Activity Ideas for the Summer

It is July, which means kids are starting to get bored with playing outside or going to the pool.  Then the very popular phrase is spoken from your child's mouth, "I'm bored".  If this phrase comes out of your child's mouth too often, here is the perfect cure so your kids can never claim they are bored again.

Some years ago we asked you what you do when your kids declare, "I'm bored!" It's an affliction that is especially rampant during the summer when days are long and activities are fewer. It's taken a while, but we think we've found a clever cure for the boredom blues: the I'm Bored Jar.

Shay from Shaydes of Life recreated a vivid memory from her childhood with the "Bored Jar". She remembered her mother having one, and so she passed the idea on to a close friend. Using any kind of vessel you want, you put scraps of paper with activities written on them inside. Whenever someone claims she is bored, she must choose a paper and do whatever is written on it.

The trick is to include some undesirable activities, like "take out the trash" or "vacuum your room." With only a few of these and a majority of fun ones, kids take their chances when they declare they are bored: you just might pick "clean the toilet," or you might get "go get some ice cream." It's a clever way to provide activity for those moments when inspiration is thin, and yet the zingers discourage kids from finding themselves bored in the first place.

For more ideas for your kids this summer go to apartment therapy.