5 Fun Summer Crafts & Art Activities for Preschoolers

Are you looking for ways to keep the kids entertained this summer? We’ve got you covered. In this blog, we’re sharing five fun summer arts and crafts activities for pre-schoolers that are guaranteed to keep them entertained for hours on end!

Read on to learn more.

Handprint Painted Dinosaurs

To craft your handprint painted dinosaurs, you’ll need:

• Kids’ washable paint
• Paint brushes
• Handwipes
• Paper
• Googly eyes (optional)

Kids love crafts and games that involve their senses and will have great fun creating their very own handprint-painted dinosaurs! Simply brush their favourite-coloured child-friendly paint onto the palm of their hand and press it down onto the paper to create your dinosaur’s outline.

How they place their hand on the paper will depend on the type of dinosaur they want to create. Then, with some other colours, add finer details like spots, spikes, eyes, and more. This is also a great activity to teach children how different colours can mix to create new ones. Our easily transportable children’s easel is perfect for this activity and keeping all the messy hand-painting fun outdoors. Check it out here!

Beach Themed Crafts For Pre-schoolers

To make your beach themed crafts, you’ll need:

• Kids’ glue
• Paper
• A small collection of shells and sand
• Pencils & paint
• Glitter (optional)
• Googly eyes (optional)

It’s not the summer holidays without a sunny day at the beach. If you do go, you’ll undoubtedly return with a collection of shells, pretty stones, sea glass and sand. So, why not put them to good use with some beach-themed crafts?

Kids will have a great time gluing shells and sand to create their very own golden beach on paper. You could even paint the shells and add some glitter for a bit of extra pizzazz or add googly eyes to make them their very own seashell pet! Whichever beach-themed craft activity you choose, our dandelion toddler table is perfect for storing all your arts and crafts bits and bobs, so you can keep all your supplies nearby. 

Tissue Paper Flower Crafts For Pre-schoolers

To craft your tissue flower bouquet, you’ll need:

• Kids’ scissors
• Empty egg box
• Tissue paper
• Green pipe cleaners
• Coloured paper to form the bouquet
• Sellotape
• Ribbon (optional)

There’s nothing like a handcrafted bouquet of tissue paper flowers to brighten anyone’s day! To craft yours, select tissue paper in the colour your pre-schooler wants for their flowers and cut out petals. Then, cut out the bottom of an egg carton and push a pipe cleaner through the middle.

To create the flower, your pre-schooler can glue the petals around the outside and inside of the egg carton piece. Once you’ve created several flowers like this, take a regular, coloured piece of paper and fold it into a cone shape around the stems of your flowers. Then, simply add some tape to hold the bouquet together and if you’re feeling extra decorative, tie a ribbon around it for added cuteness.

Kids will need lots of space for putting their bouquets together. Our growing activity table is perfect for children who love to regularly craft, draw, and paint.

Mud Painting

For mud-painting you’ll need:

• Mud & water
• Paint brush
• Paper

It’s no secret that pre-schoolers love some of the messiest activities. That’s why a mud kitchen is the perfect source of summer entertainment! Our indoor and outdoor mud kitchen offers 360 degrees of fun and even comes with a built-in easel, perfect for mud painting.

Simply mix some mud and water until it’s the ideal consistency for painting, and let their imagination run wild. You may even want to pick some flowers children can add to their mud painting as it dries. Did you know that our mud kitchen was voted among the ‘Best Mud Kitchens to Encourage Your Child’s Creativity’ by IndyBest? Check it out here.

Paper Plate Animal Masks

To craft your paper plate animal masks, you’ll need:

• Paper plates
• Black & coloured pens
• Kids’ scissors
• Kids’ glue

Does your child love pretending to be their favourite animals? Why not create some easy to make paper plate animal masks together. To begin, cut a paper plate in half and cut out two circles for the eyes.

Use your colouring pens to add the details to your animal mask, such as whiskers, a nose or stripes. Then, use the other half of the plate to create your animal’s ears and glue these on top. Finally, glue a strip of cardboard to the side of your mask to hold it. There you have it, your very own paper plate animal mask ready for playing pretend. Our handy carry caddy will make tidying up a breeze and makes transporting all their arts and crafts supplies easy-peasy. See it here.

What will you create? We’d love to see your designs! Be sure to tag us in all your summer arts and crafts on Instagram at @great_little_trading_co. Plus, to show your little one how proud you are of their art, frame it in our handy magnetic 3D art frame!