7 Indoor Summer Projects for You and Your Kids Because It’s Just Too Hot to Step Outside!

From making indoor rainbows to creating tornadoes in a bottle, even adults won't be able to resist joining in on these projects!

By Aishhwariya Subramanian

April 5, 2017

What happens when summer vacation begins and the temperatures start rising? Well, if you are a parent, that means you have to deal with your kids growing restless at home unable to step out and play due to the heat.

Well, worry not.

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You can watch an easy tutorial of the project below.

Wood photo transfer

Have a favourite picture of your family you want to highlight in the living room? You can enlist your child’s help in transferring photographs onto wooden panels or even canvas if wood isn’t easily available. This project will require you to head to the arts and craft store near your home as you will have to pick up some Mod Podge that’s available in most craft stores.

Now take a paper printout of the picture you want framed. Plaster the transfer solution (Mod Podge) generously onto the piece of wood and then place your picture gently on top of that and firmly put it in place. Wait for it to dry completely. And then take a damp piece of cloth and slow wipe away the paper from the wood. What’s left is just the image.

Here’s an easy to follow tutorial of this project

Build a DIY reading nook

While a blanket fort might be a fun project to kill the hours, the heat might make sitting under a blanket fort a bit suffocating for children. However, a cozy reading nook is perfect to appease kids who love books and it could even entice non-readers into reading a page or two. For the simplest version of a nook, all you need to do is find a bright part of the house where there is plenty of ventilation. Place a lot of cushions in the area and string some fairy-lights around the section to make it look whimsical.

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Make a rainbow

A boring day can be immediately brightened up with a rainbow and when there is none in the sky, you can get creative and make one right at home. In order to create a rainbow, you will need a glass of water, a white paper and a sunny day. Thankfully sunny days are practically guaranteed during the summer. Take the glass of water (it has to be clear glass for this to work) to a window streaming sunlight. Keep the glass over the paper and watch as the lights are filtered and form a wonderful rainbow on the paper.

Here’s an easy tutorial of the project

Rain inside a bottle

If making a rainbow left you inspired to recreate other acts of nature, there is an easy way to create rain inside a bottle. Intrigued? Microwave some water for a few minutes (it doesn’t have to start boiling). Now pour that water into a big glass jar. Now cover the jar with a plate and let it sit for a few minutes. And then place a handful of ice cubes on top of the plate. It will start to rain in jar! You can also take this opportunity to explain how clouds and precipitation works and slip in a science lesson if you want.

Here’s an easy tutorial below

Tie-dye old t-shirts

Not all projects have to be based on science. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to print bandhani prints (tie-dye) onto old white t-shirts lying around the house. All you will need is fabric dye, some tie-dye fixer and soda ash, all of which are easily available in stores.

Start with boiling a litre of water. In a separate mug, put a teaspoon of fabric dye of your choice. Pour the boiling water into the mug with the dye and mix it. Since the water is hot, make sure the children are being safe and not spilling this on themselves. Now put some fixer onto the mixture and then pour it into a simple squeeze plastic bottle. Keep this mixture aside.

Now take a piece of fabric (say an old tee) and tie different sections of the fabric with a piece of string until the whole shirt is sectioned away. You can experiment with how you section the fabric as the patterns will differ accordingly. After this step, take a bucket and fill about half of it with water and put some handful of soda ash into the water and mix it. Dip the fabric in the cloth and keep it soaked for two to three hours.

Pull it out and then place it on an elevated surface where you can ensure the dye doesn’t slip and fall onto the floor. Here, use the squeeze bottle filled with the dye to colour in the sections of the fabric. You can use different colours. Once you have finished colouring, you should wrap the cloth in a clear plastic completely and keep it aside for 24 hours. Remove all the strings sectioning the fabric and then wash the fabric in water and you will be left with a cool printed tie-dye t-shirt.