13 Easy Spring-Inspired Craft Ideas To do With Kids In 2021
Whether you are searching for an activity for a rainy day, need a creative outlet, or want to teach your kiddos something new, your children will surely enjoy these easy crafts for kids!
These easy crafts are inspired by a few themes that make my own 4-and 6-year-olds excited for the spring season: gardening, bugs, and weather. Each of these fun and easy crafts for kids are simple to make with materials you likely already have on hand! I like to keep a small craft supply at home of paint, card stock colored paper, paper plates, coffee filters, markers, as well as gather other recyclable materials like egg cartons, toilet paper/paper towel rolls, and milk cartons; these supplies make up the majority of my craft ideas for kids below.
Have fun creating this spring!
Garden Crafts for Kids
These garden craft ideas for kids will have their imaginations blooming!
1. Coffee filter flowers
Color a coffee filter with washable markers, making sure to use lots of color. Lay the coffee filter flat on a tray and spray with water until the colors begin to run together. Let the coffee filter dry. Once dry, fold the coffee filter in half and then into quarters. Secure the pointed end by wrapping it with a pipe cleaner and attach another pipe cleaner as a stem. Gently fan out the coffee filter “petals”. You can experiment to make different looking flowers based on the number of layers of coffee filters and how much they are folded.
2. Water Bottle Flower Stamps
Dip the bottom of a water bottle into paint and stamp onto plain paper, leaving a flower print (the water bottles with a 5-point-star pattern on the bottom works best). You can create a whole garden of flowers by drawing stems or simply repeat to create an abstract art flower print.
3. Egg Carton Flower Bouquet
Cut the individual cups from an egg carton and round the edges. Paint the inside and outside of each cup. Once dry, keep them as-is or cut down the sides of the cup to make different size and shaped petals. Glue the bottom of the egg cup to a piece of cardstock and attach a green strip of paper to the bottom. Continue to add egg cup flowers until you build a bouquet. Optional: glue pom poms, buttons, or beads into the center of the egg cups to make flower centers (alternatively, you can just paint the center a different color.)
4. Planter Friends
Paint a garden pot (a paper cup or bottom of a milk carton also work!). Once dry, use a permanent marker to draw a face. Have fun deciding whether its face is happy, surprised, silly, or whatever other emotion you can think of! Once you’ve completed its face, add the soil and grass seed to the pot. In 1-2 weeks your planter friend will grow “hair”!
5. Craft Stick Flower Pot
Paint popsicle sticks in various colors. Once dry, an adult can use the glue gun to add a ring of glue around an empty and clean soup can, working in small sections, and pressing the popsicle sticks to the can. Add dirt for a planter or fill with water and flowers for a vase.
Bug Crafts
Enjoy this collection of bug-inspired crafts for kids!
6. Symmetry Butterflies
Fold a piece of paper and draw the outline of half of a butterfly along the fold. Cut out the half- butterfly shape. Open the butterfly and paint on only one side of the fold. When finished, fold the butterfly along the same line and open it up again to reveal a beautifully painted symmetrical butterfly!
7. Name Caterpillar
Use a cup and colorful paper to trace and cut out an equal amount of circles to the letters in your child’s name plus one extra. Draw one happy face for the head and write the letters of his or her name on the remaining circles. Have your child put the letters of their name in order from left to right and glue the circles together horizontally to create a caterpillar.
8. Thumbprint Bugs
Dip your thumb into the ink pad or paint and press it onto a piece of paper. Make different combinations of thumbprints to create different insects. For example, a caterpillar would have several prints lined up while a lady bug would only have one thumbprint. Use a marker to add legs, antennae, and wings. How many different kinds of bugs can you create?
9. Sponge Print Butterfly
Wrap a rubber band around the center of a sponge, creating a butterfly shape. Use a paintbrush to add different colors and patterns of paint to the sponge. Flip the sponge over and stamp it onto a piece of paper, making a beautiful butterfly! Repeat as desired, rinsing with water and squeezing the sponge out well before applying new colors.
Weather Crafts
These fun weather-related craft ideas for kids are a great addition to both rainy and sunny days!
10. Windsock
Paint or color the outside of an empty toilet paper roll. Cut long strips of colorful tissue paper. Apply glue to the inside edge of the bottom of your paper roll and attach the ends of your tissue paper strips so that most of the paper is hanging down, ready to blow in the wind! Punch two holes on the opposite end to add a ribbon or string to hang your windsock.
11. Paper Towel Rainstick
Paint or color the outside of a cardboard paper towel roll and let it dry. Cover the hole on one end using paper and tape or duct tape. Fold up long pieces of cardboard or paper and put them into the tube. Add some uncooked rice, popcorn kernels, or dried beans. Cover the remaining open end with paper and tape or duct tape. Slowly turn the paper towel roll over to hear the sound of “rain” falling.
12. Paper Plate Scrap Rainbow Collage
Cut a paper plate in half to make a semi-circle. Collect small pieces of paper or other material of various colors from magazine pages or a crafting scrap pile. Glue them onto the paper plate in rainbow order. For younger kids, you may want to draw boundary lines for each color.
13. Weather Dial
Divide a paper plate into four (or more) sections. Draw a picture and label each section a different type of weather condition (sunny, rainy, cloudy, snowy, etc.). Make an arrow out of paper and attach it using a craft brad or clothespin. Add a string if you’d like to hang the weather chart.
