Summer Fun on a Shoestring!
Here at Jiraffe, we know how difficult it can be to keep your little ones entertained over the summer, and finding enough interesting and diverse activities for children of all ages and all abilities that will keep them happily occupied. Which is why we’ve created this blog full of ideas for you and your children to have a go at – whether it’s a rainy day or just a quiet afternoon at home!
Fun at Home!
Rock Monsters!
Rock monsters are brilliant fun and so easy to create!
What you will need:
Rocks/Pebbles
Acrylic Paint (we chose acrylic because of the plastic base meaning it’s long lasting and won’t flake and has a lovely finish!)
A Sharpie/Thin nib permanent marker
Superglue/Strong glue
Googly Eyes
All you need to do is paint your rock all over and let it dry, then get decorating it any way that you want and you don’t have to make a monster, you could make rock animals, paint your name on it or paint faces on them, just let your imagination run wild!
Finger Painting!
What better way to make your own fun than by using your very own hands?! Just get yourself some paper and cover your fingers/hands with paint and get creating!
You could even make your very own “hand painted” Giraffe!
What you will need:
Your Hands!
Yellow Paint
Brown Paint
Black or Brown Pen
Paint the palm of your hand and up to about half way up your forearm with yellow paint, print this onto a piece of paper upside down (your fingers will make the legs and your thumb, the tail) paint a yellow blob on the top of the wrist print to create the head, then paint your fingertips with brown paint and splodge them onto the paper to make the giraffes spots (or you can draw them on it’s up to you), now you just need to add eyes, mouth and some hair!
Origami Water Bombs!
Who doesn’t love throwing water at each other? Especially when it’s hot and sunny! Follow the instructions and you can have fun all day!
What you will need:
A Square Piece of Paper!
DIY Sensory Bottles!
Does your child love all things sensory? Have a look at how to make your own sensory bottles, all you need is a plastic transparent bottle and some imagination!
Here are some tips on how to make a few different types of sensory bottles.
Glitter Calming Bottles
What you will need:
Plastic Bottle
Super Glue
Water
Baby Oil
Glitter
Food Colouring (of your choice)
Fill the bottle half full of water, add a couple of drops of food colouring of your choice, add in the glitter and fill the rest of the bottle with the baby oil, shake it up well and check your happy with it. Now seal the lid on using the superglue making sure it is completely secure with no chance of leaks, shake it up to move the glitter and your good to go!
Rain Maker Bottles
What you will need:
Plastic Bottle
Super Glue
Toothpicks (a standard box should be enough)
Dried Rice or Sand
All you need to do is empty the toothpicks into the plastic bottle, then fill the bottom with about an inch of rice (you can also use sand for a softer sound), then superglue the lid on again making sure it is secure with no chance for leaks. Now you have your very own rain maker! If you like, you can paint or decorate the outside of the bottle to hide the toothpicks and rice.
Bead Bottles
What you will need:
Plastic Bottle
Super Glue
Baby Oil
Coloured Beads
Glitter (if you want)
Fill your bottle halfway with water, add your coloured beads (it doesn’t have to be beads, anything colourful and small enough to fit in the bottle can be used), you can then add some glitter if you would like some sparkle and also food colouring if you want to add a bit more colour, then seal the lid with superglue, making sure it is secure with no chance of leaks, shake it up and go!
Fun in the Garden!
Planting!
Did you know you can plant your seeds in almost anything? As long as you have soil, some seeds or a plant and your container has holes for your soil to breath and for the excess water to escape, you can use just about anything!
What you will need:
Soil
Seeds/Plants
A Container with Holes in
Above are just a few examples of what you can use to plant in your garden, there are so many different things you can use and as long as it can hold enough soil for what you need and you add a dash of creativity you can find uses for anything!
Garden Plates!
Another fun way to spend the day outside, is to make miniature gardens on plates, personally one of my favourites when I was little!
What you will need:
A dinner plate (if you want a smaller garden choose a smaller plate)
Soil
Leaves
Moss
Flowers
Small pebbles/gravel
Bear in mind that these are only suggestions and you use whatever you think will make your garden look beautiful!
If you want to get really creative you could add small toys to your mini garden and pretend it’s being attacked by dinosaurs or had a pool with a whale in it!
Painting Sticks!
They don’t seem like much but, whether you paint on them or with them, sticks can be a great source of creativity. All you need is some paint and paintbrush to decorate your stick or if your going to be using the stick to paint you just need paint and some paper!
