Six Great Summer Crafts for Kids and Families

The best summer crafts for kids are those that encourage them to put down the video game or television remote and head outdoors. The fresh air and sunshine is invigorating after being cooped up indoors during cold and rainy weather. Plus, children will likely continue to play with or use what they've created all summer long!

Here are six summer crafts and activities that the whole family will enjoy.

Build a birdfeeder or birdhouse for your backyard. There are many great kits available that make these two summer crafts easier than they appear. The kits often have pre-cut pieces, so all you need to do is assemble and paint the birdfeeder or birdhouse, and you're ready to invite some feathered friends to dinner or to nest in their comfy new home. Of course, if you're really handy and/or interested in carpentry you can help your children build them from scratch. Either way, the kids will enjoy watching the birds, and the birds will enjoy their newfound amenities, so these two summer crafts are wonderful for all!

Make a kite. Breezy summer days are an irresistible invitation to go fly a kite, and it's even more fun for kids when they've built their fabulous flyer themselves. Again, there are kits available that make this summer craft simple and easy for children. In no time at all, you can all head to the local park to send your kites soaring through the sky. If you have more than one child, be sure to make several kites so that everyone will get enough kite-flying time.

Start a kid-sized garden. Give children their own little patch of dirt and let them plant whatever they like, be it vegetables, flowers or some of both. They will really enjoy watering their plants and watching them grow, and they'll be fascinated by the worms, spiders and other critters that live in their garden. Child-sized gardening tools will make this summer activity even more fun, and encourage them to really dig in! Who knows, you may even make a lifetime gardener out of them.

Create a one-of-a-kind steppingstone for the garden. Craft stores sell a variety of easy kits that come with everything you need to make a gem-studded steppingstone. Buy extra concrete, gems, beach glass and other embellishments, and kids can reuse the mold as many times as they wish all summer long.

Make your own modeling clay. The easy recipe that follows will make long lasting, nontoxic clay for all sorts of summer craft projects and activities, and it's less expensive than the store-bought stuff.

Combine 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup salt, 2 tablespoons cream of tartar, 1 cup water, 1-2 teaspoons food coloring and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a saucepan. Heat on medium for 3-5 minutes. Remove when the mixture is at a ball state. Pour onto wax paper or on a floured surface and knead. Store the modeling clay in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag.

These summer crafts are a great way for the whole family to spend quality time together, and the tangible things you create will reward you and your children for many months (or years!) to come.