Do At Home: 3 creative Summer activity ideas for little ones (aged 2-4 years is about right)
Three things I tried out with my 3 year old this month (June 2025).
1. Create a nature installation out and about
Sometimes just walking around a park won’t quite cut it for a pre-schooler. One afternoon in early June we headed to Greenwich park for one of those Sunday afternoon time-before-dinner slots and this is how B and I created our first nature shrine…
Collect nature’s found treasures (sticks, cones, leaves, flowers, petals etc)
Make a frame using big sticks
Start a 3D picture
Continue collecting and building on the picture/installation/shrine
Let your child lead here - I pointed B in the direction of the pine cones on the ground to start her off, then used ‘what else can you find’ for her to lead the search for more bits to add to the picture.
You can use bits to ‘fill in’, make towers and 3D shapes within the picture. B created a mini bonfire type structure within ours. If I’d had incense on me I probably would have lit it and stuck it in for good measure to add to the shrine vibes 🙏🏼
You can add to the picture too but make sure it’s under their direction and you don’t end up telling them where to put their pieces. The practice of letting go of control is as useful for us, as it is for their creativity here!
I loved this activity as it was completely spontaneous, playing with what we had, for free. It was also a great exercise in staying present whilst playing with your kids. If you commit to the creation and the process, it’s easy. You don’t have to create something Andy Goldsworthy would be proud of, it’s all about the process.
2. Forage flowers and plants for a bud vase arrangement (or three)
Bud vases are great because of their shape and size. It’s easy to create an arrangement that actually looks decent without too much effort or experience. Jam jars will work but I’d spend a couple of quid on a few bud vases - they are easier to get flowers look a bit better as the opening is smaller so it holds the flowers in more of a bouquet shape.
I love these because you can stick them around your house and it’s a great way to bring the seasons inside - without paying for expensive flowers.
Check out B’s below 👇🏼
How to do this at home:
The vase on the left (above) is made up from stuff growing in our garden. The second is from bits of weeds and random bits growing fairly wildly at the front of our London flat. If you don’t have any green bits around your house, you could go into a park or wood and see what you can forage (always wash hands afterwards!).
Fill the bud vase quite high with water so all the short stems can reach it and stay alive.
Let your child direct what they want to cut. I think I put one flower into the vase to show her what we were going to do, then asked her what we should add.
Let them decide on the colours, quantities, textures (even when you’re approaching boredom when they want to cut ‘another one. another one. another one’ 😂 - go with it!
If they are old enough they can cut the flowers and plants themselves. I had some safety craft scissors I let B use on the chive flowers and the thinly stalked weeds.
Let the child stick everything into the vase as you go, explaining about the stalks reaching the water for a drink.
They decide when it’s ‘finished’.
Place where everyone can see it (not just on adult-height things) and they should last for a good few days, depending on what you’ve got in there.
3. Make a piece of art for the wall
I took it upon myself to tart up our 2 bed London flat to get it on the market. Of course, being the slightly extra person I am, I styled it like a show flat 😂.
To get B involved, I set up an activity for my daughter AND my husband (note: not an arts & crafting fan) whilst I could crack on with tidying up and getting rid of some crap.
I told her I needed a picture for her bedroom to make it look even nicer, so she understood the aim. I then set her and my husband up with one of my favourite materials to use for 2-4 year olds (and resistant late 30’s men): Tempura paint sticks. It’s easy to get bold colour out of them, easily and quickly.
B and my husband doodled, coloured and let loose. The great thing about sticking something in a frame is that it makes anything look like an expensive bit of abstract art - there were no ‘mistakes’ that could be made which took the pressure off the whole undertaking.
Framing your child’s work also gives the message - we like what you make, look how cool it is, you’re an artist.
Finally instead of filling the wall with rawl plugs and nails, I whacked a couple of command strips on the back and stuck on the wall. A quick and satisfying job for everyone involved!
PLUS the flat sold within a week of going on the market - who know’s if it was B’s picture that pushed people over the edge 😉
