17 Simple Fun Art Activities for Kids This Summer

Kids are naturally curious. From birth, children begin exploring their world around them. I remember the days of my little ones as they “found” their fingers and toes. It is an endearing time for a parent. Our kids are in a constant state of exploration and learning. Subsequently, why is it so important for us to foster creativity? Encouraging children to dive into creative challenges allows them to develop their intellectual, physical and emotional growth. Kids will try out new ideas, challenge themselves and each other and discover new ways to problem solve. Here are 17 art activities for kids this summer that are sure to foster creativity and fun.

Stay Out of It

Many times we want to help our kids create art and do it “the right way” or color with the “right colors”. We tend to hover and help them so they can complete the art or craft. Whereas this is the roadblock, it puts a giant halt in the flow of creativity. When kids are creating, it is a process of exploration with different ideas that morph along the creative process road. In the midst of this process, they may start off drawing an airplane flying in the sky, yet throughout the drawing, it turns into a spectacular flying fictitious creature that is yellow, blue, red and green. With fewer restrictions, children can flourish.

Ideas for Art Activities for Kids and Creative Invitations:

1. Set up a still life with flowers, paper, brushes, and water.
2. Make a water bin and fill it with cucumbers and limes, add pouring cups and funnels.
3. Paint with colored ice cubes on watercolor paper.
4. Mash blueberries and strawberries and paint with their fingers on a paper.
5. Make a recycled plastics sculpture project and paint with metallic paints.
6. Make a house out of a cardboard box, cut windows and a door and allow kids to decorate/furnish the inside and outside.
7. Collect natural materials: sticks/twigs and leaves, then create a collage with recycled newspapers and painted scrap paper.
8. Make a dream catcher wire sculpture with craft wire, beads, and feathers from the dollar store.
9. Roll beads out of air dry clay and paint to create jewelry or key chains.
10. Drip paint on a canvas in the style of Jackson Pollack.
11. Stamp carved vegetable designs onto card stock, and make handmade cards or prints.
12. Make a futuristic building with scraps of old computer parts and cardboard.
13. Draw to music and see what is created when the song is over.
14. Hang a sheet outside, set out different colored paints and let kids paint on it.
15. Go outside with a sketchbook and observe as if looking through a microscope, draw what is seen.
16. Fill a small pan with shaving cream and drip food coloring on top, swirl around and press paper on top to make marbled prints.
17. Create a fairy garden with an old shoe box.

I Want to Try That!

Kids get excited when they are given invitations to create or are presented with design challenges. I have seen this in my classroom time and time again! As a result, there is a sense of freedom and exhilaration when there aren’t any rules or restrictions on what they can do with a variety of materials. Most things you can do with stuff you have around the house! If you want the mess somewhere else, try art or pottery class. Either way, you choose, your kid will love it and develop their skills as they grow and develop.

What are your favorite art activities for kids this summer? Check out these other summer activities too! And there’s also Pinterest too!