[Childcare] Summer wall display ideas: fun summer craft activities
When you think of summer, it’s the season packed with fun activities like summer festivals, swimming in the ocean, fireworks displays, and Tanabata.
You’ll want your wall displays to be wonderful, too, so they convey the joy of summer to the children.
In this article, we’ll share ideas for summer wall displays.
Alongside classics like the sea and fireworks, we’ll also introduce ideas that incorporate delicious summer foods and seasonal events.
There are ideas you can make together with the children, so they’re great to include as craft activities.
For older preschoolers, it might be nice to discuss last summer’s memories and choose a theme based on that.
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[Childcare] Summer wall display ideas: Fun summer craft activities (111–120)
Fun Opening of the Beach Season
Many children were probably eagerly awaiting the day the beach officially opens.
Let’s create works that let everyone enjoy ocean scenes—both the kids who actually go to the beach and those who don’t.
Start with drawings of children swimming, add sea creatures like fish and seaweed, depict cute animals playing in the ocean, and even try making mermaids.
If you combine these ocean scenes with beach activities like watermelon splitting and beach-ball games on the shore, you can capture an even more fun, summery seaside vibe!
Playing hide-and-seek, gliding smoothly between the waves
Fish swimming in cold water make you feel cool just by watching them, don’t they? The fish darting around while hiding among wakame seaweed and rocks look like they’re playing hide-and-seek, and it seems so fun.
Let’s recreate that fishy game of hide-and-seek with construction paper! Cut out fish and stick them however you like on a light blue background sheet.
At the same time, prepare one more sheet.
Leave only the top edge connected, and cut vertical slits down the sheet like a noren curtain.
When you’re done, glue this slitted sheet onto the unslit background.
This way, you can show fish swimming as they play in the waves! The fluttering construction paper makes for a very refreshing piece.
Animals wearing yukata wall decoration
In summer, there are festivals and fireworks displays, and many children have the chance to wear yukata.
How about a craft that combines yukata with cute animals? Cut construction paper to create the children’s favorite animals.
Then dress those animals in yukata.
We recommend using washi-patterned origami for the yukata! Since origami paper is thin, reinforce it by cutting both the origami and a piece of construction paper into the same yukata shape, then glue them together.
After that, just combine the animals with their yukata and you’re done! Create a variety of animals wearing yukata, along with scenes of summer festivals and fireworks, to set the stage for a joyful summertime moment.
Three-dimensional and glamorous watermelon
Let’s try making a delicious-looking, three-dimensional, festive watermelon! Flat artworks are lovely too, but making them 3D really catches children’s eyes and draws their interest.
There are many ways to make it three-dimensional, but a simple, recommended method is to combine two sheets of red origami folded in an accordion and fan them open.
If you use yellow or orange paper, you can create a rare-looking watermelon as well.
Another idea is to fold a 3D watermelon out of origami and hang it with string to decorate the wall.
Make a variety of watermelons and let the kids enjoy the tastes of summer!
Wall of bamboo-leaf decorations
When you make wishes for Tanabata, you’ll need tanzaku wish cards and bamboo, right? Even if it’s hard to get real bamboo, creating a bamboo display on the wall will let the children enjoy Tanabata.
Make the bamboo trunk from green or yellow-green construction paper, and combine it with branches and leaves made from the same paper.
If you make the trunk slightly hunched, it will look more like real bamboo.
Once the bamboo tree is complete, add other Tanabata decorations around it, such as tanzaku strips, streamers, and a little trash basket.
It’s also a great idea for preschool or kindergarten teachers to write their wishes to the children on the tanzaku.
Paper cup sunflower
Here’s an idea for making a three-dimensional sunflower using a common material: a paper cup.
Cut off the rim of the paper cup, then wrap double-sided tape around the bottom part.
Use the double-sided tape as a guide to cut the cup into 16 equal sections.
Peel off the tape and attach each strip by rolling it inward one by one.
Add color with pens or crayons, and the sunflower’s blossom is complete! For the finishing touch, make the stem and leaves out of origami paper to create an even more realistic summer scene.
Some steps can be tricky for children to do alone, so it’s best to enjoy making it together with a teacher or guardian.
Sunflower with paper plates
This is a sunflower you can make using a simple paper plate! First, color the rim of the plate yellow and cut it into petal shapes.
Next, prepare plenty of torn pieces of origami paper and stick them onto the center of the plate to finish.
Depending on your child’s age, let them handle the tearing of the origami or the cutting with scissors.
For the center of the plate, you can also try other techniques besides torn-paper collage—such as sponge stamping or marble rolling—to bring out the children’s individuality and make it even more fun.