11 Super Fun Summer Crafts For Toddlers And Preschoolers

Your baby can begin grasping things right from three months of age! And talk about a toddler, well she is a storm in the house. She has been curious about things from a very young age, and now that she is a toddler, she has more energy to add to her curiosity. She will constantly be busy turning the house upside down. Don’t you think it is time to put that energy to some fun learning?

MomJunction brings a host of summer activities and crafts that will not only keep your toddler occupied but will also help her understand basic skills in a fun manner, keeping her away from boredom.

Summer Craft Ideas For Toddlers And Preschoolers

1. Baking and icing cookies

Toddlers learn by feeling things with their hands and sometimes even their mouths. Hence mixing dough and adding sprinkles and icing is great way of learning. Rolling out cookies and cutting them into shapes aids the development of gross motor skills.

• Cover the table with a newspaper to avoid the sprinkles from falling everywhere. The newspaper will also prevent the table from stains.

• Let the kids decorate the cookies with the sprinklers and icing. Let the creativity flow allowing them to decorate as they like.

• Opt for icing and sprinkles made with natural colors rather than synthetic dyes.

• The reward for this activity is yummy cookies. Ensure that they do not burn their hands touching any hot surfaces.

2. Hand color chart

This is an excellent opportunity to teach your toddler about the spectrum of colors. Make a homemade finger paint mix, as given below.

• Mix one cup of cold water with corn flour.

• Add four cups of boiling water as per required consistency.

• Add more water or corn flour as you need.

• Once you get a thick gooey mixture, then you can add colors.

• You can also buy non-toxic poster paints or finger paints and let the children make hand prints to identify colors.

3. Foot print slippers

You can make cute paper slippers by using the above paint recipe to make footprints.

• Let your toddler make footprints on the chart paper and cut them into slipper shapes.

• Add two bands for a fun slipper.

• This activity also helps in color recognition.

4. Crepe paper collage flowers

This activity is an excellent way to enhance the gross motor skills of your toddler. This activity will keep your toddler occupied for a long time.

• Simply tear crepe paper into small pieces.

• Ask the toddler to roll them up.

• Glue the rolled crepe paper balls together to make collage flowers.

5. Prepare a sensory box

This is one of the perfect outdoor activities for toddlers in summer.

• You can use sand or water for outdoor and rice for indoor activities.

• Simply fill a plastic box with the material and add items as treasure that your child can dig and look for.

• To make the activity more interesting, set required tasks. Ask your toddler to look for things such as five small balls, a pink comb, matching colored spoons, etc.

• Your toddler will develop listening skills and enjoy the thrill of a treasure hunt.

6. Color stamping

This is a great way to keep your naughty toddler engaged happily at one place.

• Use everyday items to make stamps like the tops of various vegetables such as okra, brinjal, and even cauliflower florets.

• Let your toddler dip these in paint and make stamps on a chart paper.

7. Make your own ice cream

What could be more fun than making and eating your own ice cream? You can enlist your toddler for manpower, who will love the whole experience. All you need is two zip lock bags, which are in two sizes – small and large.

• Take a cup of cream and add one teaspoon of vanilla essence.

• Additional ingredients such as chocolate chips, sprinkles, or dry fruits can be added later.

• Add in one tablespoon of sugar.

• Put all these in the small bag and zip it tightly.

• Take five cups of ice and add six tablespoons of salt to it.

• Put the smaller bag in the big bag and zip lock it.

• Shake the bags till the mix hardens. Open and enjoy.

8. Bubble art

Your toddler will love playing with bubbles while creating this fun craft. You can always preserve it as your toddler’s first painting!

• In a cup, add liquid soap to water.

• Pour in some light corn syrup and paint.

• Take a few straws and make a longer straw.

• Help your toddler bind the straws together with tape.

• Let him put the straw in the bubble mix.

• Show him a few times how to blow bubbles through the straws.

• Once your toddler learns, help him blow out little bubbles over the paper.

9. Make Technicolor bubbles

How about a bubble game? Here is what you need to do.

• Make the bubbles by adding liquid food coloring to the soap solution.

• You can also make them smell good by adding a few drops of vanilla essence.

• Monitor your toddler so that he doesn’t drink the soap solution.

• Using straws you can blow out the bubbles.

10. Sun and rainbow

You can place the vibrant creations of your toddler in his room to brighten it. It will instantly add some cute cheer and a dash of color to the nursery.

• Help your toddler cut out the paper plate in half.

• Help him draw triangles on the yellow chart paper and cut them out.

• Let him tear out long strips from all the multi-colored chart papers.

• Ask your toddler to color the back of the paper plate in yellow.

• Once it is dry, help him stick the wobbly eyes.

• Let him make the mouth by using a black sketch pen or by sticking a black thread.

• Ask him to glue the yellow triangles on the edge of the paper plate to form sun rays.

• Help your toddler glue the colorful strips below the paper plate to form a rainbow.

• You can loop a thread over the top of the sun to hang it up in your toddler’s room.

11. Toss the ring

This is one of the interesting fun summer crafts for toddlers that will double his fun! He will enjoy making it as well as playing with it later!

• You can make a few cuts on one end of the empty roll to make a flap. It will help create a pole for the rings.

• Help him put glue on the flap area and stick the roll on a paper plate. Keep it aside till it is firmly in place.

• Now teach your toddler to cut out the middle of the paper plates to form the rings.

• Let him decorate these rings using different colors.

• Once ready, your toddler can have a lot of fun attempting to throw the rings around the pole.

Weren’t those some of the most simple yet fun activities for toddlers? So, now that you have a good idea about the different summer activities, encourage your little one to enjoy such learning craft activities. If you have some other simple craft ideas for toddlers, do share it with us in the comments section!

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