16 Unique Summer Crafts for Preschoolers

Keeping preschoolers busy in summer can be a happy challenge—long days, lots of energy, and not always a plan. If you’re looking for quick, simple projects that use basic supplies, this list will help.

These craft ideas are fun, bright, and easy to set up at home or in a classroom. Each one celebrates sunny days, nature, and outdoor play, so you can jump right in and make something joyful together. Let’s get crafting!

1. Paper Plate Sunshine Face

A bright, smiling sun with wiggly paper rays and a cheerful face brings summer warmth to any wall. Kids love choosing ray colors and adding silly smiles or sunglasses, and the round plate makes it easy for little hands.

Materials Needed:

1. Paper plate (white or yellow)
2. Yellow and orange construction paper
3. Markers or crayons
4. Glue stick
5. Googly eyes (optional)

How to make it:

1. Color the paper plate yellow if needed.
2. Cut paper triangles for sun rays and glue them around the edge of the plate.
3. Draw or glue on a face with googly eyes, a smile, and blush dots.
4. Let it dry, then hang in a sunny window.

2. Ocean Wave Sensory Bottle

A small bottle filled with blue-tinted water and glitter becomes a swishy ocean scene with gentle waves. Preschoolers enjoy tipping it back and forth and watching “waves” move—calming for quiet time or travel.

Materials Needed:

1. Clear plastic bottle with tight cap
2. Water and a little clear hair gel
3. Blue food coloring
4. Fine glitter or sequins (ocean colors)
5. Hot glue or strong tape for sealing

How to make it:

1. Fill the bottle mostly with water and a squeeze of clear gel.
2. Add a drop of blue coloring and a pinch of glitter or sequins.
3. Seal the cap with hot glue or tape; shake gently to mix.
4. Let settle, then swirl and watch the waves.

3. Handprint Campfire Art

Layered handprints become bright flames over a simple paper “log” campfire, perfect for summer camp themes. Kids love stamping their hands in red, orange, and yellow paint and seeing their own prints turn into flickering fire.

Materials Needed:

1. White or kraft paper
2. Washable paint (red, orange, yellow, brown)
3. Paintbrush
4. Wet wipes or sink nearby
5. Glue stick (optional for paper logs)

How to make it:

1. Paint and press two brown paper strips as logs on the page.
2. Brush paint on a child’s hand; stamp yellow, then orange, then red handprints above the logs.
3. Add small paint dots for sparks or stars.
4. Let dry and display as a cozy campfire scene.

4. Seashell Shaker Tambourine

Two paper plates with shells and beads inside make a summery tambourine that jingles like the beach. Little makers enjoy collecting shells and then shaking music they made themselves.

Materials Needed:

1. Two small paper plates
2. Dry beads, small seashells, or rice
3. Washi tape or stapler
4. Markers, stickers, or paint
5. Ribbon (optional)

How to make it:

1. Decorate the bottom sides of both plates first.
2. Place shells and beads on one plate; cover with the second plate (decorations facing out).
3. Tape or staple around the edge to seal; add ribbon tabs if desired.
4. Shake along to favorite songs.

5. Pool Noodle Boat Regatta

A slice of pool noodle becomes a floating boat with a paper sail, ready for water play in a bin or sink. Kids love racing their colorful boats and blowing on the sails to make them glide.

Materials Needed:

1. Pool noodle slice (2–3 inches)
2. Drinking straw
3. Foam sheet or cardstock for sail
4. Waterproof markers (optional)
5. Small bin of water

How to make it:

1. Cut a triangle sail from foam or cardstock; poke two holes and slide onto a straw.
2. Push the straw mast into the center of the pool noodle slice.
3. Draw a flag or boat name with waterproof marker.
4. Float in water and race with gentle puffs of air.

6. Butterfly Garden Coffee Filter Art

Tie-dyed coffee filter wings and a clothespin body make sweet summer butterflies to clip on plants. Preschoolers enjoy misting colors and watching them blend like magic.

Materials Needed:

1. Round coffee filters
2. Washable markers
3. Spray bottle with water
4. Wooden clothespins
5. Pipe cleaners for antennae

How to make it:

1. Flatten and color coffee filters with dots and lines.
2. Lightly mist with water to blend; let dry.
3. Pinch the center, clip with a clothespin, and twist a pipe cleaner for antennae.
4. Clip onto a windowsill or houseplant.

7. Sandcastle Collage

A textured castle made from real sand and glue on cardstock brings the beach to the table. Kids love sprinkling sand, pressing shells, and drawing flags on top.

Materials Needed:

1. Heavy cardstock or cardboard
2. White school glue
3. Play sand or colored sand
4. Small shells or pebbles
5. Markers or paper flags

How to make it:

1. Sketch simple castle shapes on cardstock (towers and walls).
2. Squeeze glue on the shapes and sprinkle sand to coat; shake off extra.
3. Press shells or pebbles into the glue for windows and paths.
4. Add flags and sun details; let it dry flat.

8. Watermelon Fan Plate

A folded paper plate painted like a watermelon becomes a cute hand fan for hot days. Children enjoy painting the juicy red center and adding big black “seeds.”

Materials Needed:

1. Paper plate
2. Red, green, and white paint or markers
3. Jumbo craft stick
4. Glue or tape
5. Black marker

How to make it:

1. Fold the plate in half to make a semi-circle fan.
2. Paint the edge green, add a thin white band, and color the center red.
3. Draw black seeds; glue a craft stick handle at the bottom.
4. Let dry, then fan the summer air.

9. Nature Paintbrush Explorers

Twigs wrapped with rubber bands hold leaves, pine needles, or flowers to make playful nature paintbrushes. Preschoolers love testing different textures and seeing the prints they make.

Materials Needed:

1. Small sticks or twigs
2. Rubber bands or tape
3. Leaves, grasses, or pine needles
4. Washable paint
5. Paper

How to make it:

1. Gather soft natural items and bundle them at one end of a twig.
2. Secure tightly with rubber bands to form a brush.
3. Dip in paint and stamp or swipe to explore textures.
4. Dry the artwork and talk about patterns found in nature.

10. Ice Pop Color Suncatchers

Tissue-paper “popsicles” in clear contact paper look like stained glass in a window. Kids enjoy choosing bright summer flavors—grape, lemon, and cherry—and sticking pieces in place.

Materials Needed:

1. Clear contact paper
2. Tissue paper squares (assorted colors)
3. Craft sticks
4. Scissors
5. String or tape for hanging

How to make it:

1. Cut two matching popsicle shapes from contact paper.
2. Stick tissue squares on the sticky side; sandwich with the second piece.
3. Add a craft stick handle and press edges.
4. Hang in a sunny window to glow.

11. Garden Snail Rock Pets

Painted rocks with swirly shell designs and googly eyes turn into friendly snails for the porch. Little artists enjoy dotting and spiraling colors, then “adopting” their rock pets.

Materials Needed:

1. Smooth rocks
2. Acrylic paint or paint pens
3. Googly eyes
4. White glue
5. Small brush

How to make it:

1. Wash and dry rocks; paint a spiral shell pattern and body.
2. Glue on googly eyes or paint eyes if preferred.
3. Add dots and stripes to decorate the shell.
4. Let dry and place in the garden or windowsill.

12. Rainbow Pool Noodle Stamps

Sliced pool noodle pieces dipped in paint stamp perfect summer circles and bubble prints. Preschoolers love the easy grip and the pop-pop sound as they stamp a rainbow path.

Materials Needed:

1. Pool noodle slices (1-inch thick)
2. Washable paint in trays
3. Large paper roll
4. Aprons or old shirts
5. Wipes

How to make it:

1. Pour paint into shallow trays.
2. Dip noodle slices and stamp circles across the paper.
3. Overlap colors to make bubbly rainbows and patterns.
4. Let dry and hang as a mural.

13. Beach Ball Paper Mosaic

A big circle filled with color-blocked paper pieces looks like a classic beach ball. Kids enjoy sorting colors and gluing simple shapes into the sections.

Materials Needed:

1. White cardstock circle
2. Colored paper squares or scraps
3. Glue stick
4. Black marker
5. String for hanging (optional)

How to make it:

1. Draw curved lines on the circle to mark beach ball sections.
2. Glue colored paper pieces inside each section.
3. Outline and add a small white “shine” circle with marker.
4. Hang as a bright summer decoration.

14. Citrus Stamp Prints

Cut sponges shaped like lemon, lime, and orange slices make juicy summer prints. Preschoolers delight in pressing, lifting, and building a pattern that looks fresh from the fruit stand.

Materials Needed:

1. Sponges
2. Washable paint (yellow, orange, green)
3. Paper plates for paint
4. Paper
5. Marker for rind lines

How to make it:

1. Cut sponges into semicircle “slices.”
2. Dip in paint and stamp across paper.
3. When dry, add simple rind and wedge lines with marker.
4. Display as a fruity kitchen gallery.

15. Firefly Glow Jar (No-Flame)

A clear jar with paper wings and glow-in-the-dark paint dots becomes a twinkly firefly friend. Kids enjoy charging it under a lamp, then peeking at the soft glow at bedtime.

Materials Needed:

1. Plastic jar with lid
2. Glow-in-the-dark paint
3. Black and yellow paper
4. Googly eyes (optional)
5. Tape or glue

How to make it:

1. Paint tiny glow dots inside the jar; let dry.
2. Cut paper wings and a stripey body; attach to the outside of the jar.
3. Add eyes and a smile.
4. Charge under bright light, then watch it glow in the dark.

16. Popsicle Stick Summer Camp Badges

Simple badges with popsicle stick frames and paper icons—tents, fish, suns—celebrate summer adventures. Preschoolers feel proud wearing a badge they designed and can trade with friends.

Materials Needed:

1. Popsicle sticks
2. Cardstock squares
3. Markers and stickers
4. White glue
5. Safety pin or tape loop for lanyard

How to make it:

1. Glue four sticks into a square frame; let set.
2. Decorate a cardstock square with a summer icon and name.
3. Glue the art behind the frame; add stickers.
4. Tape on a pin or thread a yarn loop to wear.