The summer holidays are upon us and all around the country parents are starting to remember the favourite saying of all children when they run out of things to do. I’m bored!
In the majority of cases “I’m bored!” often actually means “I really would love you to come and play with me.” So be prepared to get stuck in with them and have fun!
Prepare the activities on this list to entertain the kids when the ‘bores’ strike:
- Create a ‘Bored Jar’ – A Jar (or box) full of slips of paper with activities on them within your circle of comfort. For example – Choose a recipe and make it, go for a bike ride, fold the laundry – there are plenty more examples online. NOTE: make sure you have everything you need for each activity, nothing worse than them getting excited they are going to be playing with bubbles only to find you don’t have any.
- Get some giant chalk – The large chalk sticks are easier for little ones to hold and let them loose on your driveway and pavement. Hopscotch, ring toss, water balloon practice or just let their imaginations run wild.
- Water balloons – These really need no explanation do they. Fun in the sun!
- Make a tent – A sheet over a washing line or a branch with a rug and a couple of cushions and they have their own cubby.
- Ice excavation – This is a great one for little kids (although the big kids enjoy it too). Find an empty ice cream container and fill with water. Add a few drops of food colouring and some toys. Freeze overnight (or ideally 24 hours) and then provide them with tools to chip away the ice until all is revealed.
- Have a building challenge – Using Lego (or other blocks) see who can build the tallest, the widest or the wackiest building. What can they build using only the yellow blocks?
- Scavenger hunt – Take photos of a number of things, the number depends on the attention span of your children and how long you want the game to go on for, then provide the photos to the kids and they need to track down the item.
- Scavenger hunt take 2 – Get the kids to create a scavenger hunt (or a treasure hunt) for you to complete. Set a specific date for the parents to go hunting, a weekend day usually works best, and gives the kids a week to prepare it.
- Picnic – Go for a picnic. Get the kids to pack it and plan it.
- History tour – Spend the day bringing history to life in 1066 country. Check out the summer holiday activities and make a day of it.
- Swap playdates – Remember there are other parents in the same boat as you and will be happy to take your children for one day in return for you taking theirs another day. The added bonus is that when kids have friends over they usually entertain themselves and you are less likely to hear “I’m bored!”
The summer will fly by and with preparation you can entertain the kids, save your sanity and have a summer of fun to remember.
Have fun!
