I feel like my kids are too young to know what bored means but I’ve definitely had to do some redirecting this summer, giving them ideas about what they can do on their own or together. I’ve noticed it usually happens here after lunch, when they’re at their sleepiest. I’ve been searching for some boredom busters and thought I’d share with you some of the interesting ideas that I have found.
Most of the ideas I’ve found are gathered in a jar somewhere convenient so that kids can access them.

You can use large tongue depressors to write the ideas on, you can colour code them in themes like quiet activities, art activities, sport activities, family activities, and helpful activities. It’s also a good idea to sit down with your kids to come up with the ideas (or at least some of the ideas) so that they have a say in the selections also. Of course some ideas will be kept as a surprise and they will, of course love finding out what they are.
Here are some of the themed jars I found.
The bored jar
A jar filled with things that kids can do independently around the house such as sweep the floor, clean the bathroom, place the shoes, fold the laundry, empty the dishwasher or dust their room.
The art jar
A large canister filled with variety of art supplies at the ready for kids to create unique pieces of art. You can include some models of things they can create (printed pictures from the Internet or models you’ve created for them to have a starting off point).
Another great model I saw, perfect for summer vacation, rainy days or weekends is four different jars with four different titles. They are, Help, Learn, Explore and Bored.
Some examples included in each jar are;
Help – things they can do to help someone in the family;
Learn – reading a book on a certain topic (like space), do an experiment (like the egg drop challenge);
Explore – explore a hiking trail, visit the Pontiac Museum;
Bored – make a fort, go bird watching, play a board game.
I’ve seen really cool LEGO challenges for kids to complete. There’s a neat printable calendar with a LEGO idea for each day of the month. This is something that could be printed off for your LEGO lover so when they aren’t sure what to do they can complete their LEGO task (ex. Day 1; you were hired by an amusement park to create a new roller coaster.). Find it on pinterest.
The on your own jar
If you have younger children, a hired babysitter, or work from home and need some alone time daily this jar is your answer.
Here are some of the ideas included in this jar: tidy up your closet, walk the dog (or a neighbour’s dog), create a collage of your favourite things (using magazines and flyers from the recycling), do a crossword puzzle, practice writing your letters and numbers, complete a science experiment (for this one you would have to have the instructions written out for them to follow), collect leaves for nature rubbings, write a story or do a puzzle.
With Shawville Fair coming up soon, great boredom busters would be creating some of the arts and crafts that you can enter into the fair. Find the complete list here; http://www.shawvillefair.ca/fairbooks/pdfs/Homecraft-Horticulture-Produce-English_2017.pdf. One of our favorite parts of the fair is seeing all the things they’ve created on display.
Making a list as a family of things you want to visit, experience or see that can be checked off during the summer and year. Keep it somewhere the whole family can see it and it can help you anytime you’re looking for something to do.
There are tons of ideas out there to help your child find something to do when bored and not all of them require us. A quick search will give you tons more ideas. I hope that some of the themes I’ve told you about help you come up with fun activites for your kids.
Enjoy what’s left of summer vacation.