Boredom Busters

I’m a firm believer in the fact that, no matter where you are, no matter how much money you’ve spent to be there, like say Disney World, for instance, kids are always going to complain about being bored. Always.  On a two thousand dollar, fun filled excursion to the mountains, when you ski, play in the snow, stay at a water park hotel, swim while it’s snowing outside (how cool is that, btw?), eat pancakes till you puke, ride a water thrill ride that flushed you down  the drain in the complete darkness, shop, enjoy the chocolate wonderfall at Golden Corral that you ALWAYS wanted to go to,  climb a rock wall, lay on a bed of nails, blow giant bubbles, watch your mom miserably fail at skiing so badly that she skis over some poor 5 year old (who she doesn’t even know), going between her legs like a cartoon, somehow, when your poor, old, exhausted parents who’ve just spent a bundle and their energy reserves for the next six months want to lay down for ten minutes and rest, you’re bored. With a capital B.  B-O-R-E-D. “There’s nothing to do. What can we do now? We’re so booooooored. Uuuunnnnhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Moooooommm. “ And so it begins. To combat this mind-numbing, terrible disease, I do a little proactive preparation. I make an “I’m bored List” of easy, fun things that the kids have forgotten that there is to do. Here’s my summer camping I’m Bored List…

Our favorite board/ card games

1.       Sorry, Sorry Card Revenge, & Sorry Sliders

2.       Chess & Checkers

3.       Uno & Uno flash

4.       Go fish

5.       Connect 4 & Connect 4 x 4

6.       Monopoly (We have a National Parks version we love)

7.       Twister Hoopla

8.       Scrabble

9.       Rumikub

10.   Pictureka & Pictureka Flipper

11.   Pigmania

12.   Yhatzee

13.   Battleship

14.   Bingo

15.   Perfection

Outside Activities

1.       Make crayon rubbings of trees, plants, etc.

2.       Balloon Volleyball (toss a balloon back and forth across a line drawn in the ground, trying not to let it hit the ground)

3.       Play I Spy

4.       Skip rocks

5.       Make a Nature Journal

6.       Throw the ball

7.       Race Cars/ hot wheels

8.       Fly kites

9.       Ride scooters

10.   Hopscotch

11.   Chalk Tic tac toe

12.   Chalk hangman

13.   Take pictures

14.   Scavenger hunt

15.   Pose for pictures

16.    Watch nature 

17.   Look at clouds

18.   Paint

19.   Pop Ball toss (it’s this thing the Easter Bunny brought with 2 cones and a ping pong ball that pops out and you try to catch it in your cone)

20.   Sidewalk paint

21.   Walk

22.   Ride Bikes

23.   Swim

24.   Snorkel

25.   Play war

26.   Build a city

27.   Super bouncy balls

28.   Chalk

29.   Bubbles

30.   Make Glow chalk

31.   Pick up trash

Inside/ Rainy Day Activities

1.       Sticker art

2.        Stamp art

3.       Draw

4.       Color

5.       Read

6.       Word Searches

7.       Playdough

8.       Make jewelry

9.       Make windchimes

10.   Play school

11.   Barbies

12.   Make posters encouraging people not to litter

13.   Watch movies

14.   Mosaic garden

15.   Pixos

16.   Bling rings

17.   Magic snow

18.   Floam

19.   Orbeez

20.   Friendship bracelets

21.   Magic loops (keychains)

Hilighted items are inexpensive little kits we’ve picked up here and there and store in the camper for boredom emergencies. 

Got any more ideas for banishing boredom? We'd love to hear them!

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