Battling Summer Boredom: 3 Ways to Never Hear, “I’m bored!” Again

The sun is shining, the weather is warming up, and our kids’ time in the classroom is coming to an end. Who else is excited about spending all day, every day with those awesome little people you created?! I’m excited about spending quality time with my kids, but I’m not looking forward to the constant, “I’m bored,” and, “There’s nothing to do!”

This year I’m coming up with a solid game plan to kick boredom in the buns and enjoy as much of summer as we can.

You’ve Gotta Earn It

My kids love to go on adventures. I love getting to do fun things as well, but with four kids, adventures can sometimes get a little pricy. This summer we are going to have chores that my kids will be able to do to earn points. We will also have a list of activities that we want to do as a family, but each activity will “cost” a certain number of points. I like the idea of a work for hire board (from the Chic Site), but instead of dollars attached to the chore, we are going to have cards with different point values. I figure this is a win-win for all of us, because I’m getting chores done around the house and the kids get to go on fun adventures.

The “I’m Bored” Jar

For some reason my children lose all imagination for finding things to do when they are at home for long periods of time. When this happens I’m constantly reminding them to put down the electronics or step away from the television. Meanwhile, they are whining to me, “There’s NOTHING to do!”

This summer I’ve been doing some research and I’ve found some great lists of activities to do at home, like playing with bubbles or chalk, creating science experiments, or making a masterpiece. The Dating Divas have a great list of 101 things to do and Somewhat Simple also has a great list. I’m going to put all of these fun ideas into a jar, and anytime I hear the B word, the kids will be pulling out something to do from the jar.

Schedule the Fun

For the last nine months our kids have been living with very scheduled days at school. I know that I work much better when I have a schedule and know what will happen during the day. My goal for the summer is to schedule our days so that my kids have time for chores, studying, and fun. Our schedule obviously does not need to be as precise as they were at school, but some structure helps. We like to display our schedule in the kitchen so that it’s easier for everyone to keep track of what should be going on during the day. Hopefully having a schedule will help cut down on boredom and will encourage my kids to use their time wisely.

summer boredom activities ideas

Here is to hoping that our summers are full of fun and family time.

What does your family do to combat summer boredom?

 

Ashley Breinholt
Ashley is an Iowa transplant from Arizona and a busy mom of 4. She spends most of her day chasing around her little herd and hoping to catch a glimpse of her main squeeze when he gets a break from the hospital. She has a bachelor's degree in Communication from Arizona State University and is currently the Vice President of Iowa Medical Partners where she helps plan events and service projects and runs the blog. In her free time, Ashley enjoys running, reading, cooking, and decorating (and redecorating) the house. She loves everything about Iowa! She and her family like to explore everything that Iowa has to offer in every season. Life may be crazy but she loves every minute of it!

1 COMMENT

  1. Hi Ashley,

    Thanks for the great post. I love the ideas you have, especially the boredom jar! A great and inexpensive summer activity that the whole family can enjoy is Geocaching. Have you ever gone before? There’s a mobile app you can download and the scavenger hunt adventure begins.

    Thanks again for the post,
    Amanda

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