Summer Fun Stuff!

Crafts     Snacks      Games

 

Crafts

Pie Plate Tambourine

  • Two 8 inch aluminum pie pans
  • Plastic or paper coated twist ties
Poke eight holes, 1 to 2 inches apart, just inside the rim of an 8 inch aluminum pie pan.

Cut small circles from the other aluminum pie pan for jangles. Punch a small hole in each one.

Using twist ties, attach the jangles by twisting the ties at the very ends, so the jangles will hang loosely. Leave a space where there are no holes so you can hold the tambourine.

Watermelon Checker Board
  • Heavy corrugated cardboard
  • Poster paint
  • Black permanent marker
  • Twelve watermelon seeds
  • Twelve squash seeds
Cut a circle about 14 inches wide from heavy corrugated cardboard. Paint the outer inch of the circle with green poster paint. Paint the inside of the circle red. Paint a thin white line where the two colors meet.

With a pencil, draw an 8 inch square in the red area. Mark off every inch on each side of the square. Connect the marks on opposite sides of the square, dividing it into sixty-four small squares.

With a permanent black marker, outline the large square. Color in every other small square to form a checkerboard. Draw on watermelon seeds. Use twelve black seeds from a watermelon and twelve white seeds from a squash as your game's playing pieces.

Juice Lid Wind Chimes
  • Two ice cream sticks
  • Yarn
  • Sixteen frozen juice lids
Glue two ice cream sticks together at their centers to form an X. Tie a piece of yarn at the X to help hold the sticks together and to make a loop for hanging. Wash and dry sixteen frozen juice lids. Cut four 1 foot pieces of yarn and a fifth piece 1 1/2 feet long.

Using three lids, glue on of the lids to the end of a piece of yarn, another one almost at the center, and the last one near the top, leaving about 3 inches of yarn. Repeat this three more times. Tie each piece of yarn to an end of one of the sticks.

Glue the remaining four lids onto the 1 1/2 foot length of yarn, leaving about 2 1/2 inches to be tied to the center of the sticks.

Twirling Monkey
  • Construction paper
  • Chenille sticks
  • Plastic drinking straw
Draw and cut out circles form construction paper. Glue these together to make the monkey.

Staple pieces of chenille sticks to the monkey for the arms and legs.

Wrap the ends of the arms around a plastic drinking straw.

Hold the straw in your hand, and swing the monkey around the straw

Nature Bracelet
  • Poster board
  • Dried beans, peas, or barley
  • Yarn
Cut a strip of poster board to fit around your wrist.

Glue on dried beans, peas, or barley for decoration.

Punch a hole in each end and string a piece of yarn through the holes. Tie the bracelet around your wrist.

More Great Craft Ideas>>

 

Snacks

Cinnamon Toast

What you Need:
  • 2/3 Cup sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions:
Mix sugar and cinnamon in sealed container. Put lid on and shake until well mixed.

Make toast in toaster. Butter toast. When still warm sprinkle cinnamon/sugar combination on toast! Delicious!

 

Banana Cream Pie Treat

What you Need:
  • Graham Crackers
  • Banana
  • Whip Cream
Instructions:
Tear up banana in bite size pieces.

Place on banana bits on graham cracker.

Add a glob of whipped cream.

Place another graham cracker on top and squish down.

Rice Crispy Pops

What you Need:
  • 5 Cups Rice Krispie cereal
  • 1/4 Cup butter or margerine
  • 4 Cups mini Marshmallows
  • Popscicle sticks
Instructions:
Adult supervision required.

Melt margarine in saucepan on stove.

Add marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted.

Remove from heat, add Rice Krispies and stir until coated.

Shape sticky Rice Krispies around a popsicle stick. Let Harden.

Edible Aquarium

What you Need:
  • Blue Jello
  • Gummy fish
  • Glasses (clear plastic are best)
Instructions:
Prepare blue Jello as directed. Pour into glasses and refridgerate until partially set (about 1 hour).

Once partially set insert gummy fish into Jello. Set until firm.

There you have it, kids can now eat their aquariums.

Frozen Grapes

What you Need:
  • Seedless red or green grapes
Instructions:
Put cleaned, washed grapes in a plastic bag or container. Place in freezer. Allow to freeze over night.

These make really neat treats on a hot day! You can also take on car trips so they stay nice and cold or toss a few in your fruit drink!

More Great Snack Ideas>>

 

Games

Fire Fighter!!

Instructions:
Draw a pretend fire on the side of your house or garage with colored chalk. Ask parents permission first. Use water-filled squirt bottles to put the fire out. As you squirt, the fire will magically disappear!
What you Need:
  • Sidewalk Chalk
  • Water filled Squirt bottles

Make your own Chalk:

  • Dixie cups
  • Plaster or casting compound
  • Powder paint
  • Craft sticks
  • Water
Pour 1/2 cup of plaster into Dixie cup (cup should be 1/2 full). Add about 1 tablespoon. of powder paint to plaster and a little water. Mixture should be moist but not watery or soupy. Mix the ingredients together with your craft sticks for 1 minute or 2. Let the mixture dry for 24 hrs.

Gold Digger

Instructions:
Before you play this game have your parents spray paint pebbles with gold spray paint. Bury the 'gold' in a sandbox or container of sand.

Invite your friends over to look for Gold!

Use a plastic toy sieve or kitchen sieve and sift through the sand. See who can find the most gold!

Water Balloon Volleyball

Instructions:
You'll need a few friends to form teams, and a net or obstacle to use as a net.

Each team needs a bed sheet, and a good supply of water filled balloons.

Each team member holds a corner or side of the sheet. Put a water balloon on the sheet. Using lots of teamwork, bounce the balloon on the sheet until you can flip it over the net.

The other team must catch it in their sheet and flip it back.

For smaller groups or young children, use a smaller sheet or a tablecloth.

You can also use a ping- pong ball instead of water balloons.

Dragon's Tail

Instructions:
A dragon is formed by grouping the players into a long line each with their hands on the shoulders of the one in front of him.

The first in the row is the dragon's head. The last in the row is the dragon's tail, eager to lash to the right and left in order to escape the head.

Until the signal GO is given, the dragon must be a straight line.

Someone in the group counts "One, two, three, go!" On the signal GO the head runs around toward the tail and tries to catch it.

The whole body must move with the head and remain unbroken. If the head succeeds in touching the tail, they may continue to be the head. If the body breaks before he catches the tail the head becomes the tail and the next in line is the head and so on until everyone has a chance to be the head and the tail.

 

More Fun Activities>>

 

 

 

 

 

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