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10 Thrifty Recycled Crafts for Summer Fun

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10 Thrifty Recycled Crafts for Summer FunEvery kid looks forward to summertime because they get to spend some time doing fun creative activities. Kids get to let loose and run around outside in the sun instead of being in a classroom all day. The challenge, though, is keeping your kids occupied with fun summer activities. My kids are all energy and no down time, so I’m constantly searching for new activities to keep them entertained. Now, I love using recycled crafts to entertain my children because I don’t have to worry about spending a lot of money on projects to keep them occupied. I’ve found that the coolest recycled craft that my kids love are the Adorable Minion Lawn Darts because they can’t get enough of the Minions. This fun craft keeps them outside for hours at a time. I have a hard time getting them to come inside when it’s time for lunch.

Of course, you need to plan for the summer days when the weather might not be as nice as you’d like it to be, so it’s always a great idea to add some indoor activities to your list. Any time I come across cardboard boxes, I immediately grab them because my kids love turning them into a fort or Creative Cardboard Box Cars. They always have a blast making things out of the cardboard boxes. Sometimes they prefer playing with cardboard boxes over anything else. That’s why it’s always a good idea to find new cardboard boxes to bring home.

Most of the materials for these crafts were already in my house, so I didn’t have to scramble around town looking for things that my children can use for their crafts. These no-fuss crafts really made it easier for me to keep my children happy.

 

Outdoor Activities

Summertime is all about playing with your kids outside in the sun, so you need to have some fun summer activities that will get the whole family outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. The Water Bottle Rocket is the perfect kids craft to get your little ones outside; after all, what kid doesn’t like to shoot things off into into the air?

 

 

Indoor Activities

Indoor activities are always a great idea to have for when it’s nasty and rainy outside. Your kids can throw a burst of color into a cloudy day when they make Color Burst Melted Crayon Art. This a great activity idea to do, especially when your kids have a bunch of old, broken crayons that they never use.

 

The Ultimate Guide to Summer Fun

 

If you’re looking for some more summer fun ideas to have with your children, check out the Ultimate Guide to Summer Fun, hosted by our friends at True Aim Education!

 

 

What summertime activities do your little ones love to do?

Get Out and Play! DIY Outdoor Activities for Your Family

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Summer is the time for kids’ imaginations to run wild in the backyard. Finally, they can go outside and play, to the relief of parents everywhere! Fresh air, exercise, and mess-less fun make the great outdoors the best place to play. At AllFreeHolidayCrafts.com, we’re celebrating summer with DIY outdoor activities to get your whole family out and moving. If we’d had these outdoor games and activities growing up, our parents would’ve needed to drag us inside for dinner!

Years ago, kids were often left to entertain themselves in the backyard. Now that families are more active, we need more DIY outdoor activities that can appeal to all ages. Roll up your sleeves and get to work on these great summer ideas. They’re fun to make and play!

Get Out and Play! DIY Outdoor Activities for Your Family

 

DIY Backyard Board Game

Imagine spending an afternoon with the family playing a DIY Backyard Board Game. If you’re a musical family, design the board to include challenges like singing and tapping out a beat. If you’re a sporty family, roll the dice to race around the yard or do jumping-jacks. The possibilities are endless for this exciting summer idea! This game is guaranteed to result in laugh-out-loud moments and great summer memories. Everyone wins when your family is having a blast! What kind of challenges would your family enjoy?

DIY Backyard Board Game

DIY Kids PVC Periscope

Something about fresh summer air really stirs up kids’ imaginations. When you’re spending family time in the yard, give the kids a little inspiration for their make-believe adventures. This DIY Kids PVC Periscope, created by Amanda Hill for Living on Love and Cents, could lead to a submarine fantasy! Kids can peer around corners and spy over bushes. This kids craft for summer would take any hide-and-seek game to the next level.

DIY Kids PVC Periscope

DIY Outdoor Dominoes

Tricky, tricky! Playing DIY Outdoor Dominoes will get your kids outside and improve their math skills at the same time. These giant dominoes might make math seem fun! Whether you play dominoes the old-fashioned way or just stack and count them, the whole family will be exercising their bodies and brains. That’s just smart parenting, and your kids’ teachers would be so proud.

DIY Outdoor Dominoes

DIY Rainbow Paver Hopscotch

Here’s an updated classic that doubles as garden improvement. DIY Rainbow Paver Hopscotch will have your family hoppin’ and boppin’ their way through the yard. Your kids will love this colorful counting game. As an added bonus, the rainbow pavers will make a great summer decoration for your yard, and will serve as a nice, sturdy path. Wouldn’t this look cute in your yard?

DIY Rainbow Paver Hopscotch

What’s your favorite outdoor summer activity?

 

 

LOVE HStylish Weddings: 50 Simple Ideas to Make from Top DesignersOLIDAY CRAFTS? Win a copy of Stylish Weddings: 50 Simple Ideas to Make from Top Designers from Lark Crafts! The deadline to enter is May 13, 2014 at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Featuring an assortment of DIY wedding designs from top craft designers, Stylish Weddings makes for a wonderful source of inspiration for crafters just like you.

 

Link Love: Outdoor Activities for Your Summer Bucketlist

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Here at AllFreeKidsCrafts, we’re no strangers to sticking our hands in the mud and getting grass stains on our jeans. In fact, we encourage it! Spending time outside is one of the best parts of childhood. Now that the weather is officially nice, it’s time to head outside, and there’s no better way to enjoy the great outdoors than spending some quality time with the kids. Finding outdoor activities for kids and adults alike to enjoy might sound tricky, but where there’s a will, there’s a DIY way! Whether you want to encourage your kids to explore nature or simply go outside to play, these fun activities for kids will make your summer (or, end of spring) truly special.

While kids are generally pretty self-sufficient when it comes to entertaining themselves, there are plenty of moments where they demand new ideas for fun. After all, how many times have you heard the dreaded “I’m bored” when you’ve sent the kids to go play? Sometimes simple outdoor activities like making paper bag kites, chalking a life-sized checkerboard in the driveway, or simply making up their own outdoor games will do the trick, but sometimes kiddos need a little something extra to chase their boredom away.

Don’t waste a day of sunshine! With these outdoor activities at your fingertips, you’ll be able to create an unforgettable summer bucket list that the kids will remember all year round. From garden crafts to water games to even a homemade slip ‘n slide, your little ones will be amazed with your genius entertainment ideas. These innovative and fun outdoor activities for kids will help you enjoy your backyard in a whole new way and keep the kids busy for hours on end. Get ready to see a few more grass stains on those knees!

 

Link Love: Outdoor Activities for Your Summer Bucketlist
1. Lawn Scrabble from Constantly Lovestruck
2. Gardening for Letters from No Time for Flash Cards
3. Make Your Own Hula Hoop from Six Sisters’ Stuff
4. DIY Slip and Slide from Inner Child Fun
5. Outdoor Tic Tac Toe from Chicken Scratch NY
6. Giant Outdoor Easel from Fantastic Fun and Learning
7. Nature Scavenger Hunt from Hands On As We Grow
8. Portable Water Walls from Fun-A-Day
9. Garden Sensory Bin from Mess for Less

Make the Most of Snow: 11 Winter Crafts and Outdoor Activities for Kids

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11 Winter Crafts for Kids + Outdoor ActivitiesDepending on where you live, you might experience an entire season of snowfall when winter comes, or you might consider yourself lucky to get even a few days of snow. No matter how much snow you get, it’s time to celebrate the season with some winter crafts for kids!

Sometimes it’s easy to forget all the reasons why we love winter, especially when we’re faced with holiday traffic or bitter cold temperatures. Luckily, the latest free eBook from AllFreeKidsCrafts is stuffed with new ideas for both indoor and outdoor fun, so on days when it’s just too chilly to go outside, you can still find a way to enjoy the weather without getting cold. And of course, playing outside on the more temperate winter days can actually benefit your kids’ cognitive development. So bundle up; this collection of 11 Winter Crafts and Outdoor Activities is going to blow you away!

Outdoor Activities for Kids

Ice Balloon LanternsWhen you think of outdoor activities for winter weather, you might think you’ve got it all figured out: snow angels, igloos, snowmen, and snowball fights, right? Well, those classic winter activities are tons of fun, but now there’s even more outdoor fun to be had! Winter becomes twice as fun with these outdoor activities for kids. You can decorate your house with ‘cool’ decorations made out of ice, or you can create special stacking blocks that are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers. The best part of these winter crafts for kids is that you can still enjoy them even if there’s no snow on the ground—just make sure the air temperature is cold enough!

Preschool Winter Crafts

Teensy Weensy Snowman PalYou’re never too old to play in the snow, and you’re never too young to enjoy a good winter craft project! The winter craft ideas in this eBook are a great way to enjoy the snowy season on days when it’s too cold to go outside, or on school snow days. 11 Winter Crafts + Outdoor Activities for Kids has fantastically frosty projects that are perfect for preschoolers, from adorable snowman crafts to winter arts and crafts. Little ones will love displaying their handiwork all over the house, and you’ll love having handmade decorations for winter!

 

11 Winter Crafts for Kids + Outdoor Activities

 

What’s your favorite way to celebrate winter?

Fun with Kids for Dummies

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Suminagashi Prints

Of course you’ll take her while her dad plays racquetball. You’d like nothing better than to watch him while his mom gets her nails done. You love your grandkids, nieces, nephews, neighbor’s kids (whoever) more than anything, and you are just thrilled that they are coming to stay with you for the weekend or the afternoon or an hour. HOW IN THE WORLD ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP THEM ENTERTAINED?! Don’t you worry your pretty little head for even a moment. That’s exactly what AllFreeKidsCrafts specializes in. Even the best parents and grandparents run out of ideas sometimes, and there is no shame in that. Let us do the work for you, and all you need to do is have fun with the kids.

Indoor Activities for Kids

So the sun isn’t out and the rain is coming down hard. That doesn’t mean that you are doomed; that you’ll be confined to a small space with these darling children for hours on end. Au contraire, my friend, there are endless amounts of activities from which to choose that will keep the kids happy and occupied. Line up these activities back to back and all you have to do is feed them. Anything that looks cool, like the Suminagashi Prints, is sure to keep them busy and mesmerized.

 

Outdoor Activities for Kids

It’s a lot easier to wear out little ones when the great outdoors are on your side. Once they’re through with tag, and hide-and-go-seek has been tired out, try playing Outdoor Checkers. It exercises their minds and it’s free. If they’re too young for checkers or it’s just not their thing, try some of these other outdoor activities for kids.

Spray Away

 

Games to Play with Kids

There are some younguns, you’ll find, that have quite the competitive drive, and if there is no winning or losing going on, they’re not happy. Luckily, we know of tons of games to play with kids that should quench their victory thirst. Word of advice: let them win. There are also games listed here,which don’t necessarily call for a winner or a loser, for the more reserved children. If things get too competitive with the other breed, relax them with games from the latter genre, like Eye Bombing.

 

 Do you look forward to sitting for your grandkids or do you worry you won’t be able to keep them entertained?

Link Love: Camping Crafts for Kids

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Summer Camp Week

How are you enjoying the Summer Camp Week giveaways and crafts? I know I am! To continue the weekly theme, Link Love this week is full of some of the best kids camping crafts from across the web. I love being outside, and I think interacting with nature is a great way to satisfy a child’s curiosity and connect with them on a more basic level. Plus, it’s so much fun!

Click here to enter today’s Summer Camp Week Giveaway!

Just the thought of the great outdoors makes me want to explore, to experience and create nature crafts and camp crafts for myself and for the kids. I’m not sure why, but there’s something beautifully romantic about wandering the wilderness and living off of the land. Creating crafts from natural, eco-friendly materials seems to satisfy something very primal in people.

If you agree, go camping in the woods, try a hike or nature walk, go canoeing, or just go play in the forest for awhile and gather the basic materials for these fun camp crafts. These crafts for kids and adults are also phenomenal pieces to make at summer camp, where kids especially can experience nature in a way that they normally cannot at home.

I think these Birdie Burgers are a great way to bring nature right to your back door, and Wild Woodland Watercolors make the perfect rustic home accents.

If you’re looking for more easy outdoor activities and nature crafts for kids and adults, this great roundup from across the web is just the thing. Garden Inspired Wall Art is a lovely way to celebrate the outdoors and make something amazing for your home decor. Pitch your tent, take a hike, and gather some materials that inspire you from nature and get to work!

Camping Crafts Link Love

  1. Bows and Arrows from Imagine Childhood
  2. Tripod Camping Stool from Design Sponge
  3. Leafy Lantern from Here We Are Together
  4. Bird’s Nest Necklaces from Eclectic Chica
  5. Nature Walk Leaf Mobile from Small Wonders
  6. Camp Journals from Your Home Based Mom
  7. Glass Jar Lanterns from Gingerbread Snowflakes
  8. Meaningful Message Stones from Garden Mama
  9. Summer Camp Chairs from Simple Simon and Co.
  10. Nature Pressings from My Plum Pudding

Have you seen today’s Summer Camp Week Giveaway from AllFreeKidsCrafts? Click here to check it out!

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