Get Messy, Wash Away, Repeat: Easy Crafts Your GRANDkids Will Love
Summer means sun, fun and bathing suits. When you can’t make it to the pool, consider creating some excitement in the backyard. With an inflatable “kiddy pool,” a hose and some household vessels – buckets, large cups and plastic containers – your grandkids can have just as much fun cooling off at home.
Also, this is a great opportunity to get messy without worrying about cleaning up or ruining clothes. Just bring some easy craft items or kitchen staples out to where the water action is. With a hose and bathing suits, clean up will be a cinch!
Here are a few ideas for making a mess:
- Paint. Washable paint and a few small paintbrushes will bring out the inner-artist in your grandchildren as they use themselves as a canvas.
- Shaving cream. Shaving cream is inexpensive, and if everyone gets his or her own, you can have one heck of a cream fight. Just make sure to do this far away from the house as shaving cream can sometimes discolor surfaces.
- Flour. Wrap small amounts of flour up in tissues and tie off with rubber bands. Then, let kids run around and throw them at each other. When hit, you’re out.
- Bird feeder. For a somewhat messy outdoor craft activity, gather pine cones, a jar of peanut butter, some birdseed, and a piece of string. Spread peanut butter over a pinecone and then drizzle with birdseed. Tie the piece of string around the pinecone and suspend from a tree branch near a window. Enjoy watching birds visit and feast.
- Water balloons. If you can, fill up a tub of water balloons in advance, and then let grandkids go crazy with them. Also, you can fill up balloons with shaving cream to make splat bombs.
- Sidewalk chalk. Kids can entertain themselves for hours by creating designs with sidewalk chalk, washing them away and starting over again.
- Hose. The hose can be used to fill up your inflatable pool and water balloons, to have a water fight and for clean up afterwards.
You may want to have a few towels handy for little, wet bodies when ready to come into the house. A nice warm bath can be a calming follow-up to the outdoor excitement. Have fun getting messy!
