If you don't have a roll of kraft or butcher paper around, consider getting one for the summer. This stuff is great!
Tape a square of it on the floor and make tracings of your kids or draw a city for matchbox cars... cover your table with it for a mess-free work surface or unlimited drawing fun... tape a big piece to your fence or the side of the house and let the kids draw a mural... the possibilities are endless!
A black sharpie is nice to have for clean edges (think about drawing an outline and letting the kids color it in or writing names on each child's work) and markers are easiest for drawing. If you are feeling adventurous, tempera paint from Wal-Mart or Michael's can be really fun. If you want to get really crazy, boiled spaghetti can be dyed different colors and placed in shapes on the paper, where it will stick when it dries!
But kraft paper and butcher paper can be expensive, even from food service companies. Today I found a great alternative- building paper from Home Depot. A roll that was 35" wide and 140' long only cost me $9.97! A smaller roll from a craft store will run you about $30.
The builder's paper I found was available in brown or pink and is a wonderful, heavy weight. 
If you don't have room for paper that's nearly 3 feet wide, check out the roofing section for 9"x 300' white flashing paper... great fun for drawing cartoons, stories or cities! Home Depot and Lowe's and other building material stores are full of great stuff for arts and crafts projects all summer long. Check it out and pick up a roll or two- you won't believe how much fun your kids will have with it.
(If the kids don't dig it, you can always apply the brown paper to your walls for a faux leather look!)
