Three Cheers for Summer!
Dothan’s Messiest Camps are nearly SOLD OUT but that doesn’t mean that you can’t create with your students this summer. Here are three of my favorite summertime projects that are sure to engage and inspire your young artists.
We offered this as a project last summer for First Saturday Family Day and again this spring because it was so popular! You can purchase all of the supplies you need at your local dollar store, too! And while this particular lesson uses paper plates as the framework for the suncatcher, you can use card stock or even construction paper, too! Have fun with shapes and themes too, like these Pokeball suncatchers I created for an event in Tampa.
Y’all, this is such a fun lesson! I did this with my toddler class a couple of summers ago and they had the best time! You need thick paper (watercolor paper, cardstock, or higher quality construction paper), liquid watercolors, straws, and something to drip the watercolor on the paper. (I used plastic eye droppers but you would probably drip color on with a brush, too.) The painting looks great on its own but it’s also fun to hunt for shapes or themes and outline them with a marker or sharpie. It’s almost like looking for shapes in the clouds!
If you don’t have any liquid watercolors, you can make your own from old markers! Learn how here!
This project would make a lovely gift for someone and it uses air dry clay. I really like Crayola Air Dry Clay. It’s easy to work with, keeps well in the bucket it’s packaged in, and dries with very little cracking. However, you can also make your own with three simple ingredients!
You can really make any shape you like. We’ve used cookie cutters to create cute little trinket dishes and we’ve also allowed them to make something free form and use stamps to create designs and texture, like this lucky little dish.
We hope these three projects encourage you to create all summer long with your young artists! Be sure to check out previous Summer Project Roundup posts for even more inspiration!