Easy Summer Art Project for Kids

When it's too hot or raining this summer, give the kids an art project to work on at the kitchen table.  Rather than have them sit in front of the television  or video games get their creative brains rolling.

I did this project with a group of children in my summer art camp.  The age range was from six to eleven years old and they all came out with a great result.

You'll need two sheets of paper, one larger than the other.  Crayons, colored pencils, magic markers or oil pastels.  A pair of scissors.   Glue stick.

We used colored paper for our background and white computer paper for our design.  The smaller paper should be several inches smaller than the large paper, this will allow you to spread your cut sheet without going over the edge.

Have them bubble print their name across the smaller paper.  Outline  the letters in black, this will make them pop out.  Do a repetitive design inside the letters.  Take a drinking glass and have them trace circles all over the background.  Using different colors in each space fill the entire page with crayon (or material of choice).  Color so it's dark, press the crayons and go over it until it' s totally filled in and bright.

When the picture is finished, turn the sheet over and number across the back, 1, 2, 3 etc up to whatever number you can fit.  Use the scissors to cut the sheet between each number.  It will be easier to reassemble if you put numbers on each piece.

The larger piece of paper is going to be the background for the cut picture.  Lay out the pieces across the larger sheet so they all fit, leaving space between each piece.  Move them around until you have a pleasing layout.  Use the glue stick to glue each piece to the back paper.  Leave your pieces laid out and just lift one piece at a time so they all end up in the right position.

Your finished picture will look great and it's easy to do.