Summer Boredom Busters for Kids

SUMMER BOREDOM BUSTERS

Hope you like this list of activities to help fight the summer boredoms.  At our house we had 
3x5s with inside activities and outside activities.  But Becky's idea was a bit more fun since you
could put them in a box and pull them out, never knowing exactly what the choice will be. 
Hope this helps keep the sanity in your summer.

We made a list at the beginning of the summer, bought some color foam "popsicle sticks" and 
wrote each thing on a stick. They are color coded:

Outside Activity 
Inside Activity 
Rainy Day Activity 
Arts and Crafts 
Outing: Indoors 
Outing: Outdoors

I have even written the names of specific parks, gone through our Crafts book and written
 down specific crafts with their page numbers, etc on there. Then, we choose one whenever 
the situation warrants and have at it! We've had such a full summer already that we 
actually haven't used it very much yet but I figure that most of the things will be good 
through the fall too. I find that it's not only helpful for us during the day but for when 
Dad's home at night or on weekends too. We want to do something but invariably can't 
think of anything except for our "regulars" so this helps shake things up a bit. 

For the outings, we need to pick them a week in advance so we have time to prepare.

I have a friend (the one I got this whole idea from) who has some older kids and she also 
gives them each a bucket of sticks on which they write the names and phone numbers of 
friends they like to have over to play. They choose a name every-so-often and call them 
to set up a play date. It's fun and they work on their scheduling and phone skills at 
the same time!

Anyway, enough of my rambling. I will definitely keep this list to add to our 
sticks for next year!

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Paint a mural on a wall
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Decorate bed sheets with fabric paint
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Make hats (and pants! and shoes!) from aluminum foil

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Make stilts from empty coffee cans
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Stay home and play with squirt guns
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Make candles
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Juggle eggs
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Take a bath in blue food coloring
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Make paper
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Paint pictographs on your basement walls

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Sing opera 
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Make a kite
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Build a volcano
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Build a baking soda rocket
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Make people out of marshmallows, raisins and
toothpicks, then squash them.

See how many things you can stack on a cracker 
and still get it into your mouth

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Paint a "stained glass" window
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Carve polar bears out of Ivory soap
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Make a wind sock
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Build a book shelf
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Record different sounds around the house and see if the 
other person can guess what they are when played back

Shoot spit wads at the ceiling and see if they stick

Draw chalk outlines of yourselves on the sidewalk.

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Build an igloo out of sugar cubes.
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Make ceiling art - hang an outfit from the ceiling with 
thumb tacks as if a body is floating up there.

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Tie streamers on the ceiling fan 
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Cut out shoe prints (or paw prints, or ants, or spiders ) and 
stick them to walls and across the ceiling.

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Paint faces on fruits and vegetables.
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Plan (in drawings) a silly menu for dinner.

Here is another list my daughter and I made for her to
refer to when she's bored.

Find a sibling and play a board game (list of games
we own)

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Kick the soccer ball/shoot some hoops
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Make a tent out of sheets in the living room and
eat snacks under it

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Dress up and pretend
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Play drama games
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Make tea and muffins, invite others to join you.
Set table and light candles.

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Cut flowers make a bouquet
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Make creations using Play dough or modeling clay

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Use binoculars to watch birds.
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Cut paper and glue it.
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Use the "how to draw" books on bookshelves

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Draw with sidewalk chalk
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Play in the paddock
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Go online and play a game on the Internet,

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Pop popcorn; watch a movie
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Make Popsicles.
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Read a book
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Memorize a poem
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Write a poem
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Choreograph a dance in the living room
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Keep a scrapbook
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Make origami
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Make and hang Chinese lanterns from a string 
across the kitchen

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Bake cookies
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Write a letter or email
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Rearrange your bedroom furniture
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Plant seeds or flowers
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Write your own story and illustrate it
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Clean out your bedroom
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Sit in a tree and whistle or just daydream

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Take a walk with a bottle of water
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Create a cozy hiding place (blankets, pillow) and
bring your headphones/CD player to it. Sit quietly reading or
listening or snoozing.

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Go play with the dog 
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Snuggle in bed with kittens
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Play outside on your bike
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Make up a song to sing to anyone who will listen
including the animals

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Eat.
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Organize a treasure hunt
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Help mummy
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Help daddy
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HAVE IDEAS TO ADD, LET US KNOW!!
used with permission (c) 2004 Texas Home Educators