Eight Fun Ways to End Summer Boredom

Summer break can easily become a lazy, mindless time full of television, video games, and boredom.  Encourage your children to stay active over the summer and to continue to learn through fun play activities.  Here are a few suggestions.

1. Take a make-believe day trip to the beach!  Fill up a sandbox or large plastic wading pool with sand and get out the pails and shovels.  Pull out the blankets and enjoy a sandwich picnic beside the sand.  Hook up the sprinklers or fill up the pool and have fun cooling off.  Pack all of your supplies ahead of time and make it a point to not return to the house!
2. Put on a play!  Invent a creative story with your child.  You may even want to involve a few of your child’s friends.  Spend a day writing the story and another day designing costumes from old clothes and accessories.  Practice a few times and then video tape your world class summer production.
3. Bring out some classic toys and have a game day.  Put together a jigsaw puzzle or play a favorite board game.  Color in coloring books or paint with water.  Even classic toys, like a Rubik’s Cube can provide hours of education, boredom-free fun.
4. Make a family photo collage together.  Sift through old photos together and choose your favorites.  Use a frame with multiple openings and decorate it with buttons and  a hot glue gun, or make your own with construction paper mats on a large piece of poster board.  Add captions with a paint pen and decorate with glitter glue.
5. Encourage your child to be an entrepreneur for the summer.  Help set up a lemonade stand or an ice cream stand.  Let your child gather his supplies, make the product, and think of ways to sell it.  Encourage him to donate a portion of his earnings to a worthy cause.
6. Let your child have a yard sale.  Have her go through her toys and separate things she no longer plays with.  Help her price the items and give her a special table and area for her things.  You may want to invite a few friends to join in your efforts.  Help your child choose a special charity to donate the earnings to, or plan a trip or outing to use the extra money for.
7. Organize a treasure hunt.  The “treasure” may be a prize or maybe a special trip to a museum or park.  Mail your child the first clue, and hide another clue at each destination.  This is a fun activity that can be done in a day or can be spread out to last all summer!

Encourage your child to start a summer memory book.  Provide disposable cameras or a digital camera designed for children during vacations or other special outings and help your child find mementos and souvenirs everywhere you go.  Place the photos and keepsakes in a jar, a box, or an album.  Let your child decorate the book and encourage her to write her own commentary to retell her summer adventures.