A couple weeks ago, Lori wrote a great blog about Boredom Busters (click here to read it). I loved it – I always enjoy peeking inside another mom’s head to see what cool ideas they use to keep their kids entertained.
I wanted to expand on Lori’s list a little bit, and encourage everyone to throw in their two cents. Summer is the time when all of us need a hand in filling the long days!
What are some creative, free OR inexpensive things you do with your kids? Here’s my list. I think I’m going to print it out and let my kids pick one every day until we’ve done them all!
- Summer reading club at the library
- Read It Again kits at from the library
- Learn a new skill (for my 5-year-old, we’re going to work on tying shoes and cartwheels)
- Spraygrounds
- Arlington Museum of Art (it’s free, they only ask for donations)
- Bowling (we signed up for kidsbowlfree.com – you just pay for shoes)
- Roller skating (the Arlington Skatium on Cooper has a “cheap skate” night for $1.99)
- Levitt Pavilion concerts
- Summer movie series at Studio Movie Grill or Cinemark (cheap tickets)
- YMCA (my kids love going there while I exercise, and we often swim there together)
- Keep a summer journal
- Make giant bubble wands
- Angry Birds sidewalk chalk & water balloon game (found here)
- Make lemonade
- Start up correspondence with a pen pal
- Go on a scavenger hunt (even in your own house!)
- Have a picnic (even in your own house!)
- Go outside, sit on the shade, and blow bubbles
- Bake cookies
- Make puzzle planks (found here)
- Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes in slices of watermelon
- Have a family jam (everyone play a different instrument!)
- Go fly a kite
- Play follow the leader, freeze/melt, head, shoulder, knees, & toes, or I Spy
- Fill up a box with objects around the house that all start with the same letter
- Explore outside with a magnifying glass
- Make a living room fort
- Cut out pictures from old magazines and make a collage
- Paint a picture outside
- Play dress-up
- Play with playdough
- Do a puppet show
- Trace your bodies on giant pieces of paper and draw in some clothes
- Have a water balloon fight
These are great! In the case of my 5-year-old son, he stops complaining about boredom if I do anything to help tap into his creativity. It can be something as simple as spelling out messages with plastic spoons and forks. (Seriously!) If we’re waiting in a restaurant, I hand him my iPhone for a nice round of Angry Birds. I limit the availability of my phone to him, which makes it a bigger treat!!!
Love these ideas! “Bored” is a 4-letter word in our home, which means I have to stay on my toes
There is so much fun to be had. Go, see and do! 