Hey friends! How has you summer been so far? It’s not over for us yet, thankfully! We’ve been soaking up every last bit of summer. It’s been rainy quite a bit, so on the days that we haven’t been able to go swimming, I try to think of either a fun indoor place to go, or just stay at home and do a fun craft with the kids. Last week, on a rainy day, we painted bird houses!
I got the idea from the Summer of Fun Catalog from Jo-Anns. I let my kids pick any project from the catalog that they wanted to try. Since they found a little bird nest in our backyard this spring, with eggs that had just hatched), they have been really interested in birds. We didn’t try to copy the example in the catalog, but we used it as an idea to make our own bird houses. It was a lot of fun to help them paint their bird houses!
Inspiration: Ours:
We bought all of our supplies, including the bird houses, paint, brushes, and glitter, at Jo-Anns.
It would have been a good idea to sand the unfinished wood a little
before painting, but the kids were so excited to get started, that I
decided to skip that step.
They immediately squeezed their chosen paint colors onto a paper plate, and started painting away!
My oldest daughter did some cool alternating patterns on her birdhouse.
I was quite in love with the color palette that my middle child picked, all on her own!
When the houses had dried, we added some black sunflower seeds for the birds to eat. My neighbor, who had several bird houses in his yard, shared these seeds with us. Tip: he says that the seeds are expensive, but there is one place he has found them very reasonably priced, and that is at Menards.
My neighbor even gave the kids a “map” about the different birds found in our region. I love how he helped me turn this craft into an educational experience for my kids. They have learned a lot of different types of birds. Their favorite birds who have stopped by for a bite to eat are: chickadees, goldfinches, and robins.
While at Jo-Anns, we picked up a few other fun things. The girls got these little treasure boxes. I wanted them to paint these, but they insist on them staying unfinished!
I even found something… these rain boots! At Jo-Ann! These were the last thing I was expecting to find. They were on clearance, and I just couldn’t resist. I think they are so cute! And pretty comfortable for rain boots. I love anything houndstooth, so this pattern will fit well in my wardrobe. Hooray for all the rain this summer…. it led to new rainboots, and a fun indoor craft with my kids!
Thank you Jo-Anns for helping me make it a fun summer for my kids!
Jo-Anns is promoting #summerofjoann, with more that 70 free craft ideas that you can make with kids. Be sure to check out the catalog Summer of Fun Catalog for lots of great ideas!
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