Wanting to try out some simple crafts with your kids this summer but don’t know where to start? We have some best summer crafts for kids for you to try!
Kids’ crafts come in a variety of age-appropriateness, difficulty, and materials, but one thing they have in common is that they will fill your homes with laughter, creativity, and excitement. It’s no wonder that parents want to try them out with their children!
Not to mention, summer is the best time for crafts! The beautiful weather can be a great inspiration, there’s way more time available, and you and I both know your kids will be begging to do something fun all summer long!
There are so many cute crafts out there and it can be a little tricky to find the perfect ones for your kids. Lucky for you, we’ve put together a list of the absolute best summer crafts for kids!
How to Pick the Perfect Summer Crafts For Kids
There are a couple of things you’ll want to consider before you choose a craft project for your kids.
Most importantly, you’ll want to make sure that the project is safe and appropriate for your child.
Think about their age and their experience before starting a project. Have they used scissors before? Can they fold paper on their own? Will they put any materials in their mouth?
Of course, mom and dad can always be there to help, but hopefully, your child will be the main contributor to their craft!
Crafts are a great opportunity to try new things, so don’t be afraid to give your child a challenge but a project too difficult or too easy might leave your child bored.
You also want to think about what your kid is interested in! This seems obvious but I’ll admit to getting excited about a project and not thinking about if my child will like it as much as I do.
Plus there’s nothing worse than setting up a whole craft only to realize that your kids are not interested.
You know your cute kids best, so trust your judgment when choosing a new project!
Staying Clean While Doing Summer Crafts for Kids
If you stay away from kid’s crafts because you’re worried about the mess, I don’t blame you! Sometimes when I see a craft I can just picture the disaster my house could be after they’re done. With the right environment, though, you can keep your home and your kids mess-free!
The great thing about summer crafts is that you can do most of them outdoors! No need to worry about the mess and your kids will have the freedom to create however they can imagine.
I also recommend getting a children’s smock! They’re really inexpensive, will last years, and protect your kids from splatters and spills.
The Best Summer Crafts for Kids
Ready for some great craft ideas? Here are a few of my favorite summer crafts for kids!
Bubble painting
This is a really fun one for all ages! Grab a canvas or a large sheet of paper and hang it up outside and get ready for an artsy spin on bubbles.
Living Well Mom has a great recipe for colored bubbles, and once you have a few colors you can blow bubbles right onto your canvas for an adorable polka-dotted painting!
Tie-dye
Tie-dye is coming back in style and thank goodness because it’s the best summer craft!
Some good tie-dye ideas for kids are pillowcases, tee shirts, socks, and beach towels for a fun kid-friendly tie-dye project.
You’ll want to make sure to get some gloves for your kids. I love these ones for any craft because they are the perfect size for kids and they will protect their cute arms too!
Homemade fans
If you’re looking for a simple mess-free activity, make some homemade fans to cool you off in the summer heat.
Make the classic folded paper fan a little more fun by coloring a design on the paper before folding it. You could even have your kids trim a design on the edge, or add decorative tape to the handle to make it extra unique.
Tube bracelets
Your kids will be celebrating summer in style with some homemade tube bracelets!
Don’t toss those paper towel or toilet paper rolls just yet. Cut a line vertically down the tube and then cut into the desired bracelet width. Decorate with stickers, paint, or paper, and your kids will have the coolest summer accessories.
Suncatchers
This craft is the best way to bring some sunshine into your home this summer.
For an easy suncatcher, add some glue to a cutout shape of wax paper and stick on some cut up pieces of colorful tissue paper. If your kids are old enough to use scissors, this is a great time for some cutting practice! We’ve made butterflies, flowers, and even plain old circles and they’ve all been beautiful.
Attach your suncatchers to the window with taper or string and have your kids watch the sunbeams come through all the colors!
Painted rocks
Let your kids look for the perfect rock canvases and get ready for some painting!
Using some kid-friendly paint, let your kids paint designs on their rocks. You could even make this a finger-painting activity for little ones! How fun would it be to display their rock creations in your garden or yard somewhere?
Pasta art
Just imagine a beautiful summer scene made out of dried pasta! This classic craft is so easy and you most likely have everything you need right at home.
I recommend using some thicker cardstock or even cardboard for this craft so it’s a bit more sturdy, and then you can let your kids glue pasta on the paper however they’d like. Once the glue dries, add some paint for a finishing touch.
Puppets
A craft that turns into an activity is always a great find! Your kids can make their own puppets and have hours of fun putting on a puppet show.
Depending on their age, you can try out felt finger puppets, sock puppets, or even puppets made out of paper lunch bags. I love the creativity that comes out of this craft!
Bird feeders
If your children are animal lovers like mine, making a bird feeder is the perfect activity.
You can find our great tutorial on how to make a simple bird feeder! This would be a great chance for a little education as well. Grab a few bird books at the library and do some research on what kind of birds are visiting your feeder!
Shrinky dinks
Is it just me or do shrinky dinks still seem like magic even as an adult?
If you haven’t made shrinky dinks before, they’re essentially sheets of material that you color and cut into whatever shape you can imagine. Once baked, they shrink up into little keepsakes that can be made into bracelet charms, magnets, or other fun trinkets.
You can find shrinky dink sheets on Amazon, and trust me your kids are going to want to do this one over and over!
Handprint flags
With the Fourth of July holiday, it’s always fun to have a USA craft ready to go and this is one of my favorites for kids!
Dip their little hand into some blue paint and stamp it on the upper left-hand corner of a piece of paper. Finish off the flag by painting red and white stripes, or gluing on some strips of red and white paper. Don’t forget to date these ones, because you’ll want to pull them out every year to decorate.
Salt painting
No exaggerations, my daughter’s first salt painting has been hanging on my fridge for about a year and I can’t convince myself to take it down. It’s just so beautiful!
To do salt paintings, use some liquid glue to draw a shape and then cover it in some salt. If you have younger kids you can help draw some designs and have them sprinkle on the salt. When you add paint to the salt it soaks up the color like magic and creates the most beautiful raised art!
Tissue paper art
I can’t even tell you how often I use my stash of cut up tissue paper for crafts in my house! It’s so versatile and makes a quick low-prep craft.
I usually just pull out some glue sticks, paper, and tissue and let the kids stick tissue on to their heart’s content! It’s a perfect creative outlet and can make some pretty cool art!
Are you as excited about kid-friendly summer crafts as I am? Try out one of these summer crafts for kids and don’t forget to share your favorite crafts in the comments!
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