Guest Post by Becky Striepe from Glue and Glitter and Crafting a Green World
Temperatures are heating up, and before you know it school will be out for the whole summer! Are you looking for some ways to keep the kiddos entertained without breaking your budget or compromising your eco-sensibilities?
Getting crafty with your kids is a great way to keep them busy on those lazy summer days, but many conventional craft supplies are far from eco-friendly. Rather than hitting the big box store for craft supplies, next time you’re getting crafty with your kids, try one of theses green crafts projects instead:
1. Plant a Seed. Growing food, even if it’s just a few herbs in containers, is a great way to get your kids more interested in healthy eats and teach them a bit about nature. Grab some organic seeds, and spend an afternoon with the little ones making seed starter pots! Here are some ideas for making your own natural pots for plants or seedlings.
2. Painted Rocks. This is a great way to get the kids out in nature! Head out to the woods or even to your own backyard and collect a bag of big, smooth rocks. Just heat them up in the oven, and let your kids draw on them with crayons. They melt like magic, and I bet that the kids will be begging you to take them out to collect more rocks when this batch is all colored up.
3. Create Mini Notebooks from Junk Mail. Teach your kids about crafty reuse by showing them how to turn collected junk mail into little notebooks! They can use them for coloring or take them out into the woods or on a walk to use as a nature journal.
4. DIY Magnets. Do you have a bunch of those ugly, promotional magnets on your fridge? Whip out some scrap paper and the hot glue gun and your kids can turn them into cute, custom magnets. Just make sure you supervise, because hot glue guns are what they say they are: HOT!
5. Homemade Peanut Butter. Get crafty in the kitchen! Seriously, making your own peanut butter is sort of like magic. Just toss roasted peanuts into the blender and blend. First, you’ll get a coarse meal, then a fine meal, and then if you’re patient, a miracle occurs and voila! Peanut butter! Your kids will love watching the transformation.
Do you have any green crafts in store for your kids this summer? We’d love to hear your ideas, too!
Image Credits: Newspaper Pots by Julie Finn, Junk Mail Notebook by Becky Striepe
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