Fun in the Sun: Kindergarten Summer Crafts
Projects for Summer Fun
These projects will all work well as stand-alone crafts, but you can also use them with themed days or to reinforce lesson topics. For example, if you are studying a particular letter and its sounds, use pictures of words that begin with that letter in the crayon-resist project. Use relevant pictures to match your theme or study unit for the sand paintings or the other projects, as well.
Seaside Crafts
Bring the beach inside with sand paintings and frames with seashells, sea glass and driftwood. You can use commercial craft sand or mix your own with white sand and dry tempera paint.
Sand Paintings
Things You Need:
- Newspapers
- Cardstock
- Pencils
- Black crayons
- Craft glue
- Disposable bathroom drinking cups
- Small paintbrushes
- Colored sand
- Construction paper
Procedure:
- Spread newspapers on student desks to facilitate clean up.
- Give the students pieces of cardstock and ask them to draw a scene of the ocean and the beach or another summer scene.
- Instruct students to outline the drawing with the black crayon.
- Mix craft glue and water in equal parts and pour it into the cups.
- Have students brush the glue in the spaces between the outlines of their pictures and sprinkle sand over the glue. Then, shake the excess sand onto the newspapers.
- When the pictures are dry, “frame” them with construction paper strips around the edges.
Beach Frames
Things You Need
- Wooden picture frames
- Sandpaper
- Acrylic or tempera paint
- Sponge brushes
- Seashells, sea glass or small pieces of driftwood
- Craft glue
- Acrylic spray varnish
Procedure:
- Give each student a wooden frame. Show the children how to use the sandpaper to smooth the surfaces of the wood.
- Have students paint their frames with the acrylics and sponge brushes. After the first light coat has dried, they may need to apply a second coat. For a little extra texture, allow student to sprinkle small amounts of sand onto the wet paint and then shake off the excess before allowing the paint to dry.
- Students can glue the found treasures to their frames.
- When the glue is dry, spray the frames with varnish to protect them. Be sure to take them outside to spray the varnish.
Wax Resist Pictures
Students experience a little crayon magic when they add wax and tempera paint to ordinary drawing.
Things You Need:
- Drawing paper
- Crayons
- Tempera paint
- Sponge brushes
Procedure:
- Begin by asking students to draw summer-themed pictures.
- Have students color their pictures, pressing very hard to leave a heavy surface of wax on the paper.
- With the sponge brushes, students paint over the entire paper with thinned tempera paint, including the areas colored earlier. Use a paint color that matches the picture design, such as blue for a fish picture or yellow for a picture of a flower garden. The paint will bead up on the wax and allow the picture to show through, while the paint fills the background.
Pebble People
Following a nature walk when students collect small rocks, twigs or leaves make new friends with pebble people. Go “green” by creating them on take-out containers with the sides trimmed away
Things You Need:
- Disposable foam trays
- Small rocks, twigs and leaves
- Low-melt hot glue gun and glue sticks
Procedure:
- Allow students to arrange their rocks and twigs to make fun and silly faces.
- Help students affix their pebble people to the trays with hot glue.
- Students use their leaves to make hair or clothes for their new arty friends.
Summer Mosaic T-Shirts
Impress parents when your students create dot-mosaic shirts for summer wear.
Things You Need:
- Prewashed tee shirts
- Pencils
- Baby carrots
- Fabric paint
- Foam plates
- Cardboard or poster board scraps
- Vinegar
- Iron
Procedure:
- Ask students to draw a picture of a sun on the front of their shirt with a pencil.
- Cut a few carrots to make flat surfaces of different sizes.
- Pour small amounts of paint onto the plates.
- Slip a piece of cardboard inside the shirt to keep the paint from soaking through to the back of the shirt.
- Students dip the carrot surfaces in the paint and then dab them on the shirt to outline the sun pictures they have drawn. If they choose, they may also fill in the outline with a series of carrot paint dots.
- When the paint is thoroughly dry, dab the inside of the shirt, behind the painted area, with vinegar and iron it to set the paint.
Use these ideas as a starting point for your kindergarteners, as you create fun summer crafts together.
References
- Ideas come from the author’s extensive teaching and crafts experience.