Submitted on behalf of Primrose Schools: Preschool services and early childhood education by Emily Patterson (@epatt1062)
Children have powerful imaginations that can create whole new worlds to play in. But there are days where despite all that creativity and imagination they just sit around the house complaining that there is absolutely nothing for them to do. So how do you as a parent find a way to harness all that imagination and keep everyone entertained without spending too much money?
Here are ten ideas to help get you through boredom year round:
1. Go For a Scenic Drive: Pack everyone up in the car and take a sightseeing trip in your own area. This is great during the fall when the leaves are changing colors, or around holidays when people decorate their houses. If you live near an area with farms or stables go take a drive to see the horses and cows as they spend time in the pastures.
2. Wildlife Hunt: Find a website that talks about the wildlife that is found in your area and print out a list of some of the more commonly found ones and head out to a local park and see how many you can find. If you are looking for birds a pair of binoculars will help you identify birds that might fly off before you get close enough to see their markings.
3. Take a Craft Class: Check at a local craft supplies store to see if they hold workshops for children. These are usually free or have a small fee for supplies as the stores want to attract new customers to their stores. This is a great way for a child to try out a new craft that might otherwise need a large investment in supplies to start out.
4. Satellite Search: The Internet now lets us view any spot in the world by just searching for it. It's fun to look up your house and see the satellite image of it. You can turn this into a scavenger hunt by bringing up a town or city and seeing if you can find landmarks that are important to your children.
5. Superfluid Science: A superfluid is a substance that changes thickness under different situations, and there is one you can make out of stuff you probably have in the kitchen. All you need is a bowl to mix it in, corn flour, water and food coloring if you want it. Mix water into the corn flour until it forms a thick paste and add the food coloring if you wish. That's it, you have a superfluid! To show off the changes have your child stir it slowly at first and then fast, then have your child slap the surface of the superfluid. It should be easy to stir slowly, but when you stir fast it will thicken up and be more resistant. When you slap it, it should react like it were a solid.
6. Picnic Walks: Walking is a good way to stay healthy and a great way to enjoy beautiful locations. And with just a few sandwiches, snacks and something to drink, you can turn your walk into a picnic.
7. Fort Box: If you or someone you know is getting a new appliance, save the box! A large box can be any number of things to a playing child: fortress, cave, skyscraper, spaceship or whatever your child's imagination wants it to be. For an added bonus cover it with contact paper to help strengthen the box. When buying contact paper you can buy a patterned paper, or there are varieties that work like a dry erase board, allowing your children to decorate the box however they want and change it when they need to.
8. Inside the Story: Reading to your younger children is a great way to encourage good reading habits. And a great way to keep a child interested in the stories they love is to encourage them to think about what they'd do in the story. There are a number of ways to do this, putting on plays about the stories, making scenes from the story in building blocks or writing their own stories about the characters and situations they enjoy the most.
9. Share a Recipe: Many families have certain recipes that are passed down from generation to generation and now is a great time to share one with your children. If you don't have a family recipe already, there's no reason not to start a new family tradition. This is not the time to go for a perfect looking dish, this is the time share the joy that you get from making a tasty dish to share with loved ones. Let your child do as much as they safely can when they help you so that they learn as much as they can about cooking.
10. That's How They Do It: There are a lot of places where you watch things being made before you buy them. Many pizza places make their pies near the register, next pizza night take your kids along and watch them make your food while you wait.
What are some successful boredom busters YOU have used with your children lately?
Here are ten ideas to help get you through boredom year round:
1. Go For a Scenic Drive: Pack everyone up in the car and take a sightseeing trip in your own area. This is great during the fall when the leaves are changing colors, or around holidays when people decorate their houses. If you live near an area with farms or stables go take a drive to see the horses and cows as they spend time in the pastures.
Natty overlooking Tucson on our most recent scenic drive
2. Wildlife Hunt: Find a website that talks about the wildlife that is found in your area and print out a list of some of the more commonly found ones and head out to a local park and see how many you can find. If you are looking for birds a pair of binoculars will help you identify birds that might fly off before you get close enough to see their markings.
3. Take a Craft Class: Check at a local craft supplies store to see if they hold workshops for children. These are usually free or have a small fee for supplies as the stores want to attract new customers to their stores. This is a great way for a child to try out a new craft that might otherwise need a large investment in supplies to start out.
4. Satellite Search: The Internet now lets us view any spot in the world by just searching for it. It's fun to look up your house and see the satellite image of it. You can turn this into a scavenger hunt by bringing up a town or city and seeing if you can find landmarks that are important to your children.
5. Superfluid Science: A superfluid is a substance that changes thickness under different situations, and there is one you can make out of stuff you probably have in the kitchen. All you need is a bowl to mix it in, corn flour, water and food coloring if you want it. Mix water into the corn flour until it forms a thick paste and add the food coloring if you wish. That's it, you have a superfluid! To show off the changes have your child stir it slowly at first and then fast, then have your child slap the surface of the superfluid. It should be easy to stir slowly, but when you stir fast it will thicken up and be more resistant. When you slap it, it should react like it were a solid.
6. Picnic Walks: Walking is a good way to stay healthy and a great way to enjoy beautiful locations. And with just a few sandwiches, snacks and something to drink, you can turn your walk into a picnic.
7. Fort Box: If you or someone you know is getting a new appliance, save the box! A large box can be any number of things to a playing child: fortress, cave, skyscraper, spaceship or whatever your child's imagination wants it to be. For an added bonus cover it with contact paper to help strengthen the box. When buying contact paper you can buy a patterned paper, or there are varieties that work like a dry erase board, allowing your children to decorate the box however they want and change it when they need to.
8. Inside the Story: Reading to your younger children is a great way to encourage good reading habits. And a great way to keep a child interested in the stories they love is to encourage them to think about what they'd do in the story. There are a number of ways to do this, putting on plays about the stories, making scenes from the story in building blocks or writing their own stories about the characters and situations they enjoy the most.
9. Share a Recipe: Many families have certain recipes that are passed down from generation to generation and now is a great time to share one with your children. If you don't have a family recipe already, there's no reason not to start a new family tradition. This is not the time to go for a perfect looking dish, this is the time share the joy that you get from making a tasty dish to share with loved ones. Let your child do as much as they safely can when they help you so that they learn as much as they can about cooking.
10. That's How They Do It: There are a lot of places where you watch things being made before you buy them. Many pizza places make their pies near the register, next pizza night take your kids along and watch them make your food while you wait.
What are some successful boredom busters YOU have used with your children lately?
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