Randel McGee - Fun and Festive Summer Crafts: Tie-Dyed Shirts, Bug Cages, and Sand Castles

In summer, the weather is hot, school is out, and people have picnics and barbecues. In Fun and Festive Summer Crafts: Tie-Dyed Shirts, Bug Cages, and Sand Castles, create easy crafts as you learn about the summer season. Read about symbols, holidays, and special events that take place during this fun-filled time of year and get creative!

AUTHORS NOTE: The projects in this book were created for this particular season. However, I invite readers to be imaginative and find new ways to use the ideas in this book to create different projects of their own. Please feel free to share pictures of your work with me through www.mcgeeproductions.com . Happy crafting!

Legends say that long, long ago in Hawaii, there lived a clever man named Maui (MAH-oo-EE). His mother, Hina (HEE-nah), complained to him that the sun ran across the sky so quickly, she did not have time to make her special kapa cloth and let it dry before it was dark. Mauis friends also complained that they could not get all their work done before it was too dark to see. Maui decided that he would just have to make the sun slow down. He made magic ropes of woven coconut fibers and climbed to the top of Mt. Haleakala (HAH-lay-ah-KAH-lah) near the suns home. When the sun started to stretch his sunbeam leg over the mountain, Maui threw the rope around it and tied it to the mountain. He did this again and again until the suns many legs were trapped.

The sun cried to be set free, but Maui said he would not set the sun free until he promised to go slower as he crossed the sky. The sun struggled and fought against the ropes, but he could not get loose. Finally, the sun agreed to slow down his daily journey across the sky during half of the year. Maui let him go and the sun kept his promise. This is how the long days of summer came to be.

This is a fantastic adventure story, but what really causes the longer days of summer is that Earth is tilted slightly from north to south. During the summer months, the Northern Hemisphere, the top half of Earth, leans closer to the sun. The Northern Hemisphere receives more light and heat than the Southern Hemisphere. When the sun reaches its highest point on the Northern Hemisphere, it is called the summer solstice. Solstice comes from a Latin word that means where the sun stops. June 21 is usually the day of the summer solstice, where the sun shines as far north as it can before Earth starts to lean the other way. The summer solstice has the longest daylight hours of the year. A summer solstice in the north means it is the winter solstice in the south.

The longer days of summer give people extra time to do things outside, such as playing games and sports, swimming, fishing, chasing butterflies and fireflies, enjoying fresh fruits and vegetables, and having picnics and barbecues. In the United States, there are three special holidays during this season. Memorial Day, the last Monday of May, is the day to honor those who have served their country. It is considered the beginning of summer because most schools close for summer vacation soon after this day. July 4 is a national holiday celebrating Independence Day with parades, picnics, outdoor games and activities, and firework displays. Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday of September as a day to honor those who have worked hard to make their country successful. It usually marks the end of summer vacation and the beginning of the school year.

One of the joys of summer is the fresh fruit and vegetables that you can find in the grocery store, farmers markets, and your own garden. Melons are members of the cucumber family that produce large, sweet fruits. There are many kinds of melons in different colors, sizes, and shapes: round orange cantaloupes; light green honeydews; and the popular oval red watermelon. Use this watermelon refrigerator magnet to post your summer artwork, postcards, and invitations.

1. Print and cut out the patterns from . Use pencil or marker to trace them onto the craft foam. The green piece will be the largest, the white piece the next largest, and the red the smallest of the pattern pieces.

2. Cut out the pattern pieces.

3. Glue the pattern pieces on top of each other going from the largest on the bottom to the smallest on the top. Make sure that the top edges match. Let the glue dry.

4. Draw a few dark seeds on the red part with the permanent marker.

5. Glue a small magnet or piece of magnetic strip to the back of the watermelon (on the green side).

In the summer, it is fun to play at the beach of a lake or ocean. The wet sand of a beach can be molded and piled to make sand castles. Many beaches hold contests to see what kinds of sand castles or sculptures people can make. However, you cannot take a sand castle home with you to play with.Or can you? Here is a project that uses cardboard boxes and tubes to make a little sand castle that you can play with outside all summer long.

1. Spread a plastic sheet or garbage bag over your work area outside to help with cleanup.

2. Have an adult use the craft knife to cut windows and doors in the cardboard boxes and tubes as you wish. There are patterns for other castle parts on . Decorate the castle with pieces of light cardboard.

3. Glue the boxes and tubes together to form a castle with towers. Let the glue dry.

4. Make a glue wash by mixing water with the white glue, one part glue and one part water.

5. Paint a section of the castle with a thin layer of the glue wash and use the disposable cup to sprinkle clean sand on that section. Let it dry.