The Summer Boredom Jar

Do your kids spend their entire summer spontaneously doing wonderful, enriching activities that benefit the whole family without having to be told?  Yeah, mine don't either.  They love summer for about the first few weeks, then they think I am their own personal entertainment committee.  If I don't take drastic action, about once every five minutes I hear, "Mama, what can I do?"  They don't seem to appreciate my suggestions of scouring bathrooms and scrubbing walls.  (May-May is exempt from this -- she always has more crafts and projects going than she could ever accomplish during the school year.  Summer is her time to catch up.)

I don't personally believe in boredom.  I think it is unhealthy.  God has filled this Earth with so many amazing things to discover, that being bored here has got to be a sin.  I mean, really, how can you be bored if you are busy doing what needs to be done?  So that means we are not doing what we should be doing when we are bored.  And have you ever noticed how much trouble people get into when they don't have something productive to do?  Bored kids start whining, complaining and bickering.  Bored teens start hanging around with other bored teens and end up drinking, drugging and carousing.  Bored spouses end up having affairs.  Ugly stuff.

Usually boredom results from one of two things.  Either we aren't doing what we should be doing, or our flesh wants a new thrill.  Both reasons need to be curbed.  I want to train my kids to recognize the warning signs of boredom and learn to take positive action.

Enter the Summer Boredom Jar.  These are simple to put together, and ideas abound online. When your little cutie comes to you and says, "What is there to do?" you just point to the jar. They draw an activity card and either read it or if they are a pre-reader, you read it to them. The trick is, they must do the activity.  No complaining, no whining, and no excuse making. You can put a chore on each card, or a fun activity, or a mix of both.  You can find one blogger's version, complete with printables for labels and activities here, and there are lots of other versions out there.

My kids are getting older.  As teens and teen wanna-be's, they are no long impressed with activities like, "finger painting" and "make a sock puppet."  Ahhh, those were the days....  But have no fear.  I found these:

With just two decks of cards, I have 104 crazy activities for my kids when they don't know what to do..  And I didn't even break a sweat.  The back of each card lists the needed materials and instructions for the activity.  Some cards are zany, some are cool science experiments, some involve food or tricks or creative endeavors.  All spark the imagination and end boredom.  They look so fun, I think I might suddenly be bored....

If you want your own set, I got mine at www.rainbowresource.com.  Have a great start to your summer!

Angela