Fun Crafts for Kids

Two fun summer time crafts you can do with your children are personalized stepping stones and your own kitchen garden.  Making personalized stepping stones to put in your yard is a fun activity to do at home with the whole family.  You will need cardboard building form and a saw for cutting (optional), shovel for digging soil, bag of concrete, mixing tub, hoe, water, flat-edged scraps of wood, and mementos or other things to put in the concrete (e.g. seashells or small toys).  To start your mold dig a hole in the shape you want your stone about 2 1/2 inches deep.  Then line the holes edges with a strip of cardboard.  When the hole is done fill the bottom with small pebbles about one inch high.  Follow the direction on the concrete bag to mix your concrete.  Use the hoe to stir until the proper consistency is reached, now pour it into your ground mold.  Once the concrete is firm enough to make a finger impression and hold the shape it is ready to be decorated with your mementos.  Remember to sign and date your stone with a stick or pointed object.  Let set to cure for several days. Finally take the cardboard forms off with a craft knife.  

A kitchen garden is something your children can create and watch grow all year long.  To start you will need planting containers, sterile soil less mix (to minimize the risk of disease), and ziplock bags (to maintain high-humidity).  For this type of garden you will be able to grow things like carrots, sweet potatoes, grapes, avocados, and more.  Simply place them in a bright windowsill.  Some seeds will sprout within days and others can take as long as a month.  The kitchen garden can be started any time of the year.  However if you begin your garden when it is cold out such as January you might want to place it near a radiator or heated near a window.