Summer Arts & Crafts Ideas for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Looking for some fun arts and crafts ideas for your toddler or preschooler this summer? Here are a few ideas to get you inspired! Remember that fancy crafts with lots of steps that look really cute are not the most developmentally appropriate crafts for your child at this age (older kids can really enjoy crafts like these!) Creating an invitation to play or create using open-ended materials will give your child many opportunities to explore and express their creativity while building their fine motor skills at the same time.

Make Some Homemade Playdough

You can make some homemade playdough, and even get your child involved in the process! While you will want to do the parts of the process that involve heating on the stove, your child can stir ingredients, knead the dough after it cools, and add food coloring (make sure to mix the dough and food coloring inside a plastic bag to avoid a huge mess). Once it's ready to play with, you can set up a tray with the playdough, rolling pins, cookie cutters, and loose parts for your child. Endless hours of fun!

Here's the recipe I used to make my playdough: https://www.iheartnaptime.net/play-dough-recipe/

The playdough turned out amazing! I highly recommend this recipe.

Rainbow Writing Art

This art project is perfect for young children (ages 3-4) who are learning to write their name. You can write their name for them, and then they can try tracing each letter with paint and lining the letters with small parts like beads and gems. Watch the video below to see how I made my name!

For this art project, you will need:

• Heavy paper, like watercolor or painting paper

• Rainbow colored markers

• Washable tempera paint

• Glue

• Small items like gems, beads, buttons, etc.

Tide Pool Art

This tide pool art is a great craft to do with your older preschooler (ages 4-5). It's a great way to explore the science concept of tide pools. You could find a book at the library about tide pools and read it together before trying out this art project.

Here's the link to this art project I did with my preschoolers a few years ago: https://buggyandbuddy.com/tide-pool-art-for-kids/

So there you have it! I hope these arts and crafts ideas inspire creativity and enjoyment for you and your child. Keep in mind, the most rewarding part of making art with your child is the time spent together. So gather your materials, embrace the mess, and savor every moment! I would love to hear about your arts and crafts experience, so feel free to leave a comment below and share what you and your child made together. See you next time!