“This is such a fun and creative gift for your child to make for someone special!”
Ages 3-8
"My Dad Rocks" Paperweight | Ages 3-8
String Art Star Garland | Ages 9-12
"With the holiday weekend around the corner, we decided to create a set of patriotic star shapes to create a festive garland. Learn how to use a basic string art technique to create a set of 3D shapes. What other shapes can you make?”
Ages 9-12
Acrylic Sunprint T-Shirts | Ages 5-16
“Make printed T-shirts powered by the sun! Paint your shirt and place objects on (while it is still wet!) The sun heats up the parts of the T-shirt that are uncovered, but not the parts that are blocked by the objects. When water gets hot, it starts to evaporate, turning from a liquid to a gas. The paint starts to dry, and the water starts to evaporate on the uncovered parts, but under the blocks, it stays wet. As the water evaporates from the T-shirt, water and paint from under the blocks moves out into the dry areas, like how the dry edge of a paper towel picks up spilled juice (or some other image). Eventually, all the paint gets drawn out from under the blocks, leaving you with unpainted shapes on a painted background.”
Ages 5-16
Clay Flower Pots | Ages 3-9
“I had a few spare planting pots sitting around, so I decided to pull together this simple and fun activity for my visiting niece. Together we shaped flowers out of clay and decorated a tiny pot. After the clay dried, my niece gave the decorated pot to her mother.”
Ages 3-9
STEM Activity for Kids: Skewer Structures
“Kids love building projects, whether it be with blocks at a young age or sticks. This activity combines skewers and clay to make structures! It provides endless engineering fun as kids explore shapes they can make.”
Fabric Parachutes | Ages 2-11
“The Fabric Parachutes made great homemade toys that kept my kids busy all day long! They had a great time practicing their sewing skills and then launching their parachutes from every high surface in the house! Best of all, these were absolutely free since we used leftover material from other projects!
Ages 2-11
Leprechaun Trap | Ages 3-8
“St. Patrick's Day is a great time to learn about myths! Ancient Irish folklore tells a story of a mischievous leprechaun, a fairy who hides his pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. If caught by a human, a leprechaun will grant 3 wishes, in exchange for his freedom. Join us in this design challenge to create the ultimate leprechaun trap! May the luck of the Irish be with you!”
Ages 3-8
Origami Fidget Spinner | Ages 5-16
“These twirling toys are all the rage, so we decided to put our own little spin on them. Using just two sheets of colorful origami paper, glue, a paper clip, and four coins, learn how to create your own personal spinner to both amuse and amaze.”
Ages 5-16
Origami Paper Bracelet | Ages 3-8
“I remember as a child at camp we learned how to turn gum wrappers into chains that could be used for jewelry, or a garland. I love passing on simple projects like that to my kids, especially my jewelry loving 3 year old.”
Ages 3-8
Christmas Sponge Stamp Blocks | Ages 3-8
“The beauty of simple household sponges cut into Christmas shapes, makes this a fun simple stamping craft to celebrate the holidays.”
Ages 3-8
Confetti Poppers | Ages 5-16
“For our New Year's Eve get-together, we created little confetti treat pop party favors to pass out. They were super simple to make and even simpler to pop! They're perfect for any celebration. We plan on making another set for an upcoming birthday party too.”
Ages 5-16
Light-Up Valentine | Ages 9-16
“This card is sure to be the highLIGHT of your Valentine's day! Conductive paint makes this an easy, but impressive, circuitry project.”
Ages 9-16
Cork Animal | Ages 3-9
“Sculpting, building and creating with new materials is a fun way to be creative and use the wonderful power of imagination. Putting a few new things in front of my children always surprises me in the best way. I love seeing what they create.”
Ages 3-9
Dancing Puppets | Ages 5-11
“Levers are simple machines that help us move or lift something. See how levers work by making your own dancing puppet!”
Ages 5-11
Pipe Cleaner Christmas Tree | Ages 3-8
“Make merry this season with a tree to call your own. This pint-sized pine was inspired by the tree in A Charlie Brown Christmas, which my cousins adore watching every December.”
Ages 3-8
Word Family Garden | Ages 3-4
“A teacher friend of mine recently shared that her class has been experiencing a serious case of spring fever. I know the feeling. My boys and I are having a hard time staying indoors too!”
Ages 3-4
Thermal Powered Flower | Ages 9-16
“Have you ever seen hot air rise? In this project, explore the physics behind thermal air currents (hot air rising) by harnessing them to power your own spinning flower! Note that this project uses fire and paper, and should only be attempted with adult supervision. Happy spinning! Check out this video tutorial to see all the steps in action!”
Ages 9-16
Lego Puzzle Cards | Ages 3-11
“For my six-year-old, the best toy is a brand-new LEGO set to build. He loves to carefully follow the instructions, which is why I was so excited to find these instructions for DIY LEGO Instruction Books from Kids Activities Blog. For my little building fans, this is a great activity to bring the energy level down and focus-- for a little while, at least!”
Ages 3-11
Origami Pinwheel Craft
“Explore the power of the wind with this colorful pinwheel craft!
Pinwheels resemble wind turbines, or machines that change the energy in wind into mechanical or electrical energy. A wind turbine, like a pinwheel, has a rotor with blades that is connected to a base. When wind hits the blades, the rotor and the base turn as well. As the base turns, it is able to produce either mechanical or electrical energy. The more wind that hits the blades, the more the rotor can turn, and the more energy the wind turbine produces!
Wind power is a great topic to explore with kids during warm summer days, and can easily be demonstrated with this simple craft. These pinwheels come together fast and spin in the wind even faster! We used recycled tin cans, added 3 coats of spray paint and turned them into the perfect planters for our flowers and a way to display our pinwheels!”
Chalkboard Painted Block Puzzle | Ages 3-6
“Make your own chalkboard painted block puzzle. You can erase the chalk easily with a damp paper towel and start all over again.”
Ages 3-6