Now that the weekend is here, the kids need something to do.  So, why not create your own weekend camp for your kids?  The best part of camp is doing great craft projects that get the imagination going.  Therefore, step number one in starting your own weekend camp is to set up projects that they can do on their own or with just a little bit of supervision from you.  Here are some crafty projects that you can set up quickly and easily.

One project is to fill empty bottles with coloured sand.  All you need is an empty bottle (with lid), sand (from either the beach or the store), coloured chalk, wax paper and a funnel.  Start by putting a small bit of sand on the wax paper.  Then roll the chalk in the sand until the sand changes colour.  Next, use the funnel to fill the bottle with the coloured sand.  Finally, repeat these steps using different coloured chalk until the bottle is completely filled.  Put the lid on the bottle.  If you like, you can create a label for the bottle putting the year or the name of the beach the sand came from.

Another project is to make your own pinwheels.  Start by cutting out 4 squares from construction paper.  On each square, cut a line from each corner to almost the middle of the square.  Then take one corner and fold it over to the center.  Glue the corner to the center.  Repeat this process of folding each corner to the center and gluing it in place.  Hold the paper together until the glue has dried.  Then use a stick pin to attach the center of the pinwheel to the eraser part of a pencil.  Give the pinwheel a gentle tug to see if it will spin easily.  Once you are happy with the way the pinwheel spins, then use stickers or glitter glue to decorate the pinwheel.  Finally, take it outside and let the wind spin the pinwheel around and around.

A third project kids can make is to decorate their very own hat.  This way they'll want to wear their hat more and that will help protect them from the sun.  Buy a variety of craft jewels and fabric paint and let your child decorate the hat anyway that they want.  Tip:  If you buy jewels, you can attach them to the hat with permanent fabric glue.  Don't use white craft glue or a hot glue gun, as this will not stick to the fabric.  

A fourth project you can do is to have the kids make their own clay beads for necklaces and bracelets.  Simply take some no-bake modeling clay (choose a variety of colours) and take a few pinches from two colours or more.  Roll the clay together until it forms a small ball - either round or oval.  If you are using more than one colour, you'll end up with a marble effect with all the colours mixed together.  Once you have rolled the clay into a small ball, then stick the ball on a wooden skewer.  Remember to keep the balls from touching one another and let the clay balls dry for 3-4 hours.  Once they are dry, take them off the skewers and they're ready to make them into necklaces and bracelets.

Another project idea for kids is to create their own pet rocks or pet seashells.  Start by gathering some rocks and seashells from the beach.  Then put some newspaper on the table and put out a variety of supplies like paint, rolly eyes, miniature doll clothes, beads or anything else you want.  Then let your kids go wild and create their own pets by gluing them together, painting them and gluing on eyes or whatever else they want.  They're cute and a great way to keep the kids busy.