danyelle recommends Rainy Day Book of Things to Make and Do

We are 11 days into our summer vacation, and while my kids enjoy being outside, they have already had plenty of inside hours to fill.  I found Rainy Day Book of Things to Make and Do while browsing through kids' craft books in March, and I knew it would be perfect for summer days (rainy or not).

The book is organized into 8 sections ("Fun and Games," "Top Toys," "Rad Room," "Great Gifts," "Dazzling Decorations," "Cool Cards and Papercrafts," "Funky Fashions," and "Awesome Accessories") and includes a variety of projects (twig letters, pebble pets, paper plate animals, and pop-up cards)  Step-by-step instructions are clearly written, easy to follow, and include plenty of pictures.  Whether you are gluing, stitching, or painting, most of the projects require easy-to-find supplies, many of which we already had on hand.  Templates are included, making it easy for those of us who need to trace.  Although the title says the projects are "for kids aged 3-10," younger children will need significant help from adults.  The projects were just right for my seven- to ten-year-old children to complete with little assistance.

Here are a few of our projects.

Checker boards for our road trip in June.

Bandanna-covered journals that we are going to use for our summer poem books.

Stain glass butterflies decorate our back door.

We have more projects that we want to try this summer (notice the flags stuck in our book).  I just hope summer lasts a long time.

The Rainy Day Book of Things To Make and Do: More than 50 Creative Crafting Projects for Kids Aged 3-10
by Catherine Woram and Claire Youngs
published by Ryland Peters & Small
August 2012
recommended for ages 6 and up