“I’m Bored!”

…The words that can make any mama want to bang their head against the wall.

 

“There’s nothing to do!”

…The words that can put any mama into fetal position after hearing them for the 100th time.

 

But here’s the good news!

 

This DIY No Fail Summer Activity System will cure your child of their boredom and put them in control of choosing what they want to do so that you no longer have to strain your brain to come up with clever things for them to do!  

This system can work for summer break, on the weekends, for family time, for playdates with friends, and more!

It can be customized for absolutely any age group, any gender, or any family!

Sounds brilliant, doesn’t it?  Keep reading!

 

What You Need:

Small Bucket (check out the Target dollar section!)

Copy Paper and Printer Capabilities (or black sharpie/label maker)

Two Colors of Washi Tape (Like This and This!)

Jumbo Wooden Craft Sticks

Summer Activity Printable (click here!)

 

What To Do:

1. FIRST –> Print the “Summer Activity Printable.”

Cut out each activity that applies to your child/children and glue each one onto a jumbo wooden craft stick.  I had my children do this with me. They thought it was a fun little craft.

If your child isn’t as motivated to help, you could always turn it into a chore that will receive payment when complete.  

…Yes, I realize it’d probably have been loads easier with a label maker. But I don’t have a label maker. SIGH. And yes, I could’ve hard written on them with black sharpie, but I planned on using these for years so I wanted them to look neat for my OCD brain.

2. SECOND –> On the other end of each craft stick, you will wrap it with a layer of washi tape.  

Differentiate the two colors of Washi Tape based on if the activity is an indoor activity or an outdoor activity.  (We used green for outdoors activities and pink for indoor activities.

3. THIRD –> Use a sharpie to mark a dollar sign on all activity sticks that cost money.

(*Note that I only marked mine with a $ if it costs every time we do the activity such as admission to get in somewhere.  I left the $ off if it was most likely materials that we already owned such as chalk, water guns, etc. You decide what works best for you and then go with that!)

 

AND THEN… WO-LAHHHH!

This system enables you to easily see and choose from indoor activities that are free, indoor activities that cost money, outdoor activities that are free, and outdoor activities that cost money.

 

Now is where the fun begins!!!!!  The options are absolutely endless…

–> When your child wakes up, let them pull X amount of sticks from whatever category you want for that day.  

–> A surprise pull.  Kids pull one stick and can’t deviate from the activity that they choose.

–> A planned pull.  Kids explore all sticks until they find an activity that sounds appealing to them for the day.

–> A parent pull.  The parent gets to choose a stick for everyone to do.

–> You could challenge them to do all the sticks in the bucket one time before adding any of the used sticks back in to be done a second time.  Or you could always place the used sticks back each day for reuse.

–> These sticks could be done individually, with siblings, or as family activities. 

 

*One additional option that’s included on the printable is a chores option.  Keep in mind that you would need one additional color of washi tape to label these sticks with.  It’s simply a list of chores for your child to complete.

You could make it habit for your child to choose a chore stick (or two!) at the start of their day before they are allowed to pull any of the remaining activity sticks!  I wish I had chore sticks in our Summer Buckets and might have to add them soon!

The Benefits To YOU:

As a mom, I love being able to instantly see if the activity costs money or not. 

I love being able to tell my child to go pull a stick, and it instantly gives them ownership of choosing something fun to do for the day.  

I love how the sticks instantly offer so many options that I wouldn’t easily be able to think of off the top of my head if my child asked me what there was to do.

 

Above all, you won’t hear the dreaded “I’m bored!” anymore so you can now live a happier life!

 

Feel free to comment at the end of this post if I left anything good off the list!

 

Click here for the printable version of this list!

**NOTE: Click on the PINK links below for many of our personal recommendations for specific items and brands that we LOVE that absolutely keep our kiddos entertained!

 

**INDOOR FREE**

Bake Treats For Family, Friends, or Neighbors (Baking Class: 50 Fun Recipes Kids Will Love to Bake! by Deanna Cook is one of our favorites!)

Barbies

Beauty Parlor

Board Games

Board Game Party with Friends

Build (Magna Tiles, Legos, K’nex)

Build a Fort

Call Someone on the Phone

Camp Out in Living Room (Pacific Play Kid Tent)

Cereal Necklaces

Charades

Coloring Books

Computer Games

Cook a New Recipe

Draw

Dress Up

Exercise

Find a New Pinterest Project

Flashcards

Glow Stick Dance Party

Hide and Seek

I Spy

Ice Cream Sundae Party (Friends bring toppings!)

Indoor Fashion Show

iPad Apps

Kinnect

Learn How To Do Something New

Library

Mail Something To Someone (card, letter, surprise)

Make a Book (“how to” book, scrapbook, story, poems, etc.)

Make A Sweet Treat (Jello, Pudding, S’mores, Snow Cones)

Make Jewelry

Make Snowcones

Mall (Playground, Carousel, Scavenger Hunt)

Me and Mommy (or Daddy!) Journals

Musical Pad (B. Mat-A-Matics Musical Mat by B.Toys)

Origami

Paint a Canvas

Paint In Bathtub

Paint Your Toes

Paper Airplanes

Pet Store To See Puppies

Pillow Fight

Play School, House, Store, etc.

Play-Doh

Play Musical Instrument

Play Video Games

Play With Dogs

Practice Math Facts

Puppet Show

Puzzles

Read Books With Mama

Rubrix Cube

School Stuff (Site Words, Flashcards, etc.)

Science Experiment

Sew

Sing and Dance

Sleepover with a friend

Stay in Pajamas All Day and Be Lazy!

Take A Bubble Bath

Tea Party

Utube Music Videos

Watch a Movie

Would You Rather Questions

Yoga

 

**OUTDOOR FREE**

Archery Set

Bird Watching

Bonzai Body Bumpers

Bubbles

Camp in Backyard

Catch Bugs

Chalk

Corn Hole

Drive Monster Truck

Feed Ducks at Pond

Firepit Smores

Fly Kite

Foursquare

Frisbee

Go Fishing

Have a Picnic

Homemade Sidewalk Paint

Hoola Hoop

I Spy

Jump on Trampoline

Jump Rope

Nature Bingo

Nature Park

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Nerf Gun Fight

Outdoor Game (Frisbee, 4Square, Hopscotch)

Paint a Canvas

Photoshoot

Pick Up Trash at Park With Gloves

Picnic in Backyard or Park

Plant Flowers

Play A Sport

Play In Sprinkler

Playground

Powerwheels

Put on A Garage Sale

Random Acts of Kindness

Ride Bikes (Razor Flash Rider 360 Drifting Bike)

Rock Painting

Scooter (Razor Push Scooter, Razor Power Core Electric Scooter)

Shaving Cream on Table

Slip n Slide (Wahii 75’ x 12’ Waterslide)

Splash Pad

Sprinkler

Squirt Guns

Star Gazing

Swim

Swing (Play Platoon Spider Web Rectangle Swing)

Take a Walk

Take Dogs on a Walk

Tea Party

Teeter Totter

Tennis

Trampoline

Wash Car and Power Wheels

Water Gun Fight

XL Bowling Pins

 

**INDOOR MONEY**

Aquarium

Bounce Park

Bowling

Build a Bear

Candy Store

Chick-Fil-a

Chucky Cheese

Craft Store for a new project

Cupcake Shop

Dollar Store

Donut Shop

Go Thru Car Wash

Haircuts

Ice Cream Shop

Incredible Pizza

Indoor Pool

Jamba Juice

Kids Museum

Meet Someone For Lunch

Movie Theater

Museum

Nail Salon (manicure / pedicure)

Paint Studio

Pizza Buffet

Skating Rink

Surprise Someone With Donuts

Trampoline Park

Try A New Dessert Place!

 

**OUTDOOR MONEY**

Amusement Park

Baseball Game

Drive In Movie

Farmer’s Market

Float Down the River

Food Trucks

Lemonade Stand

Movie on Main Street

Pick Berries at a Patch

Putt Putt

Snowcone Stand

Swim at Community Pool

Water Balloon Fight (Zuru Easy Fill Water Balloons!)

Water Park

Yard Sales

Zoo

 

**CHORES**

Clean Bathroom

Dishes

Dust Furniture

Empty Trash Cans

Laundry

Make Bed

Mow Yard

Pick up Bedroom Floor

Sweep Porch

Vacuum Bedroom

Vacuum Car

Wash Car

Water Plants

Wipe Base Boards

Windex the Windows