Letter Treasure Hunt

Crayon freckles has an entertaining way for kids to practice their ABCs and sounds via a sound scavenger hunt. Kids have to find a object around the house that matches each letter.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://crayonfreckles.blogspot.com/2012/02/letter-sounds-scavenger-hunt.html

Glow in the Dark Lanterns

Lindsay and Andrew have a great, easy way to make a glowing lantern using simply mason jars and glow in the dark paint. Great to use for a summer evening out.

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://lindsayandandrew.blogspot.com/2011/08/frame-pup-tents_11.html

Colored Side Walk Chalk Recipe

Project Alica shows a great way to make star shaped sidewalk chalk.  She uses red white and blue for the fourth of July but you can use any shapes and colors to make these all summer long.  The plaster of paris is the hard to find ingredient but as she mentions your local hardware store should have it.

Good for ages 9 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.projectalicia.com/2010/06/not-so-wordless-wednesday-diy-4th-of.html

Tie Dye Sun Catchers

Wendolonia has a really easy sun catcher idea using paper towels and water color paints. 

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://wendolonia.com/blog/2010/01/26/tie-dye-window-decorations/

Dancing Fruit Science Experiment

Mom to two posh little divas has another fun science experiment involving raisins and carbonated soda demonstrating the reaction and density.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.momto2poshlildivas.com/2012/01/dancing-raisins-experiment.html

Felt Ball Bracelet

Lil blue boo demonstrates a really easy method for making felt balls and how to turn them into a bracelet.

Good for ages 6 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.lilblueboo.com/2012/02/how-to-make-felt-balls-wet-felting-101.html

Origami Stories

Rachel Katz has a new twist on origami. With each new fold she unfolds a story. She currently has seven origami animals and stories on her site.

Good for ages 7 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://origamiwithrachelkatz.com/stories/stories.asp

Ice Cube Water Experiment

E is for explore has a science experiment showing kids the difference in creating ice cubes using regular tap water and boiled water.

Good for ages 7 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://eisforexplore.blogspot.com/2012/01/crystal-clear-cube-experiment.html

Historical Paper Dolls

Mostly paper dolls has dolls from various time periods throughout history including the one above of Josephine, the Empress of France.

Get the template here:
http://mostlypaperdolls.blogspot.com/2012/01/josephine-empress-of-french-1899.html

Ocean Excavation Project

Two steps behind six little hands has a fun outdoor activity for the summer -- an ocean excavation project. Using a large plastic bin hide ocean objects in blue tinted water and freeze. Then give your kids different tools to carve them out such as a spray bottle, meat mallet, basting brush. It should entertain them for a good while and keep them cool.

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://twostepsbehindsixlittlehands.blogspot.com/2011/09/great-babysitter-ocean-excavation.html

Stick Bracelets

Dzwiedziu has a fun idea for turning a popsicle stick into a bracelet. Simply boil in water for 15 minutes and as they cool they'll warp into a cuff bracelet shape. I imagine you need to try with a lot of popsicle sticks to get just the right fit. Then you simply decorate the stick as you see fit, she uses scrapbooking paper and glue but you could use a number of different items from paint to stickers.

Good for ages 7 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://dzwiedziu.soup.io/post/142433840/Popsicle-Stick-Bracelets-DIY-Steps

Easy Colorful Sun Catchers

Education.com has a tutorial for how to make sun catchers using baby oil, construction paper, markers and a cotton swab.  Keep in mind the baby oil will expand farther than it starts so you might want to add some distance between the pattern elements.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.education.com/activity/article/oil-sun-catcher/

Colorful Soap Shapes

Magical childhood takes the ivory soap explosion experiment (microwave a half bar of ivory soap for 30 seconds and watch it explode and expand into a foam) even further by using paint brushes, water and food coloring to make what she calls soap clouds.

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://chemistry.about.com/od/demonstrationsexperiments/a/soaptrick.htm
http://magicalchildhood.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/painted-soap-clouds/

Watercolor Salt Bookmarks

Art club blog has a crafty science experiment showing the effects of salt on watercolor paints while creating a unique and pretty bookmark. The experiment/craft uses construction paper, yarn, salt, and watercolor paint.

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://artclubblog.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/salty-bookmarks/

Straw Maze Kids Craft

Teach preschool has a clever idea of how to make a marble maze using colorful plastic straws, glue and box tops.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.teachpreschool.org/2012/01/a-maze-ing-marble-mazes/

People Pebbles

Parenthood has a cute and simple craft making people and animal creatures from pebbles. It's a great craft that can be done outside and half of the fun will be searching for unique shaped pebbles. You can also use grass, moss, twigs, petals, leaves and other natural products to make hair, fur or clothing.

Good for ages 8 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.parenthood.ie/fun-and-crafts/school-kids/rock-animals-and-people.html

Hand Print Frame

Michael's has a cute idea for a Father's day gift using children paint hand prints on the matting of a frame. 

Get the instructions here:
http://www.michaels.com/Frame-with-Hand-Print-Mat/30551,default,pd.html

How to Make a Washer Necklace

Creations by kara has a unique idea for making a really simple, yet really cute necklace. All you need is a washer, scrap booking paper, glue, ribbon or cord, and a tiny bead.

Good for ages 8 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.creationsbykara.com/2011/07/washer-necklace-tutorial.html

 

Design mom uses embroidery thread, fastening it with a knot.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.designmom.com/2013/05/big-small-diy-wrapped-washer-necklaces/

Card Board Box Creations

Declutter organize repurpose has several really creative ideas for how to take a cardboard box and make it into a toy including a gas pump, a car, a refrigerator, doll bed, castle and even a shape sorter for  toddlers. 

Get the instructions here:
http://declutterorganizerepurpose.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/repurpose-cardboard-boxes-into-kid-craftstoys/

DIY Magazine Coil Coasters

Saved by love creations has a do it yourself coaster project using colorful magazine pages.  All you need are glossy magazines and glue. 

Good for ages 10 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://savedbylovecreations.com/2011/09/coiled-magazine-page-round-coasters.html

Tin Foil Toadstools

Filth wizardry takes aluminum foil and turns it into toadstools.  All you need is some foil and paint and imagination.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.filthwizardry.com/2010/03/aluminium-foil-fairy-circle.html

Free Military Vehicle Printable Toys

HP has print outs and folding instructions for three military 3D printables including a tank, jeep and helicopter. 

Good for ages 8 and up.

Get the templates tere:
http://h30393.www3.hp.com/printing/app/us/en/tg_military_vehicle-landing.aspx

How to Make a Terrarium

My calico skies shows step-by-step how to make a terrarium using a jar, rocks, plants, soil, and charcoal.

Good for ages 7 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://mycalicoskies.blogspot.com/2012/02/terrarium-diy.html

Disney's family also ha a terrarium project. However theirs calls for active carbon which is sold in pet stores. It helps prevent the earthy odors.

Get the instructions here:
http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/terrific-terrarium-1024894/

The enchanted tree has a terrarium idea as well using moss, glass jars, soil, charcoal, gravel and cute decorative toadstools.

Get the instructions here:

http://theenchantedtree.blogspot.com/2011/02/moss-gardens-in-jar.html

Outdoor Scavenger Hunt

The taylor house has a cute list for an outdoor scavenger hunt that all kids should be able to find.  Item includes objects such as a beautiful rock and two different type of leaves.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the list here:
http://www.thetaylor-house.com/2012/03/nature-scavenger-hunt-for-kids.html

Clothes Pin Magnets

Momtastic teaches how to take clothes pins and turn them into magnets using fabric and magnet tape.  You could also use paint or markers or even stickers too.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.momtastic.com/diy/172975-diy-clothespin-magnet 

Toilet Paper Roll Gnomes

Apartment therapy shared an adorable way to make mini garden gnomes using toilet paper tubes, water cooler cone cups and paint.  There's something about gnomes that just make them so cute.  If you're going to keep them indoors you could also use glue and cotton balls to enhance the gnome beards.

Good for ages 9 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-mini-garden-gnomes-170054

Father's Day Kid's Interview Card

Creative home makers has a great way to make a Father's day card into an annual tradition. She has template that kids can fill out with questions about their dad. It even has space for a drawing and a personal letter.  It will be fun to see how the answers change over the year.  She also has a grandpa and papa card too. 

 Get the template here:
http://creativehomemakers.blogspot.com/2010/06/fathers-day-printable.html 

The crafty chicks has a colorful version for both dad and grandpa.

Get the template here:
http://thecraftingchicks.com/2012/05/fathers-day-questionaire-free-printable.html

Big d and me also has a version.

Get the template here:
http://www.bigdandme.com/2011/05/fathers-day-printable/

Simply montessori has one as well.

Get the template here:
http://simplymontessori.blogspot.com/2011/06/printable-fathers-day-interview-poster.html 

Kinzie creations version is for a younger child.

Pink pepper mint paper has a very cute tie and collar version. 

Handprint Tree

Personalized prints (an Etsy site) has a hand print tree for Father's day, similar to the hand print flower ideas for Mother's day. There are some really great tree with no leaves images you can print using an image search.  

Get images here:
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Drawings+Of+Trees+Without+Leaves

A little tipsy share her version of the handprint tree as well using autumnal colors to represent fall leaves.

Walk by the way uses a hand and finger prints to make her version of the tree.

Crafts by amanda uses hand print cut outs and has the kids write messages.

Busy bee kids crafts shows how to use a hand print and thumb prints to make a family tree.

Naptime decorator has each member of the family use a different color to create a family tree.

Saatchi online takes a more minimalist bent on the hand print tree.  Her version sells for $650 but an image search might provide a similar barren tree to reproduce this.

Father's Day Google Card

733 has a very cute idea for a Father's day card using fake search results.  Unfortunately they don't have a template for making the card yourself.  However, there's a great site Gooogie which has a template for Google's did you mean results. 

Get the template here:
http://www.gooogie.co.uk/

Polymer Key Fob

Craft test dummies has a cute idea for Father's Day, making key fobs out of polymer. They even show how to stamp in initials.

Good for ages 9 and up.

Get the instructions here:

http://www.crafttestdummies.com/crafts-for-kids/fathers-day-polymer-clay-keyfobs/

Free June Craft Events

Saturday June 2

Home Depot has a wooden craft project where kids can make an organizer for Father's day between 9 am and 12 pm.  The recommended ages are 5 to 12.

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/ContentView?pn=HT_WS_KidsWorkshops

Tuesday June 5

Lego is hosting a make a lawn mower event at 5 p.m.

http://stores.lego.com/en-US/StoreEvents.aspx

Saturday June 9

Lowes has a build an airplane event sponsored by the movie Madagascar 3 at 10 am.  Kids need to register for the event.

https://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com/pages/default.aspx

Sunday June 10

Michael's is hosting a make a Father's day key chain from 1 pm to 3 pm for ages 3 and up.

http://www.michaels.com/Store-Events/store-events,default,pg.html

Lowes has a build an airplane event sponsored by the movie Madagascar 3 at 2 pm.  Kids need to register for the event.

https://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com/pages/default.aspx 

Friday June 15

Michael's is hosting a make a Father's day duct tape wallet from 6 to 8 pm for ages 3 and up.

http://www.michaels.com/Store-Events/store-events,default,pg.html

Tuesday June 19

Michael's is hosting a passport to imagination event featuring a craft from Australia from 1 to 4 pm for ages 3 and up.

http://www.michaels.com/Store-Events/store-events,default,pg.html

Thursday June 21

Michael's is hosting a passport to imagination event featuring a craft from Mexico from 1 to 4 pm for ages 3 and up.

http://www.michaels.com/Store-Events/store-events,default,pg.html

Saturday June 23

Michael's is hosting a passport to imagination event featuring a craft from Mexico from 1 to 4 pm for ages 3 and up.

http://www.michaels.com/Store-Events/store-events,default,pg.html

Lowes has a build a truck event sponsored by the movie Madagascar 3 at 10 am.  Kids need to register for the event.

https://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com/pages/default.aspx 

Sunday June 24

Lowes has a build a truck event sponsored by the movie Madagascar 3 at 2 pm.  Kids need to register for the event.

https://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com/pages/default.aspx 

Tuesday June 26

Michael's is hosting a passport to imagination event featuring a craft from China from 1 to 4 pm for ages 3 and up.

http://www.michaels.com/Store-Events/store-events,default,pg.html

Thursday June 28

Michael's is hosting a passport to imagination event featuring a craft from Madagascar from 1 to 4 pm for ages 3 and up.

http://www.michaels.com/Store-Events/store-events,default,pg.html

Saturday June 30

Michael's is hosting a passport to imagination event featuring a craft from Canada from 1 to 4 pm for ages 3 and up.

http://www.michaels.com/Store-Events/store-events,default,pg.html