An Invitation to Draw

Surprise the kids and set up a drawing station.  You can include lots of different paper, markers, stampers and such.  The hope is that the invitation provides lots of open-ended play and imagination so the more colorful and objects you can add the better. 

Water Balloon Baseball

I candy handmade has the most fantastic baseball/water birthday party.  One activity that would be great for the summer is water balloon batting practice.  A great way for kids to work on their swing and cool off.

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://icandyhandmade.blogspot.com/2012/08/icandy-baseball-birthday-party.html#undefined

Flower Petal Cards

Scrumdilly do has a neat way to take flower petals and turn them into butterfly cards.  Looks like the trick to keeping the petals fresh looking is to flatten them dry under a book.

Good for ages 4 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://scrumdillydo.blogspot.ca/2012/04/flower-petal-butterflies-part-one.html

Melted Crayon Painting

Buzz feed lists a lot of ways to use crayons and a hair dryer for a really neat effect but the one that's most different is using up all of those little crayon pieces to create something new.  Kids will have as much fun smashing up the crayons and designing them on the page as they will melting them. 

Good for ages 5 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/donnad/creative-ways-to-create-melted-crayon-art

Growing a jeweled rose uses crayon shavings as well, but instead of a hair dryer, she leaves her canvas out in the sun and answers the question what happens when crayons are left out in the sun?

Get the instructions here:
http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/08/paint-and-play-crayon-art.html

How to Build a Worm Habitat

Spell outloud has a fascinating project for how to watch and observer worms using a 2 liter plastic bottle, worms and dirt. It seems kind of gross but it's really almost meditative watching them wiggle their way through.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.spelloutloud.com/2012/04/observing-worms-with-preschoolers/

Water Balloon Painting

Mirth market fills water balloons with paint, attaches to a board and shoots darts at them for a really neat effect.  You could also throw the balloons at the board for more of a firework look.

Good for ages 10 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://mirthmarket.blogspot.com/2012/06/water-balloon-dart-painting.html?m=1

Growing a jeweled rose has the hid throw the balloons for a less controlled effect.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.growingajeweledrose.com/2013/05/paint-play.html 

Let's lasso the moon fills the balloons with water, rolls them in paint and then rolls them onto the paper.

Get the instructions here:
 http://letslassothemoon.com/2014/06/26/water-balloon-painting-outdoor-summer-art-activity/

Hello wonderful uses darts as well, but places her balloons in the center.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.hellowonderful.co/post/balloon-dart-painting-with-kids

How to Create a Ziploc Bag Greenhouse

Things my husband has a fun project to turn any window into a greenhouse using plastic bags, seeds, soil and tape. Kids will love to see how and whether the different seeds grow.

Good for ages 3 and up.

Get the instructions here:
http://treasuresmyhh.blogspot.com/2012/05/thms-greenhouse.html

Hummingbirded turns the greenhouse project into a super neat activity.  She has the kids wear a sock on the outside of their shoe and walk around a nature trail.  She sticks the sock in a clear plastic ziploc bag, sprays it with water, tapes it in the window and everyone gets to watch their sock grow.

Get the instructions here:
http://www.hummingbirded.com/science.html