Recommended in July! Summer craft play ideas
In July, many daycare centers and kindergartens start Tanabata celebrations and pool time.
Summer is full of events kids can enjoy, like beach trips and fireworks festivals.
Here, we’re introducing craft ideas to make summer even more fun.
You can create summer-themed projects related to Tanabata, seasonal flowers, sea creatures, and cool treats.
Use these ideas as a guide to enjoy crafting with the children and spend the hot summer happily and energetically!
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Recommended in July! Summer craft play ideas (111–120)
One-time sunflower
A recommended craft for children who are just starting to use scissors: a sunflower you can make with single snips.
Prepare long, thin strips of yellow construction paper; snip along the folds or drawn lines to create petals.
If you pre-cut the round center of the sunflower and the leaves, the activity will go smoothly.
For the seeds in the middle, use long, narrow pieces of construction paper or origami, and glue on single-snip squares or triangles.
If any pieces are too long, trim the excess or fold it to the back and glue it down.
Guri and Gura’s Seaside Swim
Let’s try making a craft inspired by the picture book “Guri and Gura’s Seaside Adventure.” First, use blue and white paint on light blue construction paper to create waves.
Prepare the environment so the children can freely express themselves.
Make Guri and Gura using origami—don’t forget their trademark red and blue hats.
Next, cut out two swim rings from construction paper.
Finally, glue all the parts onto the paper, and it’s complete! Just looking at it will make you feel like you’re at the beach.
You know, Mr. Corn…
Corn, known as a summer vegetable.
How about making the corn character that appears in the picture book “Tōmorokoshi-kun ga ne”? This corn character actually has a fun mechanism: its arms and legs dangle and move, and the husk can be peeled.
Cut the main body of Tōmorokoshi-kun out of colored construction paper and use finger stamps to represent the kernels.
Draw the leaf patterns using a toothbrush, then attach the leaves to the body with a paper fastener.
It would be nice to read the picture book aloud and play with your finished Tōmorokoshi-kun together.
choco banana
How about making a chocolate banana stall that kids will love? First, cut colored construction paper into tiny pieces with scissors.
Next, create the banana body using yellow construction paper, then use paint to color the parts where the chocolate sauce would be.
Once the paint dries, apply glue and sprinkle on the tiny paper pieces to look like colorful sprinkles.
After the bananas are finished, stick them onto a sheet decorated to look like a festival stall.
It will instantly give off a festive vibe.
You’ll end up with a wonderful craft that showcases each child’s unique personality!
Light play
Drawings of ghosts and black cats that float eerily on the wall of a dark room… a shadow play using light that gives you a bit of a test-of-courage vibe.
What you need: a toilet paper roll, plastic wrap, a rubber band, and a permanent marker.
Cover one end of the toilet paper roll with plastic wrap and secure it tightly with the rubber band.
Draw your picture on the plastic wrap, and you’re done.
Shine your smartphone’s light from the opposite side of the wrap, and the drawing you made will appear on the wall! If you prepare several rolls with different drawings and shine the light on them one after another, the images will appear in sequence and make for a fun show.
Bell of the Stars
Let’s make star bells that are perfect for Tanabata crafts and have some fun! Cut off the rim and the bottom of a paper cup, use the body of the cup to create a template, and then make colored construction paper pieces of the same size.
Staff should prepare up to the step where the colored paper is cut using the paper cup template.
Glue the colored paper onto the cup, poke a hole in the bottom of the cup, and thread a pipe cleaner through to make a handle.
Fold and fasten the inside end of the pipe cleaner, attach a bell there, and add stars on the outside—you’re done! Everyone can enjoy drawing pictures on the colored paper that will be glued onto the cup.
Dyed Paper Morning Glory
These are morning glories made with “dyed painting,” coloring rice paper with paint! Cut the rice paper into a circle and fold it in half several times.
Dip the outer edge into paint diluted with water, and once it’s dry, open it up to reveal a gradient-like pattern where the paint has soaked in.
Fold it again, twist the center to give it a three-dimensional look, and then glue it onto a backing sheet along with a pot, leaves, and trellis cut from construction paper.
You’ll have a summery morning glory artwork.
The waiting time, wondering what kind of pattern will appear, is part of the fun too.
