Arts and Crafts for Kids by Season
A year of crafts: four seasons, twelve months, and a craft idea for each, with printables to match.
July 8, 2026 · 4 min read
Crafts that follow the seasons give children a reason to notice the world around them: blossom in spring, shells in summer, leaves in autumn and frost in winter. This guide gives you a year of seasonal crafts, with ideas for each season and the holidays along the way.
Spring (March to May in the northern hemisphere)
What to notice: buds, blossom, birds, baby animals, rain and rainbows.
- Tissue-paper flowers. Scrunch tissue squares and glue them on a drawn stem.
- Butterfly symmetry painting. Paint one side, fold and press.
- Bird nest. Shape paper strips and twigs into a nest in a paper bowl.
- Rainbow collage. Torn paper in rainbow order.
- Planting cress heads in eggshells.
Holidays: St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Earth Day and Mother's Day.
More: spring crafts and activities.
Summer (June to August)
What to notice: sunshine, bugs, the beach, flowers and long evenings.
- Painted shells and stones.
- Sun prints. Lay leaves on dark construction paper in bright sun for a few hours. The paper fades around them.
- Paper fans. Accordion-fold decorated paper.
- Ice painting. Freeze colored water in ice-cube trays with lolly sticks and paint with the melting cubes.
- Bug hotels. Stack sticks, pine cones and hollow stems.
Holidays: Father's Day and Fourth of July.
Color our summer pages and bug pages.
Autumn (September to November)
What to notice: falling leaves, conkers, acorns, pumpkins and harvest.
- Leaf rubbings and leaf creatures.
- Pine cone owls.
- Handprint trees with fingerprint leaves.
- Paper plate wreaths with leaves.
- Torn-paper pumpkins.
Holidays: Back to school, Halloween, Day of the Dead, Diwali, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.
More: fall crafts for kids.
Winter (December to February)
What to notice: frost, snow, ice, bare trees and winter birds.
- Paper snowflakes.
- Cotton-wool snowmen.
- Ice suncatchers. Freeze water with leaves and berries.
- Handprint penguins.
- Pine cone bird feeders.
Holidays: Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year, Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day and Black History Month.
More: winter crafts.
Year-round seasonal projects
- Seasons tree. Draw a bare tree and change its "clothes" each season: blossom, green leaves, orange leaves and snow.
- Nature table. Keep a shelf or tray for seasonal treasures and change it every few weeks.
- Weather chart. Record the weather each day and compare months. Try our graphing worksheets.
- Seasonal coloring. Our homepage shows what's trending this month, and our nature pages cover every season.
- Seasons wheel. Divide a paper plate into four and draw each season.
Southern hemisphere note
If you live in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or South America, the seasons are reversed: summer is December to February, and winter is June to August. Swap the crafts around to match your weather.
Ideas by age
Ages 2–4: sticking, painting, collecting and handprints in each season.
Ages 5–7: seasonal collages, wreaths, snowflakes and nature tables.
Ages 8–11: sun prints, ice suncatchers, weather graphs and seasonal journals.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Trying to do every craft. Pick one or two per month.
- Ignoring the weather. Some crafts need dry days, sunshine or frost.
- Throwing everything away. Take photos to make a "year of crafts" book.
Frequently asked questions
How many crafts should we do each season?
One or two a month is plenty. Choose ones linked to what your child notices outside.
What's a nature table?
A tray or shelf where children display seasonal treasures they've found, such as leaves, shells or pine cones.
What are the best crafts for teaching the seasons?
A seasons tree, a weather chart and a seasons wheel help children see how the year changes.
A month-by-month craft calendar
- January: paper snowflakes, New Year time capsules
- February: Valentine's cards, Lunar New Year lanterns
- March: St. Patrick's rainbows, cress heads
- April: Easter eggs, Earth Day seed bombs
- May: Mother's Day flowers, butterfly symmetry paintings
- June: Father's Day cards, sun prints
- July: shell art, painted rocks
- August: summer scrapbooks, bug hotels
- September: back-to-school pencil pots, leaf rubbings
- October: paper plate pumpkins, pine cone owls
- November: handprint turkeys, Diwali diyas, thankful trees
- December: salt dough ornaments, Hanukkah menorahs, winter cards
Pin the calendar up and let children add their own ideas.
How do I store seasonal crafts?
Keep a flat box or folder for each season. Pull it out each year, enjoy the old crafts and add new ones.
What if we don't celebrate some of these holidays?
Choose the ones that matter to your family, and use others as a chance to learn about friends' celebrations.
What supplies are useful all year?
Paper plates, card stock, tissue paper, glue sticks, washable paint, crayons, scissors, pipe cleaners and clear contact paper cover most seasonal crafts.
How can crafts teach the seasons to toddlers?
Use real seasonal materials, such as leaves, flowers, shells and pine cones, and talk about the weather as you craft. Repeating the same craft each season shows how things change.
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