Thou Shalt Not Be Bored

Recently we got a notice about a parenting seminar at the elementary school. "What to do with your kids this summer." I figure we're pros by now and there's no reason to waste an evening. Stan urged and almost insisted. Stan was right. I went to the seminar and came home with more ideas than I could possibly use in a summer. It doesn't seem fair to hoard them all so here's a smattering to share with brothers and sisters-in-arms.

Pie made from farmer's market cherries

Kitchen:

• bake and decorate a cake
• kids plan family meal and create shopping list
• have a tea party
• have kids pick foods to try at the farmer's market and plan a meal around what you bring home

Outside:

• watch the sun rise
• sit on the porch or by a window and watch a storm
• go star-gazing
• paint letters, words, and numbers with water and a paint brush
• use crayons and paper to make rubbings of tree bark patterns

Science experiment from last year. We love goop.

Science:

• gather a pile of objects and have kids guess which will sink and which will float
• use ribbon, bubbles, kites to see which way the wind is blowing
• find sources of iron in the house using magnets. Do different magnets behave differently? 
• make goop with corn starch, water, and food coloring
• try to sprout new growth from "garbage" food (carrot tops, potato eyes)

Math:

• take timed walks around the block. Practice telling time as you race to beat your family time.
• have kids throw a ball and then measure how far it went. How does that compare to the next throw?
• have child pick up 1+2+3+4 things in his/her room
• have child add up all the change in your pocket or purse

Service:

• bake for a family friend
• offer to help a neighbor with simple yard work
• write letters to elderly in church congregation or in a nursing home
• pick up litter in the neighborhood

Color experiments

Creativity:

• make cards and send them
• give kids a list of words and have them write a story using as many as possible
• write a song together
• have child draw on paper with a white candle then paint over it with watercolors
• study the work of one artist and see if children can imitate the style
• place 1 or 2 drops of food coloring on opposite sides of a bowl of milk. stand back and watch them swirl. (this moves to science if you talk with the kids about why it works that way.)

Active:

• garden
• observation walks
• create an indoor bowling alley with empty coke bottles and a rubber ball
• hide a treasure, make a map, and send them on their way.

This is our dentist's office.

Imagination:

• have child choose 4 to 5 pictures and then number them. The child tells a story using each of the pictures. 
• take an imaginary space trip with your child
• visit ethnic shops, food stores, and restaurants. Look at maps to plan your trip, and use books to set the stage before you go and review the culture afterwards.
• camp out in the living room. tell stories by flashlight.

Processing Summer:

• make a poster or scrapbook from ticket stubs, program notes, etc as the summer goes on
• keep a journal with drawings and thoughts from each day or each outing
•  use a large calendar to write messages, weather reports, or notes on activities

I hope these ideas help you and your children (not to mention me and mine) have blissful summer fun. Just a reminder, the vast majority of these ideas are not my own but came from a swath of parenting resources. I wish I could credit the creators but like much parenting brilliance, these ideas came without bylines.