Hey parents, teachers, big sisters and brothers and anyone else who works with children! We know summer is soon coming to a close, but that doesn’t mean that we have to give up artistic activities. Even if you are just about out of ideas for interactive and educational fun, we can help. Today, we are unveiling the easiest kids craft EVER. This activity takes very little prep, is virtually free, and allows your charges to use their imaginations in order to make whatever they want. What are we talking about? A Landscape Collage craft. We would bet a nickel that if you have kids around, you will have everything you need to do this craft. Part of the fun of this craft is collecting the supplies. Your tiny talents will be imagining their very own landscape and filling it with whatever treasures they can find. Collecting the materials can be like a treasure hunt, you can send them through the house, yard, garage or spare room to find their supplies. You can expand on this part of the activity if you like by providing them with a prize when they are done. So let’s get started!

So here is what we recommend for supplies, but you can modify your supply list as much as your artists like.

*White paper – preferably heavier paper and as large as you have

*Coloring sheets – these should match the landscape your artist wants to create

*Crayons, markers, glue, cotton balls, construction paper, scissors, magazines, comic books

*Any additional items to dress up your world like buttons, leaves, stickers etc.

Set your petite Picassos down with their collected materials. Have kids color in the coloring page images then cut them out and glue them to your white construction paper in the desired location. If your kids don’t have any coloring books or the images they have aren’t what they wanted consider printing coloring sheets from Google Images. Then use images from magazines or comic books to fill in landscape. Use construction paper to make certain objects in your scene. If your child’s landscape is a forest, have them cut out a strip of brown construction paper for a tree trunk, top is with a green triangle for a tree then cut out a yellow circle and orange rays for a sun. Cotton balls form your clouds (pro tip: when gluing feathers, leaves, cotton balls never put glue on the item, glue the paper and gently place delicate items on glue), real leaves can be trees, pressed flowers can be a garden, buttons can be used as bicycle or car tires and yarn can be a moving stream.

Let your kids imagination run wild and don’t be afraid to join them. Few things make children happier than when a parent sits down with them to do an activity. Trust me, this craft is fun and full of endless possibilities. Remember, there are no rules and mistakes are really just artistic license. After all, it’s the journey not the destination. You will treasure that crazy collage more than you can imagine. Here’s to a happy end-of-summer and early fall!