Never Hear ‘I’m Bored’ For The Rest Of The Summer The Ultimate Boredom Buster Printable for Kids

School vacation is upon us, which means most kiddos have the next couple of months at home. And while I know many parents look forward to the summer holidays all year long, one thing I hear time and time again from my mama friends is, “It’s just so hard to get things done.”

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First off, let me say that I am all about letting kids be bored. Some of the very best play and creative projects seem to come from those moments of boredom and I think it’s really important that kiddos get plenty of opportunities to direct their time and play. But I also totally understand that independent play is a challenge for some kiddos and not all kids have had a lot of time to practice occupying themselves independently. 

This little “Looking for something to do?” printable is meant to help kids find something to do independently, without being told what to do or have something set up for them.

Here are some ideas school-aged kids can do independently or with a sibling during the summer:

• skip rope and see how many jumps they can do in a row
• have a staring contest
• play hide-and-seek in the backyard
• write a letter to a friend or family member
• play hopscotch
• try following a simple recipe
• make a painter’s tape car track
• blow bubbles
• draw a picture
• prepare a lemonade stand
• eat a popsicle on the front porch
• create a secret handshake
• play I Spy
• have a backyard picnic
• build an indoor fort
• fill a bucket with warm, soapy water and wash a bicycle or scooter
• explore the yard with a magnifying glass
• create with LEGO
• make your own obstacle course
• draw with sidewalk chalk
• play a board game
• read a book
• run through the sprinkler
• fold socks
• look up at the sky and look for shapes in the clouds
• see how long you can hula hoop without letting it drop
• set up an indoor bowling game and play
• pull some weeds
• try doing different types of jumps
• go outside
• help someone
• do a puzzle
• put their favourite song on and have a dance party
• make a puppet with an old sock
• collect rocks and paint them
• practice yoga using a kids’ yoga tutorial
• try climbing a tree
• write a story
• have a tea party with stuffed animals
• practice their gymnastics moves
• compose a song
• use pasta as beads and make a necklace
• publish a book
• play with play dough
• turn on some music and clean their room

Simply print the “Looking for something to do?” poster and hang it on a spot that’s easily accessible for your child. How you introduce it is up to you, but I’d show it to them, go through each option and explain that it’ll be a great help when they’re looking for something to do.

At first, you may have to remind them to consult the list of ideas before coming to you, but the hope is that they’ll soon start to use it as a resource all on their own.

Happy summer, friends!