• Summertime can mean plenty of time spent at the beach and engaging in water play.beach image by timur1970 from Fotolia.com
  
  During the summer, children are out of school, and they are often looking for something to do. They'll likely spend plenty of time at the beach and doing other outside activities. Because of this, summer crafts often relate to having fun in the sun or at the beach.
  
  

Sunshine Art Project

• Summer is all about the sun, and these sunshine projects are fun for kids to make. Cut out the centers of some paper plates and have children glue various shades of yellow and orange tissue paper around the rim. When those dry, have children glue yellow and orange construction-paper triangles around the outside in whatever pattern you would like them to follow. (See Reference 1.)
  
  

Sandcastle Craft

• Depending on where you live, the summer can mean lots of time spent at the beach. Bring some of your beach fun--especially the sand--back home with you to do this craft. Cut four paper towel rolls so that each one is a different length. Put some sand on a paper plate, using enough to cover the entire bottom. Using a brush, paint glue onto the outside of one paper towel roll, then roll the paper towel roll around in the sand and shake off the excess. Set that one aside and do the same thing to the other three rolls. When you're finished, put glue in the center of the sand that is left on the plate. One at a time, put each paper towel roll in the glue so that they are all standing up and are all together, with the tallest one in the back. Push the mixture of sand up around the paper towel rolls to conceal the bottom of the rolls. If your child wants to add a flag, have him color or paint a craft stick. Fold a piece of construction paper in half, then cut out a triangle flag shape. (The fold in the paper will be the part of the flag that attaches around the craft stick.) Attach the flag to the craft stick and then glue the craft stick inside the tallest paper towel roll. (See Reference 2.) Your child can also add seashells or fancy gemstones to the outside of the castle.
  
  

Ocean Flower Pot Craft

• Children love to make crafts that they can see their parents using, and this pot craft is both adorable and practical. Using a small clay pot, have children paint the top half a light blue and the bottom half light brown. Add some glue to the light brown paint and have children paint the glue/paint mixture over the brown area on the pot. Then have them sprinkle sand onto that portion of the pot. Let them decorate the pot by painting on ocean animals, such as crabs, dolphins, starfish or whales. Glue dyed pasta shells around the top rim of the pot with a hot glue gun (adult supervision required). (See Reference 3.) When this pot is complete, parents can use it to plant real flowers or herbs in the house.
  
  

Silly Sunglasses

• Children love sunglasses, and during the summer they may wear them quite often. With this custom-made pair of shades, they'll look stylish while protecting their eyes. With any luck, maybe they won't lose the pair that they worked so hard to make. Just glue some googly eyes to the rims of a pair of children's sunglasses, and they'll have eyes all over them--literally! (See Reference 4.)