Summer Fun

Crafts to do
Dye pasta/rice and let kids create jewelry and pictures.
Paint rocks (have your kids paint two rocks---one white, one black. Put out in the sun for a couple of hours, and
then go check on them. The white rock will not be as hot as the black. Then... they could paint them according to
the temp (white rocks....snow pic; black rocks---orange sun, etc)
Fingerpaint. {liquid starch, powdered tempera paint, freezer paper}
Paint with foam stamps and rollers sets
Print Doodle Art pages and color
Homemade crayons-Melt little crayon stubs in foil cupcake liners. Cool and color with your new creation.
Bingo stamper (dot marker) coloring pages . some free printable dot pages from DLTK, Making Friends, and Early
Learning Activities.
Paint little plaster of Paris figurines found at Wal-Mart or Oriental Trading Company.
Paint sun catchers
Paint salt dough ornaments {flour, salt, water}
Father's Day: Make a crossword or wordsearch about Daddy
Father's Day: Make a pennant banner
Father's Day: 10 things I love about Daddy
Father's Day:Using a transparency and Sharpie markers, make a stained glass picture for Dad.
Father's Day: Make a questionnaire for the kids to answer about Dad's favorite things.
Father's Day: Use tissue paper squares to make the word "Dad" or "Father"
Use perler beads (fusion beads) to make a picture for Dad.
Do rubbings of leaves, coins, a comb, etc...
Sand art- buy empty bottles at Hobby Lobby or Oriental Trading
Make fingerprint pictures
Make stick puppets and have a puppet show
Make paper bag costumes/vests
Decorate visors with jewels or foam shapes
Make a windsock
Make a mobile
Make a mosaic with paper or tile pieces
Make homemade play-doh
Ice Sculpting: Make lots of ice cubes (we have different shaped ice trays), drop food coloring in them, and let the
kids build scupltures outside.
Just play in the sandbox
Games Day
Puzzles Day- tons of great puzzles at Dollar Tree. Dora, Princesses, Tinker Bell, Cars, Mickey Mouse, Pooh, and
Gather giant boxes and let the kids make a "city" in the backyard (firestation, school, McDonald's)
Spray bottle painting. Let your kids loose on a blank canvas, sheet, etc.
Lite Brite
Spin Art

Plant a garden
Make soap
Make candles
Play dress-up with the girls (make-up, mani/pedi, and hair) or have a spa day.
Indoor scavenger hunt (save for a rainy day)
Outdoor scavenger hunt
4th of July-Handprint painting flag (palm is blue, fingers alternate red and white)
4th of July-Paint popsicle sticks like U.S. flag
4th of July- Use red, white, and blue stars to create a sign for the door
4th of July- Make a windsock
4th of July- Make these cute stars to hang or use as a table decoration
Make a fort with blankets (rainy day)
Let the kids make a scrapbook using all the pictures you took of their Summer Fun.
Make a "fortune teller" to decide what to do today.
Go to a splash pad.
Create a sprinkler fun zone in your yard (Slip 'n slide, etc...) Family Fun magazine had a cute "kid" car wash you
can make out of PVC pipes.
Alphabet scavenger hunt- kids must find something that starts with A, then B, etc.... through Z
Camera/picture scavenger hunt- if you trust your kids with your camera, send them out to take pics of certain
Make homemade bubbles. Dollar Tree has giant wands, or you can make your own. {corn syrup, dishwashing
Make homemade goop. {cornstarch, water, food coloring}
Make homemade sidewalk chalk.
Monoprint painting. {tempera paint, cookie sheet, cotton swabs, paper}
Fly kites
Make face and body paint. {vegetable shortning, cornstarch, food coloring}
Service project: contact the local food bank and find out what they are in greatest need of, then ask friends and
neighbors to help.
Buy window markers and let the kids go crazy...as long as they clean the windows when finished.
Make a pyramid out of empty vegetable cans and throw a ball to see how many you can knock down.
Make a birdseed biscuit. {birdseed, flour, water, cookie cutter, oil, foil, cookie sheet, straw, ribbon}
Make a time capsule.
Visit new local parks. Feed the ducks while you're there!
Make liquid sidewalk chalk. {1 c water, 1 c cornstarch, coloring}
Make homemade puffy paint.
Milk art
Movie time at home: make popcorn and have everyone's favorite candy on hand.
Texture scavenger hunt: You have to see this blog to appreciate. You make rubbings of certain things around the
house and the kids have to figure out what it was.
Close-up picture scavenger hunt-Again, you have to see this blog to appreciate. Take pictures of various objects
so close, that you only see a pattern. The kids have to find the item in the house.
Homemade marbled paper with shaving cream.
Ice cube painting.
Make fluffy flip-flops. (tie fabric knots around plastic straps)
Paper dolls
Paper mache
If you're really brave, set out a flat sheet or LARGE piece of paper for each child, plus all your painting supplies
that they've already learned how to use, and see what creation they come up with.

Rinse out empty soup and veggie cans and let the kids paint them to help organize supplies: paintbrushes,
scissors, popsicle sticks, etc....
Make "Gooey Gunk"
Make "Scratch & Sniff Watercolors"
Make "Bathtub Finger Paints"
Make "Funny Putty" aka Silly Putty
Make your own "Shrinky Dinks" on Skip to my Lou blog.
Make "Invisible Ink"
Make "Magic Bubble Paint"
Make "Cotton Clay"
Buy a 3 foot wooden "stake" at Home Depot or Lowe's. Ask for some wood scraps and let the kids paint yard
Make "Jewel & Gem Goop."
Make "Sand Castle Clay". Get your sand molds ready. We have found several at Dollar Tree.
Make "3-D Puffy Sand"
Make "Spray Chalk"
Make your own garden stones.
Make your own "Crystal Rock Garden."
Make "Cool Crayons"
Let the kids make/paint their own T-shirts
Make your own "Moon Sand" by Domestic Charm.
Make "Homemade Bouncy Balls" by I Can Teach My Child blog.
Fill an ice chest with water and different squirters, pitchers, etc (a substitute for a water table)
Make edible sand
Put out a bag of marshmallows and a box of toothpicks and see what the kids can make.
Outdoor games: hopscotch, 2 square or 4 square, drop popsicle sticks into empty milk jugs, etc...
Attend a Saturday kids' workshop at Home Depot or Lowe's.
Make an alphabet mat and do the activities suggested here on I Can Teach My Child.
Use Duplo or Mega Blocks to make math problems....there are so many options depending on your child's grade
level. For pre-k you can write a numeral (8) on one block and then draw 8 objects on another block. Repeat until
you have a variety. For older children you could show them how to snap 3+3+2 "pictures" to equal 8.
Make window paint found here on Living at the Whitehead Zoo blogspot. Let the kids paint the windows and
clean them when they are finished.
Make your own watercolors from I Can Teach My Child. Then, when the kids are finished, use the leftovers to do
Make your own Paint with Water Pages. I LOVED these books as a child and was so bummed to find you can't
buy them at stores anymore. I can't wait to make these pages for my kids.
4th of July- Make adorable Patriotic Paper Starbursts.
Father's Day: Make a treasure hunt for Dad to follow to find his gift(s).
Make these slotted disks and let the kids build and build.
Make a water-wall using empty plastic bottles and containers, zip ties, and a strong board to fasten them to such
as plywood).
Blow straw painting found here on Family Fun.
Make a stained glass picture like this one.
Marble painting as seen here at Things to Make and Do.
Splatter Painting also found on Things to Make and Do blog.
Make your own Rainbow Crayons found here on Papersnitch Blog. 154) Make your own marble maze using old
wrapping paper cardboard tubes-found here on Family Fun. Here is a similar idea using paper towel and toilet

Marble-ous Maze is where kids use straws and a shoe box lid or an empty box to create their own maze. Found
here on Family Fun.
Play "Marble Launch" using an old pool noodle and some marbles.
Let the kids transform a window into "Non-Staining Glass" using tissue paper squares, plastic wrap, a glue stick,
and a window.
Grab those annoying rubber spike balls (found at Dollar Tree), some tempera paint, and a large sheet, and let the
kids make these "Monster Murals" found here at Family Fun.
Make these "Tin Types" using only scissors, Sharpies, and heavy gauge aluminum foil.
MYO puzzles- Cut the fronts off of several cereal boxes (cracker boxes, rice boxes, cookie boxes work too). On
the back, divide the puzzle into as many pieces as you'd like, fewer pieces for smaller kids. Using a paper cutter,
or fun-shaped scissors, cut out the pieces. My 6 year old pointed out she could color a picture on the back for a 2Medicine dropper painting- Pick up some droppers for $1 each (with the squeeze end). Let the kids suction a
small amount of paint and blow it out onto the paper.
Fun with Shaving Cream-Let the kids spray and play as found here on Kindergarten Creations. I like the idea of
using dried markers, but you could also use food coloring.
Tether Ball-oon from Family Fun magazine. Let the kids use their spray bottles to send a balloon back and forth.
Check out this "Cool Ice Art" on Mom 2 Posh Little Divas blog.
Make these Snow Swabs from Family Fun.
MYO name stamps.Using scrap blocks of wood and Elmer's glue, write a name backwards and let it dry. Then the
kids have their own name stamp.
MYO game, "Ask me anything" found here at Family Fun.
Make this awesome "Target Station" out of pool noodles from Family Fun and Parents.com.
A little bottle music from Family Fun.
Artist Trading Cards from Family Fun.
Play with alphabet scavenger hunt. Look around the town for objects that make letters (for example, the criss
cross of a picnic table makes an 'X'. Take pics of your findings.
Letter perfect wall art.
Make homemade lava lamps using only empty water bottles, food coloring, vegetable oil, and Alka Seltzer.
Make awesome bead suncatcher by layering cheap plastic beads in ramekins or cake pans (no lining required),
melt at 400 for 20 minutes. Let cool & then just flip them out. Drill a hole in it to make it a suncatcher. Found on
Pinterest.
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Make glow in the dark play dough. This blog, Play at Home, has a ton of ideas including glow-in-the-dark ideas.
You could have a "Glow-in-the-Dark" night. Glow in the dark paint and silly putty recipes under "Adventures at
"Mosaic" pictures out of beans.
Vinegar with food coloring volcanos by Preschool Alphabet blogspot.
make these clay charms by Design Mom.comGlow in the dark silly putty, paint,
Make cloud dough from Juggling With Kids blog. 8 c flour and 1 c baby oil.
Dancing Oobleck-cornstarch and water mixture moves to sound so kids can visually experience sound
waves.
Colored glue suncatchers.
Baking soda mini volcanos
Homemade bathtub crayons
Tape painting on canvas from Let's Explore blog. Canvas + masking tape + acrylic craft paints = fun new rainbow
art. Another idea, use a texture in each section (paint on bubble wrap and stamp onto canvas.
Salt painting-draw design with glue, pour salt over and touch with liquid watercolor paint, the paint will spread
through the salt, no need to use brush strokes. Found on Housing A Forest blog.
Magnet painting

Color me wallpaper from Hey Awesome website. Found on Pinterest. Someone doodles on butcher paper roll
(buy JUMBO at Sam's or small roll at IKEA). Hang the paper and the child(ren) fill in the spaces with markers.
Corn syrup paintings from eighteen 25 blog.
Make "Sun Print Cards" found here on Martha Stewart's site.
Make your own beads using white bread, glue, a few drops of lemon juice, and acrylic or tempera paint.
Make your own "TV" to tell a continuous story. You need a box, 2 dowels, and a roll of paper (IKEA).
Mess free finger painting. Paint in ziploc bags taped to table with a paper underneath. Can be reused over and
Salt dough ornament handprints
Family fingerprint ornament-2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, cold water. Mix until has consistency of play dough. Bake at
250 for 2 hours, then cool and spray with metallic paint.
"Use Your Noodle" game-Cut a few swimming noodles in two, so that you have one half for each player. Scatter
20 or so blown-up balloons on the ground around a laundry basket.Give players five minutes to move as many
balloons as possible into the laundry basket without touching the balloons with any body part.
Starburst painting Use glue, salt, and watercolor. The glue makes the colors rise from the paper and the salt
creates a 'starburst' look.
Alcohol, toothbrushes, and paint to create artistic ceramic tiles
Set up a bicycle obstacle course,
Set up your own Olympics at home.
Make a time capsule. Include pictures of the family....a penny with the current year, etc...You decide when to
Coffee Filter Art: All you need is bingo dabbers and coffee filters.
Make this Rainbow Slime. 1 1/2 c clear glue and 1 1/2 c liquid starch plus a little food coloring.
Make some glue paint masterpieces. Add food coloring to glue. Use the colored glue to make pictures, window
art, and even pendants.
Colored water absorption experiment: do quick and easy experiments to teach kids about the uptake of water
as well as color blending. All you need is clear plastic cups, water, food coloring, and paper towels. No muss, no
Puffy Paint- All you need is self-rising flour, salt, and food coloring to make this cool paint. Let the kids paint on
some cardboard and then microwave to see the puffing happen.
Melted Crayon Dot Art - Pull out those old crayons for this one. You need crayons, a candle, pencil and small
canvas or cardboard.
Plant pint-sized cherry tomatoes in hanging baskets.
Decorate for the 4th of July with red, white, and blue decor: you can use pinwheels, balloons sprinkled with
glitter, twinkle lights, star shaped confetti, sparklers, little flags, and so on.
Watch the fireworks on the 4th of July.
Pick an official 2013 Summer Song; play it until youre sick of it (or until your neighbors threaten to call the
Do something fun and whimsical in your backyard, such as: adding a bird bath or bird feeder, including a garden
statute or a sundial, or creating a fairy village.
Start a wish tree.
Catch fireflies late at night.
Go on a scavenger hunt. Better yet, go Geocaching.
Draw with sidewalk chalk.
Play flashlight tag.
Get a butterfly kit and catch butterflies, or watch caterpillars turn into butterflies. Go ahead and do both!
Create a terrarium.
Give your brain a break: sit in the shade under a tree and read something
Make wind chimes.
Spend one whole day barefoot.
Make tie-dye shirts.

Take a nap on a hammock.

Lie on the grass watching the clouds float across the sky, without a care in the world.
Surround yourself with the smells of summer: you can get the Yankee Candle Midsummers Night , or make a
potpourri of summer herbs and flowers
Harry Potter wands (chopsticks, hot glue, construction paper, paint & gems)
Ice treasures (freeze small treasure ie. Toys, marbles, in layers of large ice block, have kids chip away at, drip
water, spray water, etc)
shadow puppets
slip n slide/sprinkler
pen pals
practice throw & catching
learn a new dance
wash car
homemade bubbles
build a fort
build a sandcastle
play Lego's together
learn balloon animals
have a 3 legged race
make a pinata
minute to win it games
start a scrapbook
pick flowers
cereal necklaces
potato stamps
have a water fight
water sponge balls
perfect your paper airplane building
have a pillow fight
learn how to fold oragami
Make homemade butter
Glow Stick bowling
make stomach bag
handprint craft
blowing pom poms on the line
balloon badmiton
nature color scavenger hunt
homemade glow path paint
paint with vegetables