A Raindrop Themed Low Mess Craft Activity For Children

Summer days are made for being in the garden, but as the days get colder, wetter and darker my craft box replaces the box of garden toys by the back door. This year I have been easing myself in gently with a low mess sticking activity that was enjoyed as much by my toddler as my 6 year old. Little ones enjoy the different colours, textures and all the glue whereas older children will use the shapes to make patterns and pictures.

A toddler putting PVA glue on a white sheet of paper

How to do this simple low mess kids craft activity

What you need:

Coloured paper

Foil

Scissors

Glue

Background paper (to stick everything on)

Close up of cutting a raindrop shape out of coloured paper

Raindrop shapes in paper and a plate with glue on

Preparation

I recommend an adult cuts the raindrops shapes out in advance unless your have a child very confident with scissors.
To make the raindrop shapes cut up the sheets of paper into strips then rectangles so you are cutting multiple layers at a time or it will take forever. I free hand cut the shapes starting at the pointy end to make the raindrop/ teardrop shapes. I made a few different size raindrops in each colour so don’t feel all the shapes need to be exactly the same.
Take care if you are using foil as it can be a bit sharp after cutting until you have separated the layers back out.

An overhead view of a table with a toddler and 6 year old sticking rainbow shapes to paper

The Activity

Give the children the raindrop shapes, some glue and let them get on with sticking them to the background paper. It's as simple as that!
It is really easy for any age, but they can make some great looking pictures. I found it interesting how my eldest created different types of pictures, starting with just colourful rain, but then moving on to flowers. My toddler is just always happy if you give her glue to play with and I love that it is less messy than paint and washes out easier.

A 6 year old sticking coloured paper raindrops to paper

A piece of paper with lots of glue on and a little bit of coloured paper

Various flower shapes made out of raindrops

Variations

You could use any colour paper or materials. How about recycling your junk mail or old magazines by cutting the colourful pages up? Maybe not the kids' magazines though as they can get strangely attached to those...
I love the raindrop shapes because they are easy to cut out and they can be used for so many different patterns, but other shapes will work too. You can also use craft punches like these from Amazon (affiliate link) or Hobbycraft to make cutting the shapes out much faster, but make sure the shapes aren't too small or it will be fiddly for younger children.
For Christmas holly leaves, snowflakes or Christmas tree shapes would be fun, but I would definitely want a craft punch for those or to find the shapes pre-cut.

Image from above with title text over the top saying "Easy rainy day themed craft for children"

I would love to see what your children come up with so please comment below or tag me on Twitter/ Instagram @EssexKate.