As the last day of school approaches, Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out for Summer” keeps playing in my head on repeat. It used to symbolize carefree days of playing, sleeping in, and swimming, but now, as a parent, all I can think is, how am I going to keep these kids entertained? How do we fill our children’s days with fun while sticking to a budget? Three words, my mommy friends: ARTS AND CRAFTS! We’ve put together a list of fun (and affordable) summer arts and crafts to keep your twins entertained this year!
Twiniversity-approved summer arts and crafts
Flower Bracelets
Everywhere you look, flowers are blooming, making it the perfect time to explore nature. My twins love picking flowers (or weeds), leaves, and almost anything that grows from the ground. And then they want to bring these treasures home and keep them forever! Behold the power of tape and creativity!
Wrap a piece of tape around your child’s wrist with the sticky side facing out. Then, as you walk around your yard, a park, or any outdoor space, they can stick their favorite flowers and leaves to their bracelet. And let’s be real, you can never have enough bracelets, right?
Chalk Paint
Sidewalk chalk is a must for Summer fun. But if your twinnies are getting older and need to kick the chalk activity up a notch, chalk paint is the answer! The prep work is almost as fun as painting with chalk.
Sort out the colors into different-sized plastic resealable bags. These bags should be sturdy enough to endure the next step: smashing! Seal the bags and smash up the chalk. A rubber mallet works great, but use what you have (hammer, baseball bat, rocks). Pour the powdered chalk into an old muffin tin, filling each cup with a different color (If you don’t have a muffin tin, individual plastic cups work great, too). Add water and mix. The consistency should be like pancake batter. Now, paint away and create a masterpiece on your driveway or sidewalk! Brilliant!
Sun Art
Sun Prints, also known as cyanotype prints, are a fantastic summer activity for kids. This creative process allows children to make unique blue and white photographic prints using sunlight and minimal materials. It’s a fun and educational way to explore art and science while enjoying the outdoors.
Grab this awesome DIY Sun Print Art Kit on your next Target run! This kit allows you to create your own sun prints and includes 20 sheets of sun papers, two sheets of pre-printed stencils, and plastic pads to help your child unleash their creativity. Feel free to gather leaves and flowers to use as stencils, too.
Wind chimes
My kids LOVE to pick up sticks. Other than using the sticks to start our fire pit, I had no use for the fallen branches. Now, I do! Thanks to Happy Hooligans, you can take these sticks and create beautiful wind chimes.
Start by cutting the branches to the desired length, peeling the bark, and sanding down the branches. Once cleaned, the branches/sticks are painted with acrylic paint and left out to dry. Once dried, you can apply a coat of varnish, which will make the paint last longer in the weather. I honestly wouldn’t worry about this step if the wind chime only lasts for one summer; then you just get to continue the fun and make another one!
Next, attach some small screw-eyes to the ends of each stick. String yarn or twine through the screw-eye holes and hang on a tree branch. Then just sit back, relax, and listen to the beautiful clanking noise!
Water Gun Painting
It’s just not summer without some sort of water toy! This fun craft uses water guns to paint on canvas. It sounds too good to be true, right? Grab your water gun and some watered-down poster paint (50% paint, 50% water), hang a canvas on your fence, and squirt away! WARNING: This craft will be messy, so be sure to wear clothing you are willing to ruin!
Rock Painting
My kids love the book Scribble Stones by Diane Alber, and this is a fantastic art project to follow. Our stones are now recognized as “dinosaur fossils” by my 2 ½-year-old paleontologists. Grab a kit with everything you need, or paint some of the existing river rocks you may have in your yard with water-based acrylic paint you can find at your local art store.
Pop Bottle Fireflies
This arts and crafts project takes a bit more effort, but it will light up your twins’ night, literally!
Supplies needed:
- Empty soda bottle/water bottle
- Tissue paper
- Mod Podge
- Pipe Cleaners
- Foam Paper
- Googly eyes
- Glow stick
Mod Podge the tissue paper to the empty soda/water bottle, forming the body of the firefly. Once dried, wrap three (3) pipe cleaners around the bottle and secure, making the legs of the firefly. Next, cut out the sponge paper into the shape of your wings and glue them to the top of your bottle. Place a glowstick inside the bottle and screw on the lid. Attach googly eyes to the bottle cap, and lastly, wrap one more pipe cleaner around the neck of the bottle to create the antennae. Now, all you have to do is wait for nightfall and watch your cute firefly glow-up! For detailed instructions, please visit One Little Project.
Sponge Water Bombs
The sad part of a water balloon fight is that once the balloons are gone, it’s GAME OVER. Well, this arts and crafts project will make sure you have get to end the water fight on your own terms! Grab some non-scrubby-sided sponges, fishing line, and scissors. Cut the sponges into fourths lengthwise (long ways), and stack two layers of four strips. Tie tightly in the middle with fishing line. Separate strips and fluff if needed. Drop in a bucket of water, and let the water fight begin! Soak, throw, and repeat for endless fun.
Summer arts and crafts are an awesome way to bond with our littlies (Bluey Fans?) and make wonderful core memories. And if we get messy along the way…even better! Happy Summer.
Stephanie Miller is the proud mom of twin cyclones Zach and Carter (20-month-old). Every day in the Miller house, you’ll find rooms turned over, floors covered in bits of Lego and puzzle pieces (mind your step), and the sound of “Brown Bear Brown Bear” read over and over, and over again. You’ll typically find her being used as the seat to reading time for the two bookworms, covered in bubble solution as they try to excel in their Bubble Wand skills, or being the voice to command Alexa for their favorite tunes. She and her husband are working on their traveling skills cause she can’t wait to show them the amazing world that is out there for them.
