Easy Summer Craft Ideas for Kids: Making and Drawing Activities
Making, drawing and craft ideas using things you already have
Sometimes the hardest part is not the making. It is deciding what to make.
These summer craft ideas for kids use things you probably already have at home: paper, pens, cardboard, old magazines, recycling, tape, stickers, boxes, leaves or whatever is lying around.
The idea is simple: make something they can use, show off, play with, send to someone or turn into a game.
In this guide:
- Try a “what should I draw?” prompt
- Make something they can use
- Make one prop and start a game
- Make a mini book, comic or magazine
- Try a simple summer make
- More summer craft ideas for kids with Busy Things
1. Try a “what should I draw?” prompt
A blank page can be surprisingly hard to start with. A prompt gives children a little nudge…
Try one quick idea:
- design the strangest sandwich you can imagine
- invent a superhero with a completely useless power
- draw shoes for an octopus
- create a pet for an alien
- design a new ice cream flavour
- invent a terrible robot
- draw an animal that has never existed
To take it a bit further, they could give it a name, label the parts or add one funny sentence about it.
For more drawing ideas, try:
Try it on Busy Things: Children could try a drawing, painting or colouring activity on Busy Things if they want a ready-made creative starting point.
2. Make something they can use
Sometimes it helps to make something with a purpose.
Something they can use, wear, give, display or play with.
Try making:
- a bedroom door sign
- a bookmark
- a thank you card
- a party invitation
- a certificate
- a menu
- a ticket
- a label for a toy box
- a summer reading chart
- a summer bucket list
- a to-do bingo card
This can be easier than a completely open-ended craft because children know what they are making. Keep the materials simple: paper, pens, stickers, card, tape, colouring pencils or whatever is nearby.
Try it on Busy Things: Use the Busy Things Resource Maker to create name plates, worksheets and printables they can use. Lots of templates for making personalised pages for handwriting, spelling and maths practice too.
3. Make one prop and start a game
Instead of trying to make a whole craft project, make one thing that leads into play.
They could make:
- a wand
- a crown
- a treasure map
- a detective badge
- a menu
- a ticket
- a magic key
- a shop label
- a superhero mask
Then see where it goes…
A treasure map becomes a hunt.
A menu becomes a café.
A badge becomes a detective agency.
A ticket becomes a train station, cinema or theme park.
A magic key opens a secret door.
Here are some themed ideas that could spark a game:
- Activities to make reading come to life
- How to Train Your Dragon activities
- Barbie-themed activities
- K-Pop Demon Hunters activities
- Space themed activity ideas
Try it on Busy Things: Busy Things has lots of themed creative activities that can spark imagination. Children could make a spaceship, design a dragon, create a wanted pirate poster, colour a dinosaur or choose another topic to turn into play.
4. Make a mini book, comic or magazine
A mini book, comic or magazine gives children something to fill in, add to and come back to.
Fold a few pieces of paper together and make:
- a tiny book
- a comic strip
- a family newspaper
- a monster magazine
- a joke book
- a holiday guide
- a summer holiday scrapbook
- a top-secret spy file
A strong title makes it much easier to start.
Try:
- My Summer So Far
- The Holiday That Went Weird
- The Best Day of the Summer
- My Dragon Moved In
- The Cat Who Ran the School
- A Guide to Looking After Monsters
- The Worst Holiday Ever
- Ten Things You Should Never Feed an Alien
For younger children, it can be mostly pictures.
Older children might add speech bubbles, captions, adverts, interviews, reviews or a contents page.
They could also make a mini summer holiday book, with one page for places they have been, things they have eaten, funny moments, favourite photos or things they still want to do.
You might also like our free Summer Holiday Scrapbook Template if they want something ready to fill in.
Try it on Busy Things: Children could use Comic Creator or one of the story-making activities on Busy Things to create a comic strip, story page or character scene.
5. Try a simple summer make
For a quick summer craft, start with something seasonal: sunshine, gardens, picnics, holidays, festivals, bugs, beaches or days out.
Try:
- a summer postcard
- a picnic menu
- a sunshine collage
- a garden picture
- a nature crown
- a pretend ice cream shop sign
- a bug hotel sign
- a holiday memory page
- a festival wristband
- a shell or pebble museum label
A summer postcard could be for someone they miss. A picnic menu could be for lunch in the garden. A shell or pebble museum label could turn a handful of holiday finds into a tiny exhibition.
Try it on Busy Things: Children could make a summer postcard, try a colouring activity, design a seasonal picture or use a printable creative activity as a quick summer make.
More making and drawing ideas
You might also like:
- 100 Fun Drawing Prompts for Children
- 10 Best Drawing Ideas for Children with Free Drawing Activity Pack
- Free Mindful Colouring Pages
- Creative Activities to Help Children Express Emotions
More summer craft ideas for kids with Busy Things
Busy Things is packed with colourful, creative activities for children aged 3-11, including drawing, painting, colouring, music, Comic Creator, Busy Publisher, printables and themed design activities.
Children can draw, colour, create comics, design characters, make posters, write stories, decorate pictures, try music activities or use ready-made templates when they need a starting point.
For a limited time, families can get 2 months of Busy Things for the price of 1, giving you more ready-to-go creative ideas for summer days at home.
Busy Things works best on a tablet, laptop or desktop computer.
More Busy Summer guides
This post is part of Busy Summer, our collection of simple activity guides for real summer holiday moments.
Try another summer holiday moment guide:
- “I’m bored!”
Boredom-busters for when everyone has run out of ideas. - “Are we nearly there?”
Travel activities for long journeys, waiting around and holiday downtime. - “The weather’s had other ideas”
Rainy day and heatwave ideas for when outdoor plans are off. - “Can you just play nicely for five minutes?”
Ideas to help children play together with a bit less refereeing. - “I just need ten minutes”
Independent activities for when you need a short breather.