Today’s featured guest post is by the super talented craftmaster, Caroline from Salsa Pie. Her creativity and mad crafting skills always amaze me. Seriously…you have to see this vintage French circus photobooth that she did with her lovely family. Amazing. Take it away, Caroline!
Oh boy, do I ever know what “Mooommmm! I’m bored!” sounds like on summer break! And let’s face it, not every single day during the summer brings sunshine or an outing. So, I’ve found it helps to have some “rabbits in the hat” just for these moments of boredom. And today, I’m giving you 10 of them. The best part? They are all made from paper! Simple enough, right?
Ladies and Gentlemen, Moms and Dads, I give you
10 Summer Paper Projects for Kids:
1. Have the kids play, “Pin the Sunglasses on the Dude”
On a large sheet of butcher block (or something similar) paper, draw with marker the face of a “dude” complete with something fun like a surfer-striped shirt. Cut out sunglasses, blindfold the player(s) and have them pin on those super cool glasses!
2. Commission Kid Artwork
Whether your child is 2 or 12, a painting session is always fun. Here’s a great tip for the young ones: provide only one or maybe two colors. Also for the wee ones, I think black, by itself, is awesome for toddler artwork.
3. Make an Underwater Sea World
Drape a sheet over a table and tape paper fish and seaweed on the inside. Shine a flashlight on the outside or point an office lamp towards the fort and instantly you’ve created an underwater sea world!
4. Tell Someone They’re Awesome
Have the kids write “You are Awesome” (or you can do it if they are too young) on a piece of paper or a card. Attach some ribbon to the note then head on over to your neighbor’s house (or someone you love) and hang the message on the door. Your kids will get a lesson in giving and your heart will feel full too!
5. Make Tons of Paper Airplanes
You can find so many templates online but my favorites are here and here. Make a ton then fly them all around the house.
6. Give a Potato a Hat
Poke some toothpicks in a potato and make a paper hat and boots for it. Attach them with toothpicks then let your potato guy hang out in some water to sprout. This will be one part comedy, one part science lesson for the kids.
7. Make Paper Hats
These fun numbers never go out of style and you can even one-up the newspaper version by decorating them with glitter and other embellishments!
8. Make Paper Boats, Float them in the Bath
Using the same basic principle for making paper hats, make paper boats! Float them in the kiddie pool or the bath and watch them sail around!
9. Have the Kids Make a Paper Flower Table Centerpiece
Cut out flower and leaf shapes from white or colored paper then glue them with low temp hot glue onto branches collected from the yard. Stuff the branches inside some very awesome vases. Instantly, you’ll have a centerpiece that friends will “Ooh!” and “Ahh!” over and the kids will feel proud they helped make it!
10. Make Cool Flip Books
On small pieces of paper all cute the same size make your own animation. Here’s how: draw a figure moving a short distance progressively on each piece of paper. Clip the paper together with a clothespin or staple then flip to show the child how basic animation works! Older children can do this themselves. You may just have a budding filmmaker on your hands!
– Caroline
Other posts you might like:
Crafternoon with The Ravenna Girls