create masterpieces on their fliplops with a hot glue gun.
7. Change Search. Have the kids comb through the house looking for extra pennies, nickels etc. Then with the change take them to get their favorite flavor of icecream.
8. Make homemade popsicle. Fill the blender with their favorite fruit, add 1 to 3 Tablespoons of Agave Nector and blend! Pour into trays and serve when frozen.
9. Drive in theater. Have your create cars out of large old cardboard boxes.
10. Fly Kites
11. Catch Lighting Bugs
12. Hunt for bugs. Give each child a jar and a list of bugs to find.
13. Create a memory Jar. Give each child a set of permanent markers and a canning jar. Let them decorate it and then each day they can fill in with an example of a memory they created for that day. At Supper, discuss what each child has in her jar.
14. FREE Month of movies: I always recommend grabbing a free month of Netflix. During the Summer I allow the kids to watch more tv than during the school year. Sometimes we watch 1 movie per day. Or if we have a “pj party” we may watch a few. I love free, so our first month was completely free. I chose to continue and pay $7.99 per month. Well worth it especially in the summer months.
15. Make and Race Soap Boats. This one is from A Girl and a Glue Gun
16. Freeze N Smash. Fill a bowl full of water and several small toys like the kind you can find in a dollar bin or from Happy Meals. Freeze it and let the kids go to town with hammers smashing the ice to free their toys.
17. Make Bangles. I found this project at 1825. Purchase oven bake clay and have your kids twist, mash and mix different colors to make their bangles. Then bake the bangles at 275 degrees for 15 minutes. Let them cool completely.
18. Glowsticks in the Tub: Make bathtime more fun with glowsticks, toss a few in and let their imaginations take over.
19. Summer Sponge Bombs. You’ll need 6 colorful sponges and two rubber bands to make 2 Water Sponge Bombs. Click the photo for directions.
20. Backyard Scrabble. This one has been by far the one my kids love most. Create a scrabble board using your backyard and make the pieces from cardboard boxes.
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