- Reverse tie dyeing requires strict adult supervision. Use an unwashed, colored cotton T-shirt. Fill a tub or spray bottle with bleach. Twist a shirt up and secure it with rubber bands. Put on rubber gloves. Either dip the shirt in bleach or have the child spray the shirt with the bleach bottle. Soak the shirt in bleach. Wear gloves. Rinse the shirt thoroughly and take out the rubber bands. Wash the shirt immediately. The shirt will have star bursts where the color has faded. Kids can further decorate the shirts with fabric paint if desired.
- Make a cement garden plaque to decorate your garden. Have kids mix up cement. Pour the mix into a mold. (Find the mix and mold at craft stores.) Kids can put fake gems, glass and other decorative items in the cement. Use stamps or a stick to write a message. Allow the cement to dry for two days in a cool, dry area. Pop the dried plaque out of the mold and place it in the garden. If you don't have a garden, place it near your front door.
- Make homemade paint for hot days. Have kids mix five or six drops of food coloring with water. Pour the colored water into ice cube trays. Stretch plastic wrap over the tray. Poke holes in the tray and insert popsicle sticks. Freeze. Once the pops are frozen, let kids paint outside on the ground or on paper. The popsicle paint melts, so dress the kids in clothes that can get dirty. Popsicle paint has two advantages over regular paint--it's inexpensive and you can eat the paint you don't use.
- Before water play, set out trays of washable paint. Kids put their feet and hands in the paint and walk, run, skip or cartwheel over paper or the sidewalk. They can make designs using their feet and hands. Use sidewalk paint if removal is an issue. (Sidewalk paint is available in most craft stores.) Let kids wash off in the sprinkler. To make a keepsake, ask them to decorate a banner for a party or a summer mural. Kids will enjoy coming up with new pictures using just their bodies.
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