Table of Contents

1 1. July 4th Craft
2
3
4 2. Ocean Craft for Kids
5 3. Sunflower Paper Plate Craft
6
7 4. Color Changing Slime and Glow in the Dark Slime
8
9
10
11 5. Sidewalk Puffy Paint
12 Conclusion

5 Easy Summer Crafts for Kids

Are you looking for ways to keep your kiddos busy in the summertime. If you can’t get outside and play good old fashioned yard games, then these 5 easy Summer crafts for kids are sure to be a hit!

1. July 4th Craft

What is Summer without celebrating the 4th of July? Even if you and your kids don’t celebrate Independence Day, I bet your kids love fireworks.

Every year, we gather at a local park with family and friends to watch fireworks. They explode with colors and sounds that only describable if you’ve seen them.

Do your kids talk about the fireworks long after they are over? If so, this easy fireworks craft is a must-do on your list of Summer crafts for kids.

4th of July Fireworks Craft

With only a few items, your kids will love making this fireworks salt painting craft. Here’s a look at what you need and how to make this summertime craft.

What You Will Need:

Construction paper
Table Salt
Glue
Watercolor paint
Cookie sheet

How To Make Fireworks Craft

To get started, get an old cookie sheet. If you don’t have an old one, simply put a sheet of foil down on any cookie sheet to keep it clean.

Next, lay the construction paper onto the cookie sheet. Any color will work, but the black construction paper makes the colors pop.

Once you’ve put the paper down, use the glue to draw fireworks. The first time I did it, the glue was too thick, and it became a mush mess. You don’t want lines so thin they can’t be seen, but not so thick that they run together. Play around with this step. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just enjoy the process. As my youngest daughter always says…”it’s all about the fun”.

After drawing the glue fireworks, pour salt all over – covering the entire firework. You’ll want to shake off any excess salt onto the cookie tray.

Last, use the watercolors to paint the fireworks. Make sure to get your brush really wet. You will want to dab the paint onto the salt. If you brush it on, it will shift the salt lines.

You can also use food coloring or glitter for a fun 4th of July craft for kids.

2. Ocean Craft for Kids

This Summer, because of quarantine, is different than ever before. Many of us want to go to the beach, but aren’t able to, quite yet. That’s okay, because you can order everything online to make this fun ocean craft for kids.

If you are able to go to the ocean, great! Have your kiddos collect a bunch of seashells for this next easy summer craft.

What You Will Need:

How To Make the Seashell Ocean Craft

If you go to your local craft store, you might luck out and find the glitter canvas like the one we used in these pictures. If not, get a blank canvas and paint it blue to look like the ocean. That adds to the fun, anyhow!

Paint the seashells using water colors. When doing so, make sure to get the paints super wet. As you begin painting the seashells, you might think it’s not going to work or turn out colorful. It will; I promise. Coat the shell, let it dry, and add more if desired.

Once you’ve painted the seashells, it’s time to glue them onto the canvas. For this process, let your kiddos place the shells when they want them. Then, you will use the hot glue gun to glue them into place. When done, hang them on an ocean themed bulletin board or in your kiddos bedroom.

3. Sunflower Paper Plate Craft

If your kiddos love making paper plate crafts, then this sunflower craft is sure to make them happy. Did you know sunflowers are a symbol of happiness, joy, love, and loyalty? It’s true, these Summer flowers bring happiness to many…which is why they made the list of 5 easy Summer crafts for kids.

What You Will Need:

Small yellow paper plates
Black Paint
Green construction paper
Q-tips
glue

How to Make the Sunflower Craft

You will find this to be an easy flower craft for kids to make with little assistance. We found small yellow paper plates, but you could also paint a small white plate yellow for the same look. If you want less mess, go for the yellow plates. 🙂

First, cut slits all away around the plate to give the look of flower petals.

Next, use a Q-tip to dab black paint on the center of the paper plate. This will look like the sunflower seeds.

After painting the sunflower seeds, cut strips of green construction paper to use as the stems. Glue them to the back of the paper plate.

This is the perfect opportunity to teach your kiddos about labeling the parts of a flower. Use the flower picture and vocabulary cards below to build vocabulary and label the parts once complete.

Last, cut leaves from the green construction paper and glue them onto the stem.

4. Color Changing Slime and Glow in the Dark Slime

If your kiddos love slime, or sensory activities, they will love making this summertime slime. Yes, we couldn’t help it…Skyler and I both wanted to add slime to our list of Summer crafts for kids.

You may be asking how slime is a summer craft. Well, friends, this slime is different. We bought stuff to make color changing slime and glow in the dark slime. Now, is it starting to make sense? When your kiddos are out in the Summer sun, they can watch as their slime changes colors. My daughter can’t get enough of it! And, when your kiddos want to go out an catch lightning bugs in the Summer nights, they can take out the glow in the dark slime and be amazed!

What You Will Need:

How to Make Slime

There are a ton of slime recipes out there. To be honest, I prefer as little ingredients as possible. With the Elmer’s Magical Liquid, it makes it easy as can be.

Mix one bottle of glue with approx 1/2 cup of magical liquid. The directions on the Magical liquid calls for less activator, but we always end up using almost double what they call for.

Once you mix the slime and activator (magical liquid), you’ll want to start kneading it. The more you knead, the less sticky it will be.

Take it outside and have fun with it!

5. Sidewalk Puffy Paint

Last, but not least, this simple but fun Summer craft for kids will be your kiddos favorite. Sidewalk puffy paint is a hit with kids of all ages. I’ll admit, I love playing with it, too!

What You Will Need:

Squeeze bottles
food coloring
mixing bowl
flour
water
dishsoap
whisk

If you have a funnel, you’ll want to use it to pour the batter into the bottles. If you purchase the bottles using my link above, you’ll get a small funnel with the bottles. They also come with chalk labels and a dry-erase chalk marker. I am so happy I found that set of squeezable bottles for this craft. I imagine we will be using them for many more crafts in the future.