with the Summer holidays just beginning we're on a mission to help fill your weeks ahead with some easy and cheap craft activity ideas for kids
Wondering how on earth to keep the kids entertained for 6 weeks straight?
Coming up with new ideas every day can be a drag and keeping them away from their screens can be so difficult!
Whatever the weather throws at you we've come up with a collection of craft activities for kids to help you through the weeks ahead
Here are the first 6 of our 18 easy craft ideas for entertaining the kids this Summer:
1- FORAGE FOR CRAFT SUPPLIES
Start as you mean to go on and get those kids outside foraging for the supplies they can use in their craft projects for the Summer. You've got six weeks to fill so you don't want to be spending £s on supplies when mother nature provides a lot of great materials for free! All you need is little imagination (and inspo provided below!) and you can turn sticks and twigs, pebbles and shells, leaves and flowers into all sorts of arty creations!
This activity can last all day, be sure to take a bag or basket out with you next time you visit the beach, woods or local parkland and keep your eyes peeled for those fancy bits of nature that you can turn into something creative later on!
Things to look out for*:
- On the Beach: search for those interesting little shells, driftwood sticks, sea glass and pebbles
- In the Woods: find gnarly twigs, interesting leaves, tree bark, moss and fauna
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Parkland and Meadows: the perfect place for textural grasses and colourful flowers, you may even be lucky and find discarded snail shells and reptile skins!
*just be sure you only take what is allowed; some flora and fauna may be prohibited or dangerous to pick (check local area guides for more info)
2- BUILD A BUG HOTEL
A classic and very popular activity and one that can be easily created from your foraged materials, bug hotels are brilliant for your garden and the little dwellings will encourage important critters to stay in your area and do good for your immediate environment.
Bugs are an important part of our eco system. They do all sorts of useful things for us, your bug hotel will provide shelter to pollinators like bees and bumble bees (even the wasp is an important pollinator) and other beneficial insects that help create our compost or eat garden pests such as green fly and other aphids.
The beauty of this craft is that there are no rules! simply gather a bundle of bits together and use some string to keep them tightly bound. You can even stuff them into an old plastic bottle to make it easy (and give yourself a window into the bug world!) just make sure there are plenty of nooks and crannies for your little bug friends to nest and feel safe in. Then hang your hotel in your nearest tree or nestle in a corner in your garden and wait for the visitors to arrive! You can even go out daily and make a list of what you discover in your hotel - why not draw your critter friends or document what you find in your very own bug diary?
Bits you can use include:
- short, dry twigs and sticks
- pine cones
- bark
- moss
- broken pieces of terracotta pot
- old bamboo canes
3- BARK & LEAF RUBBINGS
I remember making tree rubbings when I was younger, it was like magic!
Take a simple piece of paper and a coloured crayon, place the paper against a tree trunk and rub the crayon gently over the surface, the patterns and designs that appear are awesome! Use different coloured crayons and papers and find different trees to gather a collection of rubbings that you can take home and turn into all sorts of arty creations, you can make collages, journals and scrapbooks of your adventures!
You can even apply the same technique to leaves, and there are so many different shapes and sizes out there! make sure you place the leaf 'vein-side'up' and have a stable surface underneath you, rub gently over the top of your paper and watch as a leaf emerges in front of your eyes!
again, use different coloured crayons to get a multitude of different effects and then cut out the finished pieces to have 'everlasting' leaves you can use in your art projects for weeks to come!
4- SCAVENGER HUNT
Much like the foraging task this one gets kids outside finding specific items to create a picture with. Download and print our free scavenger hunt checklists (or create your own specific list based on the destination you are visiting) and see how many things you can find while you're out and about, then bring your items home and turn them into the most creative picture you can imagine, or a story of your adventures that day!
You can even make a competition out of the activity and reward the best picture or, to make it a little less competitive, award multiple medals for different achievements such as most colourful picture, most items used or weirdest items found! Why not download our print & colour medal sheet and have your own award ceremony!
5- BUILD A DEN
One of the old time greats and not as difficult as first imagined, outdoor (and indoor) dens can be built out of anything you can put your hand to, if you're going for a garden den why not bring some stuff from inside, out?
Or go for the classic tee-pee den made from foraged sticks, leaves and branches and, if you're clever enough, you can even craft 'rope' from young, soft fauna.
Take a look at this brilliant guide from The Woodland Trust for more ideas.
The beauty of this craft is that there is no limit whatsoever to your creativity! You can build big or small areas to play in or play with toys in. Use existing furniture, trees and washing lines and old blankets... you can even 'camp out' for the night if you're feeling brave!
6- BIRD WATCHING BINOCULARS
A quick and easy craft that leads to exploration and fascination!
These DIY binoculars will make any nature walk (or ramble through the garden) feel like a wildlife adventure.
This craft is easy to create so you can head out to the great outdoors for a fun adventure exploring the woods, parkland or garden! Not just for birds either, why not see if you can spot other wildlife like bugs, bees, hedgehogs or frogs too? you could even keep an eye on your bug hotel with them!
Materials required:
- Cardboard rolls leftover from paper towels or toilet paper
- Tape or glue
- Hole punch or sharp pencil
- String (yarn, ribbon, twine, whatever you have around!)
- Marker pens, coloured paper, paints, stickers and any other craft materials you already have or have foraged!
How to make your DIY Binoculars:
1. Take two toilet paper rolls (or a paper towel roll carefully cut in half), and attach them together side by side using tape or glue.
2. Decorate! You can wrap coloured paper around the rolls, cut and stick shapes, paint in whatever colour you want and apply gems and stickers to finish them off!. Imagination is key, decorate your binoculars however you want!
3. Use a hole punch, or sharp pencil carefully to make holes on the outside of each roll. Tie a strand of yarn, twine or ribbon, about 18-20 inches long, through each hole to create a strap to hang the binoculars loosely around the child’s neck. To avoid the danger of choking, children should only use under supervision.
4. Go outside to explore and play! Easy!
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that's 6 fun ideas for Outdoor Activities kids can do in the Summer Holidays (or any time they have spare!) and the best thing is all the craft supplies are free or cheap or foraged! (from outside or in the kitchen cupboards!)
keep an eye out for #2 Indoor Activities for those weeks when the weather is less than favourable!
until next time
