It is summer time and if you are
like me you need some activities to fill the in between days at the pool. whether it is a rainy day or you can't take another day in
the scorching heat, craft clubs can offer great summer fun.
What is a craft
club? Craft clubs can be for all ages. It can be a great girls night out for
the overworked moms or it can be a great time for kids to bond and make
something cool at the same time.
The first step is to
get a group of friends together. It can be your child’s playgroup, friends from
church, friends from a sports team, etc. Make sure you pick a location that has
a lot of room to spread out.
Don’t feel
intimidated. You don’t have to have this extravagant house or huge table. Kids
are just as happy circling up on the floor to do crafts. Besides, you want an
area that can get a little messy.
There are tons of
fun summer crafts and since the kids are out of school-chances are they will be
excited to do some creative fun projects. It also keeps their brain sharp for
when school does start back up.
Here are a few ideas
of crafts for the summer months:
Make flip flops
What kid doesn’t
like to wear flip flops. This will give them the opportunity to create their
own style and then show it off for all to see when you do go back to the pool.
There are several different ways to decorate. Be careful: hot glue does not
work on some of the flip flop types, but there are other alternatives. You can
use double sided tape. You can decorate with ribbon, flowers, foam stickers,
shells, beads, etc. You can also use fabric glitter and markers. The point is
to get the kids creating and talking.
Grillin and Paintin
Have a lunch club
meeting and grill out hot dogs for the kids. Instead of having just ketchup and
mustard in those condiment bottles, fill them with paint. Grab a long sheet or
butcher paper and clip to a fence or side of the house. Give the kids a
condiment bottle and let them go to town. Liguid watercolors work great for
this project. The kids will just like the squirting. Encourage the kids to
write their name with the bottle. The label it Craft Club with the year. It
will be a great souvenir of time spent together. The dollar store sells the
condiment bottles at a cheap price.
Beads
Beads are great to
have during the summer. Making bracelets and necklaces is not just for girls
anymore. The craft stores sell all types of beads from sports to ballet to even
the old ones we grew up. My suggestion is to just buy a large variety and then
sit back and watch the kids create. Beading also gives them some great hand eye
coordination skills.
Foam
Have you been to a
craft store lately? There are endless foam activities from beach hats to beach
bags. Kids like foam because most of them allow you to just pull a backing off
and stick. Don’t forget the letters for them to spell names and phrases.
T-shirts
Who doesn’t like
making t-shirts. This is actually a good activity for the first meeting. You
can make a club t-shirt or art smock to wear to club gatherings. Of course, the
most known way to do this is by tye-dying the shirt. There are other options. There
are some beaded iron-ons in the craft section. This, of course, would take
parent supervision. You can also have all the members of the club put a
handprint on each shirt with their name. Have a mom write Craft Club in the
center on all of the kids’ shirts. It makes a great club shirt. Remember to use
fabric paint.
These are just a few
suggestions to get your club started. Feel free to add others to the comments.
Have fun creating!
