10 Kid-Friendly Activity Ideas For Summer
Keep your kids busy during quarantine and over the summer with these 10 DIY crafts. Each one is designed to entertain kids without putting them in front of the TV or on an electronic. They're perfect for rainy days or simply as something new and exciting to do.
1. Create A Prompted Drawing Journal
If your child loves drawing or has a ton of creative energy, help them channel it with a prompted journal. They can use crayons, colored pencils, paints – or whatever else strikes their fancy!
Some of the prompts include: illustrate one of the meals you ate today, design a vehicle, and invent your own insects. Kids will love the wacky topics and should enjoy creating the journal itself, too.
Check out the full art journal tutorial.
2. Craft Animals Using Geometric Stickers
Let your kids create colorful patterns, then cut the design into fun shapes. Their patterns can be turned into nearly anything! We have dozens of silhouettes in our clipart library to choose from, like airplanes, horses, and more.
Shop dozens of colorful label materials for your kids to construct their masterpiece, or have them color on a standard white material instead.
3. Turn M&M Tubes Into Butterflies
Sweeten an afternoon with this chocolaty activity. Cut out the butterfly wing shape, print fun designs and patterns, and let the kids sticker away. Then attach it to the M&M tube for a delicious, 3D butterfly.
You can even teach them a little about butterflies in the process, The Children's Butterfly Site is a great resource.
4. Bring Flamingos To Life
Make a flock of flamingos with this easy tutorial. Not only is the craft a way to banish summer boredom, the kids will have the finished flamingos to play with when they're done!
Play around with different colors or shades of pink, too. Let the kids experiment with ways to make each flamingo their own.
5. Play With Whiteboard Markers
Forget expensive coloring/puzzle books. Create a reusable CD case activity board. It will challenge kids while letting them color without wasting paper. Create your own templates for the kiddos to use in Maestro Label Designer. Consider making everything from mazes to tic-tac-toe boards. You can even find coloring pages that will keep the kids endlessly entertained.
6. Design A Coloring Page Popsicle Puzzle
Every childhood craft bin has popsicle sticks in it. So grab that box and use it to make your own puzzle.
Print one of the fun templates on OL1150 then let the kids go wild. When the design is finished, peel up the labels and apply them to the popsicle sticks. Then, mix them up! The kids can spend hours shuffling and remaking their original artwork.
7. Encourage Playing With Food
Make snack time entertaining with this food face activity. Sandwich a few blank head silhouettes in between two clear plates and then set out a bunch of fun and healthy snacks.
You can use everything from cooked/prepared foods to fruit and vegetables. Set out whatever's in your arsenal from blueberries to spaghetti.
8. Color Your Own Stickers
Help soothe an anxious child with some easy, repetitive coloring. Kids will have fun switching up the colors from one butterfly to the next. Plus, the fine lines and small circles will help kids practice their motor skills.
These stickers pull double-duty. When the butterflies are all finished, add them to notebooks, let the kids wear them during the day, and more.
Visit the template to get started.
9. Become Superheroes
Empower kids to become their favorite superhero with this fun ID badge template. Let them fill in the details and draw their own picture to make it really special. You can even laminate it with clear labels to add legitimacy and help preserve it.
Pair with all the clothes in your dress-up bin and the kids will have a super afternoon! Fly on over to the full superhero craft tutorial.
10. Set Up A Lemonade Stand
Start teaching your kids entrepreneurial skills early in life with a homemade lemonade stand. This fun activity won't just last an afternoon – it can be a summer-long adventure! They'll be keeping busy, having fun, and potentially even making money.
Explore the technique one mom used in our DIY lemonade stand article. You can even download a bunch of free printables to create a professional-looking setup that will help your kids get the sale!
Beat the heat this summer or get out of the rain with these fun and free activity ideas. Each one is designed for kids of all ages and takes little-to-no setup. Get started entertaining your young ones today!
