Oh, what do you do in the summertime…with kids? Earlier this week I had one of those hard working mom moments where I dropped Henry of at a camp that he didn’t really want to be at. He ended up having a good time when I picked him up, but of course I felt guilty and horrible about it all day. I had deadlines though and lots of work to do as we prepare to leave for three weeks (we’re headed to Fire Island on Long Island for a week and then Utah!).

The next day I gave him the option of going or staying and he said he wanted  ‘a day off’ from camp. Even though I had lots of work to do, we made it work. He was pretty entertained for a while by the BluTrack (one of our favorite toys) but then I started racking my brain for other kid craft ideas and started going through the archives of Say Yes. We ended up doing some watercoloring and seed necklaces. I collected 10 other favorite summertime kid craft ideas for you (see them after the jump).

In the afternoon we invited his friend Harper to come over and explore some Kiwi Crate crafts with us in the community garden next door. Kiwi Crate is a really cool kid craft box. You can buy individual boxes or order a subscription. There are so many cute summer themes from amusement parks to camping and beach. I’ve been super impressed with the quality and creativity of the ideas. Everything is included, like scissors and glue and lots of pre-made elements. They’re super simple and well thought-out. I mean, this little farm below?!? How cute is this!

And here’s a great deal for you: get 25% off your first crate with the code SAYYES25.

Keep reading to see a roundup of some of my favorite summertime kid craft ideas from the Say Yes archives and around the web, and a few more pictures of these cute kids and their Kiwi Crate crafting session in the garden…

Thanks to Kiwi Crate for sponsoring this post. Use the Code SAYYES25 to get 25% off your first crate (excludes sibling add-ons).

Photography by Liz Stanley. Collage graphics by Ashley Aikele. Assisted by Sara Albers, Harper and Henry (always such a great sport for photos)

For summertime craft ideas, I love projects that are extra messy (window painting!), outdoors focused (obstacle course mud run!), busy busy (seed necklaces!) or just really special (glow in the dark balloons!).

Here are 10 fun ideas for summertime crafts with kids, what’s on your kid crafting agenda this summer?

1. Mini painted clay pots
2. Fingerprint pineapple
3. DIY crayon rocks
4. Glow stick balloons
5. Fruit print painting
6. Spin art
7. Mud run
8. Window painting
9. DIY dinosaur “fossils”
10. Superhero masks

I love the idea of these pre-made craft kits that Kiwi Crate offers. All the hard work is done! Here are some more pictures of these cute kids doing their Kiwi Crate crafts below. They were cracking up the whole time.  I mean, come on. Who wouldn’t want to put googly eyes on the finger puppet butts and watch soil ‘explode’ from the condensed soil packets. Such a fun afternoon project! Thanks, Kiwi Crate!

I’d love to hear your ideas, what kids crafts do you like to do in the summer?