
Remember a few months back when you and your kids were so excited for summer? You might have even looked forward to taking a break from waking up grumpy kids each morning, hounding them about homework, making lunches, scheduling after school activities, and managing everyone’s social calendars. Your kids were ready for some much-needed time off, too.
Fast forward two months, and your kids sleep ‘till noon, eat cereal for lunch, forget to do their chores on the daily, and have basically become slugs, napping on the couch between bouts of FortNite. “I’m boooooored!” has become their new mantra. And yours? “Go DO something, already!”
There are just a few weeks left of summer break, so let them sleep, but give them a few things to do so that they have some memories to take back to homeroom with them!
10 Ways to Beat Summer Boredom
- Rearrange the furniture. Give kids graph paper and a tape measure and let them draw a room design to scale (1 square = 2 feet, for example). Bonus: they’ll do geometry without even realizing it!
- Neighborhood toy/game exchange! Grab a few neighbors and have everyone bring out the toys and games in their own homes. Let the kids take turns swapping so that everyone has a new toy/game to enjoy for a few days. Then do it again! Be sure to label your own things so that everything gets back to its rightful owner at the end of the summer.
- Block party. Bring a few of your neighbors together for a block party planning meeting – be sure to invite the neighbors’ kids, too. Let all the kids meet on their own to come up with plans for food, games, and fun for their age group while the adults plan the grown-up gathering.
- Car Wash! Let your kids set up a car wash on your driveway or in the street in front of your house. Let them make signs and gather materials (dish soap, old towels, bucket, hose, and sponges). Outdoor faucets can develop leaks in five different areas. If yours is leaking, it could be causing costly damage to your home. Learn more.
- Memory makers. Did you take a family vacation this summer? Work together to create a photo album with the help of a site like shutterfly.com. Let everyone add comments or quotes or have each family member create a 2-page spread of their favorite summer memories.
- Out with the old! Have the kids go through their closets, dresser drawers, and toy bins to find any items they don’t fit into, wear, or play with anymore. With your guidance, let the kids plan this one, from setting up tables to pricing items and making signs. Use the money earned to help purchase new back-to-school clothes and supplies.
- Dinner plans. Let each child plan a dinner, start to finish. Help him or her shop for groceries, look up recipes, and create a “menu” for the evening. Younger kids might like to create placemats or a paper table runner that everyone can draw or write on. Then designate a spot in the middle of the table for everyone’s smart phones. Stack them face down. First family member to reach for their phone does the dishes! Last, gets the first slice/scoop/piece of dessert!
- Plan a picnic. Let the kids decide on location, food, drinks, and games (Frisbee, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk are all you need for a few hours of fun).
- Fort Night! No, not Fortnite, the online game that has kids of all ages staring glassy-eyed at screens. Create a real “Fort Night” that gets the kids away from screens and using their minds and muscles! Gather cardboard boxes, tape, old sheets, and blankets… anything kids can use to create a fort. Invite the neighbor kids to join in, and let each child, or small teams, work together to build forts in the backyard. Pop some popcorn, count the stars, and tell ghost stories. Then vote on the best fort. Don’t forget to snap photos!
- Day Tripper. Visit a neighboring town for the day. Downtown St. Charles, The Loop, Shrewsbury, Dogtown, Grantwood Village, Soulard, and Central West End all offer shops, restaurants, parks, and other attractions. Plan an entire day visiting the sites, shopping, having lunch, and taking lots of pictures. Then create a photo album of your day trip.
A new school year is just weeks away – get outside and enjoy a few carefree days of summer before schedules set in again. And while you’re at it, prepare your home for a new school year, too! Our website is chock full of helpful tips and advice for taking care of everything from a minor leak to a major overhaul. In need of immediate plumbing services? Give us a shout at plumber@maplewoodplumbing.com.
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