Children love to create collages by gluing things they have found on a walk to the park like seed pods, flowers and grasses to a stiff piece of cardboard. These things are all free from Mother Nature and encourage discussions about the natural world. Maybe some of the things you collect will seem a bit bland so help your child spray paint some of the findings with silver or gold paint. Alternatively, they might like to glue glitter to some of the findings to make them more sparkly!

Arranging a bouquet of fresh or dried flowers in a homemade vase is another craft that naturally fits into the summer crafts for children category. A simple vase can be made from a tin can. Soup cans work particularly well because they are smooth on the outside and rather narrow. Be sure to file off any sharp spurs on the inside opening. Start the work of art by cutting a piece of coloured paper to fit around the sides of the can. This will be glued to the outside of the can, but first it needs to be decorated.

The vase cover can be decorated in many ways. The child can draw a summer scene on the paper and then decorate it with glued on glitter or small stickers of summer things. Another idea is for the child to write their name on the paper, and glue beans, seeds, or glitter to the letters. Remember to let all glue dry before attaching the paper to the outside of the can, then add the fresh or dried flowers. Take a photo of the finished work or even suggest they draw a picture of it to go in their scrap book.

Jar vases make good summer crafts for children, too. Canning jars make particularly cute vases, but any cast off mayonnaise, pickle, or other jar, even plastic ones, can work as well. To make a jar into a vase it first needs to be sparkling clean. Children love getting wet in the summer, so let them roll up their sleeves (or put on a bathing suit!) and have fun splashing in a bowl of warm water in the back garden while "washing dishes." When the jar is clean and dry, tie an attractive ribbon around the opening. If desired, decorate the outside of the jar with glued on beads and buttons. You can even ask your child to make you a new desk tidy for your pens with one of the jars, suggest they decorate it with your name.

Summer crafts for kids will provide some cute decorations around the home and keep the kids from being bored. This summer, crafts for kids should be at the top of every parent's To Do list!

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