{"id":1832,"date":"2009-06-01T07:00:37","date_gmt":"2009-06-01T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/?p=1832"},"modified":"2011-11-07T08:48:50","modified_gmt":"2011-11-07T14:48:50","slug":"blast-away-boredom-with-momstoolbox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/blast-away-boredom-with-momstoolbox\/","title":{"rendered":"Blast away Boredom with MomsToolbox!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Summer is filled with lots of free time. And all that free time can be heavenly… until your children get bored and you get tired of coming up with new ideas. What’s a mom to do?<\/p>\n

This is where I hope to come in: It is my plan to help you blast away boredom this summer on MomsToolbox.com…. <\/strong>Because we’re all in this together and I know we all would much rather have lots of fun with our kids this summer<\/strong> than not.<\/p>\n

Every Monday through Thursday until August 20 I will post daily boredom blasters.<\/strong> Every Monday and Wednesday, the ideas will be pretty generic that I hope you can do anywhere. The other two days I will post ideas in and around Houston, Texas. (Hopefully the local ideas will inspire those who aren’t nearby to find something similar near you.)<\/p>\n

And to keep you busy between posts, my first activity is one with lots of ideas that you can pull out and employ at moment’s notice.<\/p>\n

So get out your scissors and a container and let’s blast away summer boredom forever, starting right now with a boredom blaster jar…<\/p>\n

Boredom Blaster Jar<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Photobucket\"<\/a><\/p>\n

First find and decorate any container which will hold lots slips of paper… break out the stickers, glitter glue, tissue paper and whatever you may have in your craft stash. Don’t make this a chore, let your kids do it and get as messy as you can stand. The container could be anything… an old peanut butter jar, margarine tub with a slit cut into the lid or even a gallon zipper bag).<\/p>\n

Next, print the boredom blaster list from below and cut out each activity into strips and fold to hide the ideas. (After you toss any you don’t like and add any you might enjoy.)<\/p>\n

Put the ideas into the container and, when boredom strikes, have a child select an activity and go for it!<\/p>\n

Feel free to combine the ideas or create one jar for outdoor activities and one for indoor activities.<\/p>\n

\"Photobucket\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here are the activities:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Play ZINGO (These are some of the games we own. Go through your own stash and list.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Play Uno Attack<\/p>\n

Play Chutes and Ladders<\/p>\n

Play chess<\/p>\n

watch the clouds and look for animals or other shapes<\/p>\n

Play Chinese Checkers<\/p>\n

Play Candy Land<\/p>\n

Play Pente<\/p>\n

wash car<\/p>\n

play with sand or rice outside<\/p>\n

paint the sidewalk with water<\/p>\n

find bugs and start a collection or take pictures of them<\/p>\n

listen to the birds sing and try to imitate them<\/p>\n

play hopscotch<\/p>\n

make an obstacle course in your backyard<\/p>\n

play tag or freeze tag or chinese freezetag<\/p>\n

play Frisbee<\/p>\n

ride bikes\/ scooters<\/p>\n

play basketball \/ shoot baskets (or use buckets on the ground as baskets for smaller children)<\/p>\n

squirt each other with hoses<\/p>\n

run through the sprinkler<\/p>\n

jump rope<\/p>\n

blow bubbles and catch them on the wand<\/p>\n

go on a color hunt<\/p>\n

go on a shape hunt<\/p>\n

pull weeds<\/p>\n

use binoculars<\/p>\n

use a magnifying glass<\/p>\n

make sidewalk chalk art on the front walkway<\/p>\n

play catch<\/p>\n

play a bouncy ball game<\/p>\n

collect rocks<\/p>\n

find an ant colony, spill some food, and watch what happens<\/p>\n

host a lemonade stand<\/p>\n

clean under the bed<\/p>\n

vacuum under the couch cushions; keep any change found<\/p>\n

build with blocks or Legos<\/p>\n

finger paint with pudding<\/p>\n

make dessert and take some to your neighbors<\/p>\n

make treats to take to the school administration office<\/p>\n

give your pet or dolls a party<\/p>\n

play flashlight tag<\/p>\n

check out a science book and try some experiments or watch some on http:\/\/www.stevespanglerscience.com<\/p>\n

play hide-and-seek<\/p>\n

create a symphony with bottles and pans and rubber bands<\/p>\n

string dry noodles or O-shaped cereals into a necklace<\/p>\n

glue noodles into a design on paper<\/p>\n

make a map of your bedroom, house, or neighborhood<\/p>\n

cut pictures from old magazines and write a story<\/p>\n

make a treasure map<\/p>\n

finger paint with shaving cream<\/p>\n

bake a cake<\/p>\n

bake a batch of cookies and share with your neighbors<\/p>\n

make paper airplanes and race them<\/p>\n

paint your face, mom’s too<\/p>\n

make a tent out of blankets<\/p>\n

read books<\/p>\n

make homemade play dough<\/p>\n

play with play dough<\/p>\n

draw \/ color \/ paint<\/p>\n

invent circus acts<\/p>\n

dust the house<\/p>\n

play dress-up<\/p>\n

build a fort in your bedroom<\/p>\n

do a jigsaw puzzle<\/p>\n

cook something new by going through the cookbooks and letting the kids choose<\/p>\n

surprise a neighbor with a good deed<\/p>\n

play store<\/p>\n

hold a tea party<\/p>\n

play house<\/p>\n

sprout seeds or beans<\/p>\n

make sock puppets<\/p>\n

paint a picture with lemon juice on white paper, hang in a sunny window, and see what happens<\/p>\n

make food sculptures (from pretzels, gumdrops, string licorice, raisins, cream cheese, peanuts, peanut butter, etc.)<\/p>\n

Watch Americas Funniest Videos<\/p>\n

Play bocce ball<\/p>\n

Have a pillow fight<\/p>\n

Make music with instruments<\/p>\n

Play Polly pockets or ponies<\/p>\n

Make a race track and race cars<\/p>\n

Slide down the stairs in sleeping bags<\/p>\n

Do a craft with glitter<\/p>\n

PS. For more boredom busters, check out Works for Me Wednesday<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summer is filled with lots of free time. And all that free time can be heavenly… until your children get bored and you get tired of coming up with new ideas. What’s a mom to do? This is where I hope to come in: It is my plan to help you blast away boredom this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[384],"tags":[279],"class_list":["post-1832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-activities-for-kids","tag-boredom-buster"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1832"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9771,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832\/revisions\/9771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}