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)
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.
Orihime and Hikoboshi
How about making Orihime and Hikoboshi before Tanabata so they can safely meet once a year? Cut construction paper to prepare a large star as the base, and pre-assemble parts like Orihime and Hikoboshi’s faces and hair.
For their bodies, use the children’s adorable handprints! Add patterns to the backing paper using tools like sponge daubers, then attach the prepared parts on top.
Finally, staple on some paper streamers and adhere that piece to the bottom of the base to complete a perfect craft for Tanabata.
If you share the Tanabata story beforehand with a picture book, the children may enjoy the activity even more.