Summer Fun for Kids – Crafts and More!

Summer is here! Now all the sudden you have little eyes staring at you at weird hours of the day, silently begging for entertainment. Even if you don’t want to entertain your kids, you still need to make the most out of summer.  Why? Because you only get 18 summers max with each child before they’re grown and gone from your hours. 18 summers.  If you’re raising a teen, chances are that you’re currently figuring out how many summers you have left with a little cheer at the end. But for the mommas and daddas with the little ones, try not to tear up when you think of only having 14 or 12 summers left.  You need to make these moments count. So let’s have fun and by fun I mean the kind that will carry you through the cold months until summer arrives again. 

DIY Water Blob  

This is an old idea that got a little facelift last year. The original post from 2012 has been pinned to Pinterest 175,000+ times.  It might be an old post but this is a fun idea. It’s not just for little kids. I redo it every summer and just lay on the Water Blob and read.  Last year I updated the Water Blob with easier instructions, tips of what we’ve learned from making them the past few years and instructions on how to iron the edges of a water blob.  You can find the instructions for a leak proof water blob with ironed edges here.  If you want to see the original water blob post idea from 2012, click here. 

Watermelon Prints Using Sponges

  I love this idea because I am a child of the 80s and 90s. Anyone that was raised in the 90’s remembers sponge painting. It was everywhere! It was so in style that my mom made me a t-shirt using sponges with watermelon prints all over it.  There’s a picture of me as a pre-teen (that will never see the light of day) where I’m posing at my grandparents house with penny loafers, white socks, pink glasses, dorky braces, red wind-shorts and……. the sponge painted watermelon shirt. I thought I looked cool but I still think I look cool so obviously I’m not to be trusted.  However it’s a great memory and something I wanted to pass onto my child, so last year we made watermelon sponge print shirts.  You can too! Find detailed instructions with pictures here to show you how to make watermelon prints using sponges. 

Water Bombs

So what is a water bomb? It’s a bundle of strips of sponges that hold a lot of water.  To use them you simply dunk them into a bucket of water, or a pool, and then toss them at someone.  It’s a mess free, reusable version of a water balloon. You won’t have to go around your yard picking up all the rubber balloon carcasses and your kids won’t run out of them. As long as you have water, you have fun.  Buy a huge bundle of sponges and go crazy with water bombs and sponge painting! Find out how to make water bombs here. 

Exploding Chalk Bags

Have you ever thought about putting vinegar and baking soda in a plastic bag and sealing it shut? No? Well have you ever thought about doing it with food coloring outside on the sidewalk?  No? Well you should. Exploding chalk bags are fun. They’re also super quick and a great way to teach about chemical reactions.  There is a secret to figuring out how to keep it from exploding early. Find out that secret and learn how to make exploding chalk bags on this post.

Homemade Sprinklers

Now this is a really old idea from this blog but it will keep your kids busy for hours. We still have some of the pieces from this homemade sprinkler and the kids still pull it out each summer.  This is a simple but extremely fun building activity for kids that of course adds in water for the ultimate fun.  All you need to do is provide your kids with different lengths of PVC pipe that have holes drilled into them and the connectors that they need to connect the different pipes together and the end of a pipe to the hose. It’s that simple.  Who doesn’t love an activity that gets their minds going, their bodies wore out from all the playing in the water and sun and gives you some of your sanity back?  Find out more about how to make a homemade sprinkler with PVC pipe in this post.  There you go, 5 fun ideas for kids to help keep them busy this summer.  Which one is your favorite? Add these to your summer bucket list!