Keep materials for an easy craft project on hand to keep kids busy.

Simple beach crafts are a great way to keep children entertained, especially on a rainy day when kids can get bored. This project requires only a few materials and is easy for even the smallest hands, as long as you are there to supervise. You'll need colored card or stiff paper, glue, and sand. Using the glue like a paintbrush, have your kids paint a picture on the card. When they're ready, pour sand over the picture, preferably on a flat surface. Wait about one minute and then gently shake off the excess sand. The sand will cling to the glued areas. Leave to dry, flat, for an hour or more. Try using colored sand, sprinkling glitter or small shells for variety, or accent the project with small shells, stones, and other beach finds.

Choose and layer colors that help capture the ocean's essence.

One of the fun challenges of beach crafts, including painting seascapes, is choosing colors that capture the true essence of the ocean. Garrett Copal suggests layering your colors to achieve the most realistic results. When painting a large area of water, try under-painting with Prussian blue; use umber for glaze. White and ochre work also well in seascapes. Use white as the light when detailing ripples on the ocean, and try using viridian green and ochre to help backgrounds look their best. For foregrounds on the wave side, use cadmium yellow and white; paint the crest white with a large bristle brush.

Make sand sculptures with a combination of sand, corn starch, cream of tartar and hot water.

Sand sculptures are a fun beach craft for you to do with your children. You and your family will love this simple recipe that yields lasting beach art! Collect sand from your local beach (make sure that it is allowed), or purchase sand from a local craft store or purveyor. Remove all bits and pieces from the sand. In an old, medium-sized saucepan, mix together 1 cup sand, _ cup cornstarch, 1 teaspoon cream of tarter, and _ cup hot with an old wooden spoon or spatula. Cook over a medium heat (make sure to supervise children whenever you are working with a heat source), stirring until the mixture constantly until it is so thick that you cannot stir it any more. Allow the mixture to cool until you and your children can handle it without burning your fingers (remember that children will be more sensitive to heat than you might be). While the clay is still warm, form it into shapes. You can use purchased molds or form the shapes free hand. Some fun and easy shapes to try are dolphins, starfish, shells, san