Summertime Boredom Busters for Kids
Posted on July 01 2023
Summertime Boredom Busters
We have a “gaggle” of kid, as I like to call it.
None of them have ever been to day care, so we get a lot of quality time together in the summer.
A lot.
There is the occasional summer camp, but honestly, we all enjoy the break from the school routine.
Our gaggle is a comprised of a kid who loves tractors, a kid who always reading,
one who is fascinated with anything involving the military and an avid animal lover.
Keeping them occupied over summer break is a challenge.
They’re older now, so may family’s boredom busters are tired and true.
Kid tested, Mom approved.
Enjoy!
Fly Away Home:
Making paper airplanes is super fun, so is racing them and attempting to do tricks.
Kids can also color on the paper before its folded to create beautiful personalized planes.
We dive into a stash of papers from school for this project.
Who doesn’t want to make a plane and fly their homework around??
Added bonus: Using paper from your recycle bin makes this an eco-friendly boredom buster.
To add a little more fun and interest, you can make a tape runway on the floor.
Or use poster board with some holes cut in it for a flying accuracy contest.
We have a stash of paper airplane books, with detailed directions and varying degrees of difficulty.
If you don’t have access to them, scroll down for a link to my Pintrest Board with some great ideas.
Mud Puppies and Pies:
Warning: This is not for the faint of heart.
And in my house, it always comes with these caveats:
You can do this, but you must agree to
1: get hosed off when you're done
2: strip down to your underwear on the porch
3: head straight to the shower
Put some old clothes on your kids, get out the hose, some buckets and shovels, serving spoons, toy trucks, old metal bread tins…whatever.
Let the kids go in a corner of the yard you don’t care about and let them go at it.
They absolutely love the freedom to relax and get dirty.
They dig, make tracks for their trucks, open a restaurant and serve mud burgers (you may be asked to lunch).
This can lead to mud wrestling and kids throwing fist fulls of mud at each other.
As long as they are not being too rough or destructive, I usually let them go for a few minutes.
You may be wondering “Why not just get a sand box?”
We had one.
This was always better.
Don’t ask me why, but the kids still talk about how awesome it was.
Lego Contest:
You can be the judge and jury to a cool contest (we never had any prizes for winner, just bragging rights).
I would have the kids split up their legos into piles for each kid.
They would have to agree up on the contents of the piles in order to ensure the competition would be fair.
Honestly, this phase could last for an hour or more.
They would have heated debates over how many lego dudes they should each have,
or if it was fair for my one girl to have to share her Lego Friends.
Remember the goal here….they not bored and they not driving me nuts.
Finally, I would be able to pick the topic of Inspiration for them to build from.
I’d always try to go for something thought provoking, such as:
“Build something you read about in a book” or
“Build something that you learned about at school’ or my favorite
“Build something that you love”
Bubble Bath Alfresco:
The opposite of Mud Puppy Day, this Boredom Buster will leave your kids cleaner the they’ve ever been.
Get out the kiddie pool, add a generous amount of dish soap and fill with the hose.
I always made my kids wear goggles, so the soap didn’t get in their eyes.
Dish soap makes better and stronger bubbles then bubble bath.
We’ve had bubbles stacked as high as our kids were tall.
They loved running through a wall of bubbles or playing peek-a-boo.
The magic and wonder of bubbles never ceases to entertain.
The only one who didn't love it was the dog, as my daughter always thought this was the ideal time to try to give puppers a bath.
Eco-Tip: Find a god quality organic and biodegradable dish soap,
so it wont hurt your garden and is gentler on Mother Earth.
Tent Staycation:
This is my all time favorite boredom buster.
For years, every summer we would set up an old tent in the front yard.
My husband would run a weatherproof extension cord to it.
Kids brought out sleeping bags, stuffed animals, books and toys.
As they got older they randomly slept out there when they wanted. (I’ve been known to sleep out there too)
But during the day it is a magical play fort for all!
There have been numerous stuffed animal weddings in our yard tents.
My kids are 10, 13 and 17 and we still occasionally put up a tent in the yard, just for fun.
Tip: This is also useful if you want to camp as a family.
The kids can get used to what it is like in a tent and still have all the comforts and security of being at home.
I hope your kids get as much joy and entertainment from these ideas as my kids did.
And as a parent, I hope your heart is filled with memories of giggles and smiles from your little ones.
PS: I’m posting this now, so you can gather materials and stash them away.
The key to successfully busting up the boredom is to have items present in the house, on hand and ready when you need them most.
Here's the Pintrest Board I promised:
https://www.pinterest.com/3sistersherbals/summertime-fun/
Peace,
Kim
Originally published 5/25/2018
About: Kim is a momma, wife and small business owner.
She lives with her family in Duchess County, NY, where she enjoys her rescue dog, bunnies and chickens.
Her family loves camping, hiking, geocaching, and all things Cub and Boy Scouting.
She is the creator of Three Sisters Herbals, LLC., which she affectionately called “her other baby”.
TSH is the same age as her youngest human baby, and they are all growing up together.
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