Summer is basically the favourite time for kids. It’s their vacation and they get to eat more ice cream (because it’s hot outside) which in turn increases their sugar level thus inducing hyperactivity in them. To keep them occupied can be a difficult task. Letting them watch TV or play games on electronic devices is not a safe thing. Hence, the first thing that comes to every parent’s mind is craft and science projects! Hence here are a few of my favourite projects that you can do with your child this summer.
Rock magnets
This is probably the easiest task for any kid of almost any age. Just pick some small sized rocks (preferably light colored so they are easy to paint on) and let your child paint anything they want! In the end, let them dry and stick a button magnet behind the rock and put it up on your fridge.
Paper plate fish
For a child with a slightly steadier hand, paper plates can be used to make fish of any kinds- polka dots, stripes, nemo, etc. Just attach similar colored fins on the sides and a tail. Put it up on their bedroom wall or hang on the ceiling.
Make your own learning notebooks
Grab a bunch of newspapers and magazines (which you obviously have laying around your house). Make a scrapbook which doubles as a learning book for them. For example, I helped my 3-year-old brother stick all the letters of the alphabet on different pages and easy words corresponding to the letter. It helped him a lot. We even put up some pictures of the words (apple, fish, happy, jeans).
Paint some old t-shirts
Squirt some paint on a plate. Hand them some stamps. Spread the shirt to be painted. And you’re done. All they have to do is dip the stamp in the paint and put it on the shirt. If you do not have stamps, you can also teach them to use their hands and fingers to make different designs. You can either let your kids wear these t-shirts or donate them to other kids.
Seashell photo frames
Have some boring plain photo frames lying around? And those infinite sea shells your kids brought back from the beach? Use them both and create amazing and cute photo frames! Just stick them directly on the frame or have your kids paint them.
Personalised walls
Let’s accept the truth. Almost every kid loves drawing on the walls and it takes the parents hours to clean it off. But now we have found a solution to it! Just paint a small wall or a section of a wall with some chalkboard paint and let your kid draw using chalks on it as much as they want, When they are done, simply wipe it off with a wet cloth. Or if you’re too lazy to do that or your kid fills up the area really fast, teach them to clean it off with a small wet cloth. I can guarantee you that this is going to save you so much of trouble.
Flower necklace
Got girls who love to wear necklaces? Worry no more. Just buy some green tape, wire(which you probably have in your house already) and fake flowers. Cover the wire with green tape and attach the flowers to it. Voila! If your kid doesn’t like the fake flowers, have them pick some natural ones at the park or your yard.
Sun melted crayon art
If you have kids, there is a 99.99% chance that you have tons of broken crayons in your house. It’s time to make use of them! All you have to do is buy a canvas and put all the pieces of the broken crayons on the canvas. Put it out in the sun (the hot summer sun which is about 40-45 degrees) and let it sit for about an hour. You probably won’t notice anything at all in the first 10-15 minutes but you gotta wait. After an hour when you go out, the crayons will be melted all over the canvas. Pour the excess crayon liquid in a disposable bowl (note: be careful during this step because the crayon will probably spill around a lot, A LOT). Have your kid paint the excess liquid in a bowl on the blank spaces on the canvas. You will obviously see the amazing art you just made with your kids but let it dry for about 15-20 minutes. In case your kids are not patient enough to wait for the crayons to melt in the sun, you can melt them in the microwave too.
Rainbow bubble snake
As exciting as it sounds, as easy it is. All you need is an empty water bottle from your recycling, duct tape, a sock that is missing its match, dish soap, and some food coloring. Start by cutting the bottom of the water bottle off. Next slide the sock over the bottom of the bottle. Use colorful duct tape to secure the sock or simply a rubber band. Pour some dish soap into a shallow container with a little bit of water and gently mix. Dip the sock covered bubble blower into the solution and gently blow. Add food coloring to the dish soap for color. (note: warn your kids not to suck in any air at all while doing this or else they’ll be inhaling the bubbles)
Rain clouds
This simple activity is the ultimate rainy day project. It’s part art, part science, and guaranteed to get the kids excited about the dreary weather that’s keeping them from playing outside. To get started you’ll need some clear containers, water, food coloring, a dropper, and shaving cream. Make sure you get the old fashioned kind of shaving cream. The fancy gel type is no good for our purposes. Fill your chosen vessel about two-thirds full of water. Add a puffy layer of shaving cream on top. The water is acting as air and the shaving cream as clouds. Mix some of the blue food colorings with water and add it, a few drops at a time, to the top of the shaving cream. The result will be blue rain. When the thrill starts to wear off making rain, you can add a whole new level of fun by introducing some color mixing. Set up a few more jars of food coloring and water and let your child experiment.
Popsicle stick flowers
Since it’s summer time, you must be having a lot of popsicle sticks being thrown in the dustbin. Instead of throwing them away, use them to create something cute! Have your kids paint these sticks green and brown and stick some paper cut flowers at the end. Put them in a small planter and put it in their room or out in the garden amongst other plants! Easy peasy!
Popsicle stick bookmark
For the book-loving kid in your house, bookmarks can be a great project! Simply cut a stick in half of use two small ones for this. Paint them and attach a cute cutout like heart, butterfly, bee etc. on both. Then stick the two sticks together at the end where the cutout is. Your child can pin the page in between these sticks. If your child is having difficulties with this one, you can simply use one stick and put it like an ordinary bookmark.
Popsicle stick photo frames
You can probably never have enough photo frames in your house. Now, your child can make some cheap, easy and personalised photo frames! Stick together four popsicle sticks in a square. (cut the sticks according to the size of your picture before glueing them) Stick the picture over the popsicle sticks and let dry. Meanwhile, paint or color four more popsicle sticks with your child. Once dry, Glue these sticks over the picture and over the previous popsicle sticks. And you’re done! Create as many of these as you want! If your child doesn’t like to color much, or you want to create some of these on your own without painting, just cover the sticks with some washi tape.
Now go and enjoy making these projects with your kids! (Just be careful with scissors and paints)
