Summer is officially here in the United States. Summers can be fun, or stressful. Kids are home from school, the weather is nice...or maybe a little too hot. Perhaps you're hearing way too many complaints that sound like, "I'm bored" or other variations.
It may be easy to forgo your creative journey, or to get wrapped up in trying to entertain family and friends. Vacations are a great escape, but if you're like me sometimes you feel like you need a vacation to get away from the first vacation.
Kids have been in school all year, and maybe busy with activities. You may feel as though you don't really know your own child. That's an overwhelming feeling, but if you share your own creative journey and encourage them to start their own as well, it can be a great (eventually great if you have a stubborn kid) way to allow them to open up, discover more about themselves, and for you all to discover more about each other.
Kids may moan and groan about sitting down with the family, but they may be pleased to create something, or have multiple materials to try out. If you're up for a little motivating competition--the healthy kind to encourage, not harass--you can set creativity projects to see whose popsicle-stick bridge can hold the most weight, or other challenges.
Fairy gardens are popular, but a little more expensive. Create things that kids might like to hang or display in their rooms, or learn a new skill together. It'll help with the boredom complaints at the very least and for smaller kids can give them a feeling of competence when they create something they can see in their room every day. Older kids might appreciate (eventually) learning a new skill that they can use when they feel like it to entertain themselves without having to wait for an adult to be available.
If you're not sure what types of creative supplies to try, here is a list of supplies to consider. Keep kids' ages in mind, and read labels if you're unfamiliar with a product:
- Popsicle sticks and craft sticks (usually these are wooden)
- Glue (glue sticks, glow-in-the-dark glue, regular glue, or paste, hot glue guns for more advanced projects)
- Puffy paint
- Acrylic paints
- Unpainted wooden boxes, or shapes
- Unpainted sun-catchers and sun-catcher paints
- Playdoh
- Modeling clay, air-dry clay, oven-bake clay
- Beads, jewelry-making kits
- Embroidery floss (also fun for friendship bracelets)
- Telling cooperative stories, or tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, or Tales of Equestria
- Buttons, feathers, pom-poms, pipe-cleaners, googly eyes
- Woodworking, or building simple projects like tables, birdhouses, etc.
- Drawing paper and pencils
- Mosaic tiles
- Ribbon
- Plain headbands and hair clips
- Yarn, crochet and/or knitting needles
- Pour-soap kits, candle-making kits
- Cooking ingredients for a family cooking night
- Safety pins (you just never know when you might need them)
- Create an obstacle course using things you already have
- Flashlight for shadow puppets or ghost stories (don't forget S'mores)
- Blankets and/or pillows for indoor rainy-day forts
- Paper and writing tools for journaling
- Various specialty papers and cardstock, paper punches, scrapbooks and accessories (You can document that family vacation!)
Those are just a few ideas to help get some creativity flowing, but there are tons of options. You can take a trip to local craft shops, or even thrift shops to find interesting supplies. Maybe you want to refinish an old piece of used furniture, or re-purpose something. Thrift stores can be a fun place to find odds and ends without breaking the bank.
If you're the overachiever type, you could even turn this Summer's family creative times into working on gifts for people's birthdays, or other holidays. The only thing you may have to worry about is the cleanup. I'd recommend a disposable plastic table cloth (especially with little kids involved) as long as there are no heat-based projects happening. I have learned--certainly not through my own errors *ahem*--that plastics of any variety and hot glue guns don't mix.