Children are out of school and it’s time to render events to entertain and preoccupy the cavalry. Families are getting together plans for their summer vacations, but vacations only last a week, what about the other two and a half months you have remaining in summer? If you haven’t spent hours reading craft books and buying supplies from local stores already then you are in luck. Here are some chaos cures for the summertime craze that is about to begin.
For simple ideas that don’t cost a dime (or don’t cost much more than one) try one of these. Have your child invite a friend over and gather your craft supplies for a day of inventing and design. Have your child invent an imaginary product that they can then come u with a commercial for. They can design the layout of the item on paper using markers and colored pencils, even construct the invention if it isn’t too much. Then have them create a commercial to sell their product. They can dress up as caricatures, write a script, and direct the whole set. If you have a digital camera, film it, and display it on the web for other parents to get creative with.
Children can create hundreds of homemade projects using household ingredients. Remember those volcanoes made in science class from vinegar and baking soda? Try helping your kids create their own silly putty. This is very simple. Mix one part white glue to one part liquid starch and blend to thick consistency. This material will stretch, snap, and bounce. Best of all when it gets old throw it out and make a new batch.
Create glitter spinners which children can use to hang in the windows to reflect light. Using wax paper have your child draw designs on the paper. Tell them to make thick lines. Now they can select colored glitter to sprinkle on the designs. Let dry for several hours and then peel the glitter spinners from the paper. Pierce with fishing wire and hang in front of windows to catch light.
One more idea is a beautiful way to create sand drawings in a sandbox or any where there is a surplus of sand. Using several spray bottles of water, add food coloring (about 30 drops per bottle) to create different colored waters in the bottles. You can use pans filled with sand or create sandbox art. Give each child a few bottles of colors and let them create sand paintings and designs. They can easily turn the sand with a kid shovel and start over. Take digital pictures of the art and hang it up.