We've hit the mid-summer lull. If it were a typical July, which it hasn't been, we might call this time the "dog days of summer" when the days are sultry and sticky and those beautifully cool autumn evenings couldn't come quicker. Here in the midwest, we're still waiting for the 80-degree days to stick around long enough to catch a sun tan.
However, we've reached the point where our weekends are stockpiled with activities, vacations and other commitments from now til Labor Day, while the weekdays are rather mundane and lagging. Younger kids have day camp or special interest camps for their favorite sports to look forward to, while their parents set up play dates and pool parties.
Child Craft Crib
As a kid, I remember days when the summer got downright boring because of the lack of activities I had planned for a summer break. My mom would yell at us to turn off the TV and go play outside. Into my teenage years, summer break got a bit more interesting with friends to hang out with, preferably those with cars
However, between those day camp years and the free-flying teen years, many parents may be wondering about things for tweens to do during the summer break. What age is a tween? Generally tweens are between grade school and high school - too old for some things and too young for others.
So here's a few ideas for quick summer crafts for your tweens, whether they are babysitting the neighborhood kids or having a fun day to themselves. You should never run out of things for tweens to do during the summer break!
1. Get artistic with your favorite summer journal - decorate the cover with colorful beads and fabrics - and take notes in style as you sit on the beach writing about life lessons learned the hard way.
2. Create a summer fun scrapbook page that documents your family vacation and fun hangouts with friends. Do it the old-fashioned way with magazine cut-outs and cololrful markers so you don't have to drop a ton of money on scrapbooking supplies!
3. For the crochet-crowd out there, make your own summer tote bag using a free crochet pattern you can find online at Favecrafts.
4. Jewelry, jewelry and more jewelry! What girl doesn't love it? Pick up some colorful beads and appropriate sterling silver wires at your local craft store and have a ball creating your own bracelets, earrings and necklaces.
5. Recycled aluminum coffee cans can be used and decorated for your next major barbecue at the house. Covering the cans with decorative fabric will transform the aluminum into fancy silverware and napkin holders for the outdoors.
6. Have fun in the garden! If you're a gardening family, have your tweens create garden animals using clay pots. A fun little turtle just takes 3 different sized pots stacked on top of each other. Paint it green and decorate it to be the adorable little garden creature that it is.
7. At age 12 I had started collecting candles of all kinds. Try making your own beeswax candles by purchasing beeswax honeycomb texture sheets at the craftstore along with several inches of wick. Candles are cool, but even cooler when they're handmade.
8. If your tweens are babysitting, have them create beverage coasters by using old bottle caps and gluing them to circular pieces of foam.
9. Scour the house for old jewelry, using funky shapes and sizes, see what you can create using the things you've found. Try taking some of it apart and creating new and improved pieces!
10. Lastly, your kids are entering a new stage in their lives, whether they are 10, 11, 12 or even 13. So now could be a good time to create an inspiration journal that compiles things they're interested in and things that inspire them. Go through magazines and be creative with it - it'll be a fun memento to look back on!