I was trying to think of an original summer craft to post here on the Mommy Moment blog when this beach project came to me. I actually got the idea for this when we were making cinnamon rolls earlier in the day….sprinkling the cinnamon sugar had such a soothing feeling to it…..!
I gave my 4-year-old some watercolor paper and his watercolor paints, and asked him to make me a picture of the sea and the beach.
One thing that I especially loved about this project was that the 1-year-old could do it too. I gave her regular construction paper, but it didn’t hold up as well as the watercolor paper.
I cut a triangle for a sail and a half-moon shape for a boat out of craft foam. I broke off about 1/3 of a craft stick, and used the longer piece for the mast. My son glued those in the middle of his ocean.
For our last step, we sprinkled play sand over the beach (we had to paint over it a little more to get it wet again so the sand would stick).
He spread it around a little with his hands, of course (too much sensory stimulation to resist!).
And here is our finished textured picture:
That green shape is a sun….our colors mix a bit when we do watercolor!
This project was very simple and used all things that we already had on hand. Of course, you can get creative with this – maybe make a speed boat out of the craft foam and a water skier out of toothpicks, or perhaps a whale popping out on the horizon.
You can also focus more on the beach – you can have starfish by the water, and people or beach umbrellas on the sand. Have fun with it!
Stephanie Dakin is a mommy of 2 wonderful kiddos, ages 1 & 4. She loves doing crafts, both on her own and with the kids. She has a heart for helping others, and can be found on her site The Helping Mommy.
hj
Saturday 30th of July 2011
this is so cute. I love how it turned out. really creative.
Mommy Moment
Sunday 24th of July 2011
Crafts are always fun, but I lack in idea department too!
Smiles, Jody
Katherine
Friday 22nd of July 2011
So fun and happy memory making too. Big Hugs!
Eva | Little Cool Toys
Friday 22nd of July 2011
Lovely painting! I love new craft ideas. I'm a crafty person, but really lack ideas for easy crafts to do with children. Will keep this, thanks ;)