Create an umbrella-inspired craft.
The rainy days of spring can serve as inspiration for a number of children's craft projects that involve umbrellas. Craft projects with umbrellas can be done at home or in the classroom and provide a hands-on way for kids to express creativity. You can either use an actual umbrella in the project or create your own from various materials like cardboard or construction paper.
Real Umbrella Decorating
The next time it rains, kids should be very excited by the prospect of going outside with a real umbrella they got to create. To complete the project, you'll need a blank solid-color umbrella. Lighter colors like white or beige allow artwork to show up clearly. Set up an area and cover with newspaper. Let the kids decorate their umbrellas, using either fabric pens or acrylic paint. Encourage them to cover the entire umbrella with pictures or patterns. Be sure to allow adequate drying time before closing the umbrella or exposing it to water.
Project for Young Children
Younger children should enjoy the opportunity to both decorate and play with water. Depending on the age, an adult may need to assist in tracing and cutting out the shape of an umbrella from a sheet of white or manila oak tag paper. Rip up different pieces of colored tissue paper, and instruct the child to arrange them on the surface of the umbrella cutout. Once that step is complete, use a spray bottle filled with water to squirt the layer of tissue paper. When it dries, the paper will fall off, leaving a medley of colors behind on the umbrella cutout.
3-D Rainy Day Scene
Use modeling clay with the children to create a 3-D rainy-day scene. You'll need modeling clay in various colors along with tools such as rolling pins and plastic craft knives for cutting the material. Let their imaginations run wild as they create people or animals holding umbrellas. You may want to provide them with a few pictures of rainy-day scenes from storybooks to have them try to bring the pictures to life.
Umbrella Cookies
To celebrate the arrival of spring with your kids, bake rain-themed cookies. Use dough like that for sugar cookies that's easy to roll out and use with cookie cutters. Purchase cutters in the shape of umbrellas, raindrops and anything else you can find that's related to rain and springtime. Once the cookies are out of the oven and cooled, decorate the umbrellas and other items with colorful frosting.
Tags: modeling clay, they create, tissue paper, umbrella cutout, with pictures