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 (21–30)
Swirly soft-serve ice cream
You can make a three-dimensional soft-serve ice cream using origami.
First, let’s make the cone.
For the cone, draw a diagonal curved line on the origami paper as if drawing part of a circle, and cut along the line with scissors.
Draw crisscross lines to mimic a waffle cone, roll it into a cone shape, and secure it with clear tape.
For the soft-serve part, fold the origami paper in half twice.
When you have a small square, perform a squash fold to open it up.
Fold the opened piece in half, then twist it sideways as if rolling it.
Open it layer by layer and secure with tape, place it inside the waffle cone, and you’re done.
Corn with stamps
How about using corn—something kids love—as a summer crafting motif? Both a stamp made with bubble wrap and one made with cardboard are great options.
Prepare the base corn and leaves ahead of time using colored construction paper.
Make one stamp by wrapping a small ball of cotton with bubble wrap and securing it with a rubber band, and another by rolling a strip of cardboard into a coil and taping it.
Use yellow paint as the “ink” for both, and enjoy freely dabbing and stamping away!
Goldfish made with paper plates and tissue paper
Let’s make a cute goldfish using a paper plate and tissue paper! Cut a single slit in the paper plate—about the size of a slice of cake—and attach the cut-out piece to form the goldfish’s tail.
Prepare tissue paper in various colors and cut it into small pieces.
You can cut it neatly with scissors, or let the children tear it freely.
Then have them glue the small tissue pieces onto the paper plate however they like, and finish by adding a black round sticker for the eye.
Aside from cutting the paper plate, it’s best to let the children do the rest.
Don’t feel limited to red just because it’s a goldfish—encourage them to use any colors they like.
ringed crown jellyfish
Let’s make a jellyfish using paper chains, like the ones you often see as birthday party decorations! First, make the jellyfish’s head using construction paper or a paper plate.
If you’re using a paper plate, you can paint it your favorite color.
Next, make paper chains using origami in colors you like.
It’s fun to mix different kinds, such as glittery origami or transparent origami.
Unlike party decorations, you don’t need to make the chains very long—just create several strands with about 4–5 links each.
Use these as the jellyfish’s tentacles and attach them to the head you made earlier—that’s it! If the teacher prepares thin, pre-cut strips of origami paper, all that’s left is for the kids to paste them into chains, making it an easy activity for them.
origami fan
A cute origami fan to help you enjoy and beat the summer heat! Make three parts by accordion-folding origami paper and then folding each piece in half.
Glue each piece so it forms a fan shape, then connect the three parts together.
Finally, attach a wooden chopstick to the back of the accordion folds as the handle, and you’re done! For a watermelon fan, use red origami paper, glue on thin strips of green and white paper, and draw black dots on the red section before accordion-folding.
Use yellow and brown origami to make a sunflower fan.
You’ll want to try all kinds of motifs!
Wax-resist fireworks painting
Let’s try drawing fireworks that color the night sky using a resist painting technique! Prepare drawing paper and draw fireworks with crayons.
After the children create colorful, brilliant fireworks with the crayon colors of their choice, paint the entire sheet with black paint.
Once it dries a bit, you’ll have a finished picture of fireworks brightening the dark sky! Since the paint resists the crayon, there’s no need to avoid the fireworks when painting the background.
From drawing the fireworks to adding color and finishing the whole piece, you can enjoy the process together with the children!
Summer Memory Pretend Play
Here are some pretend-play ideas for making summer memories indoors during the hot season.
Try handmade barbecues, bug-hunting searches, and goldfish scooping—create them together with the kids and have fun.
For the barbecue, talk with the children about what ingredients they want to make, then create them together.
For the bug-hunting search, the key is to think about where to stick photos or illustrations of insects at the children’s eye level and get creative with placement.
For goldfish scooping, rescue origami fish carefully so they don’t fall.
Competing to see how many you can catch also sounds fun! These are great activities for enjoying play indoors even on hot summer days.
