Summer Craft Ideas for Kids

Believe it or not, sometimes the summer sun can get a tad too warm. When that happens at Miss Sue’s Summer Fun, we give our campers some incredible arts and crafts to beat the heat! If you’re looking to escape the powerful UV rays at home, then here are some crafts that you can try with your little one in the spirit of summer!

Beautiful Butterflies
Love to hang your child’s artwork on the fridge? If that’s the case, then you’ll love these beautiful butterfly magnets! Simple to make, this craft will be as simple as a summer breeze! To start, you’ll need the following supplies:

• A pack of multi-color construction paper
• Clothespins
• Magnets
• Pipe Cleaners
• Non-toxic glue

First and foremost, you’ll want to pre-cut the butterfly wings for your child out of construction paper. If you’re not sure that you’ll make the perfect wing shape, it’s okay: since many butterflies in nature have an abstract wing shape!

Next, lay out the supplies for your child to complete the craft. Make sure that they have at least one set of wings, a clothespin, the magnet, a pipe cleaner, and glue.

From there, you’ll want to instruct your child to place some glue on the back of the clothespin. Once that step is complete, tell them to put the clothespin in the middle of the wings. After that, ask them to take the pipe cleaner and feed it through the hole at the top of the clothespin.

Finally, have them glue the magnet to the back of the wings (right in the center) and let it dry for a few minutes. After the drying is complete, then you can place the butterfly on the fridge and watch it soar to new, magnetic heights!

Silly Shark
Lurking in the depths of the water swims the Silly Shark! This friendly lil’ guy will be the perfect addition to any summer crafting — and he’s very simple to make! Before you start this craft, parents, you’ll need to acquire these materials:

• Blue construction paper
• A white paper plate
• Non-toxic glue stick
• Googly eyes
• Safety scissors 

First, take the blue construction paper and cut it into a shark shape, as if the shark were standing on his fin! This will give your child enough room to glue the paper plate to the template, for the shark’s mouth!

Next, give your child the paper plate and instruct them to cut some teeth-like edges around the entire dish. Please make sure you supervise your child during this step since they will be using their safety scissors.

Once this step is complete, you can then instruct them to fold the plate in half to create the mouth of the Silly Shark. From there, your child will then take their non-toxic glue stick and only glue the back of one lower half of the plate (not the whole plate). After this is completed, they’ll want to paste it in the center of the shark cut-out to form the mouth!

Finally, it’s time to apply the googly eyes on the Silly Shark! Your child can then glue the eyes above the mouth and then the Silly Shark will be complete! You and your child will love this Silly Shark and how friendly he’ll look!

If you want to add some more flair to the Silly Shark, you can take some additional construction paper and cut out accessories for your shark to wear, such as a hat or suitcase!

When you choose Miss Sue’s Summer Fun, you can rest assured knowing that your child is safely having fun in the sun, while also building the knowledge, skills, and confidence to have a successful future. To learn more about the program, give us a call at 516-366-5623.