Any idea for DIY with kids this summer?

What age are your kids?

I found this wonderful idea I am dying to try with my grandkids. Use round river stones you can pick up or even buy if you must, green acrylic paint, and have fun making your own individual cactus gardens. Most folks keep old potting containers in their sheds if you don't have enough. Have fun! Spray with a finish for out of doors. Here is a photo.

My grandkids and I painted rocks to look like ladybugs, puppies, cows, kitties etc. They loved it and it added lots of character to my rock s round my trees and flower beds. You can find lots more ideas at the website below.

Best 25+ Diy kids crafts ideas on Pinterest | Kids diy, Diy arts and crafts ...

https://www.pinterest.com/explore/diy-kids-crafts/

when we were kids we would find flowering weeds in a field nearby and make different colors with food coloring in a disposable aluminum pie tin. We'd mix a little bit of vinegar, water and food coloring in the tins then dip the flowers .They were so pretty and colorful. Ofcourse mom made us do all this outside:)

Set up a scavenger hunt using nature - find things like a bird's nest; 10 different kinds of leaves, flowers, and grasses; take camera photos of 5 different kinds of birds, ducks or geese; photos of other wildlife; etc. Give them 2-3 hours to do this and either work alone or in teams.

Reward them with a summer treat like a swim or ice cream cone, etc.

Also, see if you can borrow a computer projector. Hang a bed sheet from a blank wall outside or a clothesline and show movies. Have kids bring sleeping bags to sit on and serve boxes of movie candy (from dollar stores or Five Below) and popcorn.

A bit messier, but hang a few old light-color shirts or socks on a clothesline or fence outside, and let kids squirt tie-dye at them! Mix the powder to make the dye, and fill cheap squirt guns with it. The socks actually came out the best over here, and it's a fun story to tell every time they wear them.

take a plastic lid, punch holes around the edges and have kids string beads to make wind chimes. Punch a hole in the center for hanging.

All these ideas were fantastic! thank you everyone for your help :)

The easiest and most fun thing you can make is a puddle. Find a low place on a sidewalk if you can or use a low place on dirt or grass. Kids LOVE puddles. I made one for my grandkids when I didn't have any water toys and they loved it! 2 years later I got them a small kids pool, but they still liked the puddle the best. They ran through it, drive their "bikes" through it, Hopped, Skipped and jumped through it, they made a "Bike Wash", then a "Baby Doll Wash". We've been having our grandkid once a week for over 4 years and at 3 & 6 now it's still their favorite. (Obviously this is only the littlest one's second year with the puddle). If their parents are afraid of them getting wet, we keep an extra set of clothes so we can dry them off when they've had enough.

We found mini "Big wheels" at garage sales. they LOVE bubbles and chalk. Once they both started playing together, they learned how to "play' ball, just by tossing a ball around us.. Digging in a sand pile is good. If you don't have a sand pile, use a dirt pile. Kids love to play in dirt. You can make a bath part of the fun before they get picked up. At lunch time we play a game, simply called Animals. We go around the table each naming an animal until we run out. They've learned a lot of animals from us and used those on their turn in another game. We also done Birds & Insects. Anything will work. Our granddaughter (6) likes to do singers. My hubby & I get them with Perry Como and Elvis! LOL Our grandson (3) likes to do dinosaurs. My hubby is good at that one and it always ends up between the 3 yr old & my hubby. BTW, we don't declare a 'winner'. We get out the ice cream and that usually stops the game.

For winter, I found a small plastic kitchen at a garage sale and they make coffee, tea and soup for use. We found trucks, blocks and books at garage sales Also crayons & paint at the craft store as well as play doh (you can also make your own) I found a bunch of Play do "tools" at garage sales. That one is a favorite. They do have a few favorite TV shows in the early afternoon that they like. They're not allowed to watch many shows at home so it's a treat to them to watch "Paw Patrol" at our house, we can even turn that into quiet time and sometime they fall asleep.

We also do small crafts for parents for holidays, Mother's Day and Father's Day. In the winter we make cookies, in the summer fruit freeze pops. For Christmas we made some simple candy mixes for gift for them to give to others. We had a blast. (and a mess LOL)

Once you get started, you'll discover things they like. I got my granddaughter a rubber band bracelet making kit. At first it was confusing, but after a while she got it a she made her first bracelet. Watch what they seem to enjoy and go from there. Check out garage sales for used toys, many are in great shape - especially when they are little.

Hope that helps.

Good luck!

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I had friends kids stay a few days recently and worked with them using natural elements we gathered rocks and sticks we glued the materials to milk cartons and containers and made fairy and troll houses.. was fun for me and them