Craft Your Way Through Vacation Days
(Crafting With Kids)

"I'm bored, isn't there anything to do?" By the middle of summer vacation, parents will probably have heard that comment at least once. Why not get creative - Literally! Art helps your child's development in many ways: hones fine motor skills, offers outlets for self-expression and discovery, and helps visual discrimination and language development. Here are resources to help channel a child's energy and eagerness to learn into artistic expression.

Books: General Children's Craft Books

20-Minute Crafts by Hands On Crafts for Kids: Quick ideas for kids to be creative.

I Can Make That! Fantastic Crafts for Kids by Mary Wallace: Simple, straightforward steps help you turn household odds and ends into craft projects.

The Kids Can Press Jumbo Book of Easy Crafts by Judy Ann Sadler: More than 170 fun and easy craft projects.

Odds 'n' Ends Art by Gillian Souter: This book from the "Handy Crafts" series provides instructions for making such items as a clay pen holder, paper rockets, monster masks, sock puppets and a "weather reporter."

Books: Nature Crafts, Recycled Materials and Gardening

Berry Smudges and Leaf Prints: Finding and Making Colors from Nature by Ellen B. Senisi: This book goes beyond traditional craft books and discusses color in nature and its uses by humans throughout history. You can find directed activities for creating natural dyes for each color.

Boredom Busters! The Curious Kids' Activity Book by Avery Hart & Paul Mantell: Suggests a variety of indoor and outdoor activities which relate to nature, the environment, ecology, music, sky watching, backyard fun, the neighborhood, and the wider world.

Earth Friendly Crafts for Kids: 50 Awesome Things to Make with Recycled Stuff by Heather Smith with Joe Rhatigan: Provides instructions for using recycled materials to create 50 different crafts and offers tips for an earth-friendly lifestyle.

EcoArt! Earth-Friendly Art & Craft Experiences for 3- to 9 -Year-Olds by Laurie Carlson: Presents art and craft projects that benefit the environment through such activities as recycling.

Ecology Crafts for Kids: 50 Great Ways to Make Friends with Planet Earth by Bobbe Needham: Provides instructions for a variety of craft activities using recycled materials or items from nature and teaching a respect for the environment.

Painting on Rocks for Kids by Lin Wellford: Provides instructions for making cars, flowers, dinosaurs, food, and more from painted rocks

The Enchanted Gardening Book: Ideas for Using Plants to Beautify Your World, Both Indoors and Out by Alice Herck: A step-by-step guide to creative gardening, with ideas from a delicate doll's garden to a tropical rainforest.

Little Green Thumbs by Mary An Van Hage: Provides ideas and instructions for projects that involve growing various kinds of plants indoors during the different seasons.

Nature Smart: Awesome Projects to Make with Mother Nature's Help by Gwen Diehn: This book is a compilation of three previously published works: Nature Crafts for Kids; Kid Style Nature Crafts; and Ecology Crafts for Kids. More than 150 nature crafts are featured, including: wind vanes, beach baskets, bird feeders, scented soap, barometers, egg shell mosaics, plus many more.

Books: Seasonal, Rainy Day and Slumber Party

Summer by Gillian Chapman: Describes some of the holidays that are celebrated around the world in summer, including May Day, Kodomonohi, Flag Day, and South American street festivals, and provides instructions for a variety of related craft projects.

Fun on a Rainy Day by Petra Boase: Fifty project ideas, aimed at 7-12 year olds, to keep kids entertained indoors.

Rainy Day Fun by Gillian Souter: This title from the "Handy Crafts" series provides directions for creating a variety of items, including kirigami flowers, picture frames, greeting cards, decorated boxes, and stenciled tee shirts.

The Sleepover Book by Margot Griffin: Offers crafts, games, recipes and more.

Videos

Blue's Clues: Arts and Crafts (Videocassette): The television program, Blue's Clues, gets preschoolers thinking and playing to learn.

Creative Nature Crafts for Kids: At the Beach (Videocassette): Crafts that can be done at the beach or at home.

Let's Create for Preschoolers (Videocassette): Art activites for preschool children, including finger painting, sponge painting, puppets from paper plates, paper bag costumes, and more.

NatureArt : From Herbs, Flowers & Trees (Videocassette): Learn how to grow a wild flower and herb garden, make leaf and bark rubbings, fold paper flowers, design fantasy lands with dried flowers, create floral bookmarks and placemats, prepare berry ink and plant dyes, and more.

CD-ROM

How to Catch a Wild Asparagus-Snatching Snaggly Snort: An Activity-Based Learning Adventure (ages 6-12): In the process of catching a monster, children will experience dozens of arts and crafts, safari recipes with step-by-step cooking instructions, projects for exploring science and the natural world, and writing activities that challenge the imagination.

Websites

Amazing Moms: Arts and Crafts Ideas for Kids: Lots of projects for kids to create and tips for working with kids.

Creative Kids at Home: Free crafts and creative kids' activities for the summer.

DLTK's Crafts for Kids: Summer Crafts: Age ranked craft projects that you could really adapt to any time of the year.

Kid's Domain Craft Exchange: Summer Crafts: Homemade Bubbles, Baseball themed projects… that sounds like summer!

Michaels Kids Club: Craft projects from the online arm of this arts and crafts supply store.

Summer Activities for K-6 Kids: This list of "easy" craft projects with instructions also includes links to craft supply stores where you can buy what you'll need.