English: happy kids with their painted face Deutsch: geschminkte Kinder beim Feiern (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As a parent, summer isn’t all fun and games. We still have to get things done. How do you survive the “I’m Bored” complaining and still get some work done?
Well here’s a list of ideas for you:
Playdoh: everyone, even adults, has fun with this.
Coloring: when’s the last time you tried it? It’s therapeutic!
Make an art gallery for the day. They get to tape up their creations all over a particular room. They can take you through it when they are done and tell you the story behind each picture.
Have them design a snack or lunch. Put out a selection of stuff and let them go at it. My daughter liked to make peanut butter and chocolate sauce with marshmallow fluff on Ritz crackers.
Another favorite was taking toothpicks and making mini fruit kabobs. Mini marshmallows go good with this one too.
Hide and seek, but this time you take 10 toys and hide them all over the house. Make it hard, it will take them awhile.
Internet search: Pick a topic and have them find out whatever they can about it. My daughter was determined to find a certain character toy. She finally found that they were given away in McDonald’s Happy Meals in Asia and Australia!
Crafts: You can pick up some fun craft kits at Oriental Trading or craft store in your area.
Toothpick buildings. Remember this one? They still have fun with it.
Paper bag masks. Have them put on a play for you when they are done.
Paper airplane contests. Best looking and best flying.
Movie party: My daughter loved this one. She would pick a new movie. They have popcorn during the movie. Play for awhile, have pizza. She even made banners and decorated.
Make up funny songs. They can put on a concert for you later. You can even tape it and put it on YouTube. Set a time for the concert – and make sure you are on time!
Teach the dog a trick.
Have a cleaning contest. The first one to get their room clean gets a prize. No cheating, no stuff under the bed or thrown in the closets.
Actually, you can make contests out of just about anything. Prizes could be:
Winner gets to design dinner. We’ve gotten some strange combinations here, believe me!
Winner gets to pick a movie for the family to watch. Or a game for the family to play.
Winner gets to pick their favorite dessert for the family to share that night.
The beauty of these activities is that they can have their friends over. They can play basically unattended and out of your hair. I pretty much devote the dining room table to their activities. Now I fully appreciate the beauty of vinyl tablecloths!
Plus these activities can carry you through the dull rainy days (or too hot to go out days) too!
These activities will keep the kids entertained while you get some work done!
Do you have any more ideas to add?
[loveclaw_buttons]
Related articles
- Astonishing Toothpick Sculptures Created By Scott Weaver | OddStuff Lab (oddstufflab.com)
- Building With Toothpicks (Video) (magsx2.wordpress.com)
Related articles
