3 of the Most Successful Summer Camp Art Activities to Teach This Year

With summer fast approaching, it is never too early to plan some great activities for your summer art camp. Summer camp art activities are the perfect mix of fun and educational while providing a perfect opportunity to use the vibrant colors that accompany the season. Here are three of the most engaging activities that are perfect for your summer art camp this year.

A colorful display of summer camp art activities, featuring student-made peacock and ice cream sundae artworks, showcasing bright colors and creative designs.

Explore vibrant and creative summer camp art projects that bring imagination to life!

Peacocks

Peacocks are some of the most eye-catching birds on the planet. With their bright blue feathers and large green plumes, the Peacock is the perfect subject for a summer art project. This Peacock art activity makes it simple for students to paint and create their own beautiful Peacock.

To begin creating their Peacock art project, have students trace the peacock outline from a provided template on a piece of painted blue paper. They will then cut out the peacock and glue it to the background.

To create the peacock feathers, students will start by painting several sheets of white tag board with green, purple, and blue acrylic paints. These will serve as the basis for your peacock feathers. Once the paint dries encourage students to use construction paper crayons to add designs and patterns to their painted papers.

Once those papers are finished, instruct students to use the provided templates to trace feathers all over their purple, blue, and green-painted tag boards. After tracing the individual feathers, students can cut them out and begin arranging them onto their background At the tail of the Peacock design. Students will glue on their feathers until they have a breathtaking plume. To add the finishing touches students can use a black marker or black tempera paint to give the Peacock a beak and a googly eye to bring your Peacock to life period.

A completed Peacock summer camp art project, showcasing a student’s creativity creating a beautiful peacock with a colorful tail.

A stunning student-created peacock artwork bursting with bold colors and intricate details.

Alligator Folk Art

Folk art is a great niche to explore as a summer camp activity. Not only does it provide the opportunity for students to create fun and vibrant pieces, but it is also an opportunity to learn about other cultures and communities.

This alligator folk art activity is a directed drawing project that uses vibrant colors and bold lines and shapes to create a fun folk art alligator. Students start by outlining their alligator with step-by-step instructions. This is a great opportunity for students to practice drawing basic shapes like squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles.

When students finish drawing the outline, they will add patterns on the body and tail of their gator. Not only will this make each alligator unique, but it is also a perfect opportunity for students to practice their free drawing skills when it comes to the art elements of line and shape.

Once students finish drawing their alligators, they will begin adding life and personality to their alligators through color. Use pastels, markers, or tempera cake paints to add vibrant colors to your alligator. Folk art does not need to be realistic, so encourage students to add a variety of colors to make their alligators unique.

Ice Cream Sundaes

A completed Ice Cream Sundae summer camp art project, featuring a colorful drawing of stacked ice cream scoops topped with cherries and sprinkles, set against a vibrant painted background.

This delightful ice cream sundae artwork captures the essence of summer with fun colors and playful details.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Ice Cream Sundae art activities! Nothing says summer like a big bowl of ice cream. This ice cream sundae art project is a summer drawing that is easy to do for campers of all ages. The fun colors make this project just as refreshing as the real deal.

To begin, students will draw their ice cream on the page. Students can use pencils or crayons depending on their preference. Students can add as many scoops to their bowls as they want. Half circles are a great practice shape for each scoop but encourage students to try new shapes to make their sundae unique. After students draw their scoops of ice cream as high as they want, remind them to add their favorite toppings like cherries, sprinkles, and whipped cream. This is not only great practice for free drawing, but also a good measure of a student’s spatial reasoning ability.

After students have drawn their ice cream it is time to start creating the background. Start by having students draw a horizon line about midway through the bowl on the page. This will serve as the surface that the sundae is sitting on. Have students add patterns or drawings to the background to give it life and more color.

Now that students have drawn both their ice cream and the background, they can finish off their art project by adding paint. Have students use tempera cake paints to wash each scoop of ice cream as well as the background. Encourage students to use a variety of colors to help make their sundaes more appetizing.

Students can add even more finishing touches to their artwork by adding sequins, scrap paper, or glitter to add more texture to the painting.


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