5 Easy Crafts to Keep Your Kids Busy this Summer
Summer is well underway, and you may be tired of hearing, “I’m sooooooo bored!” every hour on the hour. Thankfully, there are plenty of great DIY activities to keep your kids entertained until school starts.
Here are a few of our favorite easy, cost-effective, and kid-friendly crafts to turn their boredom blues into a productive, fun activity.
1. Craft up some cute new accessories
If you’re raising a fashionista, a great way to let them express their style and take pride in creating something is with these simple, no sew bandana bracelets.
This wearable craft only requires some tubing, 1 inch strips of torn bandanas or fabric of your choice, lollipop sticks, and a bit of hot glue. Cut the tubing to the size of the wearer’s wrist, insert a small piece of the lollipop stick into both ends to form a circle, and secure with hot glue.
Put a dot of hot glue on the bracelet and start wrapping the fabric around, making sure to overlap slightly. Once you’ve covered the entire bracelet, secure the last bit of fabric with hot glue and trim excess.
2. Make a hanging sculpture
A few craft sticks, some paint, and a protected surface are all you need to tackle this simple decoration.
Using white craft adhesive, help your kids glue the craft sticks together to form the shape of their choice—they can go for something abstract like the example, or depict a favorite character, animal, or object. Once dry, have them use watercolors to paint the sculpture, mixing different shades to come up with interesting combinations. When they’re tired out and are happy with the results, allow to dry, secure string, and hang in their room.
3. Learn about magnetism while having fun
Magnetic slime is not only enjoyable to play with, it’s also fairly easy to make. Combine a bottle of Elmer’s glue with 3 tbs of magnetic powder and slowly pour in up to 4 oz of liquid starch until you get a thick, doughy consistency.
At this point, you will have an awesome, interactive slime to play with. The fun really comes in when you introduce the neodymium magnets and watch how it reacts.
4. Get a little fizzy with this colorful baking soda & vinegar experiment
Interactive experiments are fun for all ages, and the simple ingredients of this one make it particularly well-suited to youngsters.
Simply break out a roasting pan or any other large dish with deep sides and generously sprinkle baking soda across the bottom. Prepare a few small cups with vinegar and a few drops of various food coloring; we recommend keeping to primary colors, so your kids can enjoy mixing and matching to create new colors.
Equip your child with an eyedropper, turkey baster, or plain plastic syringe and let them go at it! When they place droplets of the vinegar onto the baking soda, they’ll get a colorful, fizzy surprise.
5. Let your kids battle it out with this pom pom launcher
Parents of siblings know roughhousing is inevitable. Make a day of it (and keep everyone safe) with this quick pom pom shooter craft.
Photo courtesy of Pink Stripey Socks
This pom pom shooter is easy to tackle with kids 10+ and will keep them busy playing without risk of getting hurt. Rubber bands, a paint stirrer, and a few other miscellaneous items all come together into something magical within just 10-20 minutes. Get the detailed instructions from Pink Stripey Socks.