Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Summer: "I'm bored"

 We've all heard it: "I'm bored. What can I do?" Ugh...seriously so annoying.
I think I find it irritating because it makes me realize just how selfish my kids are. They have so much more than most of the kids in the world and yet they can't find anything to do. So this summer I have a new strategy :) They're going to love it and they're going to hate it! ha!
For the record, I take no credit for this idea. This one comes to you thanks to Pinterest!

The "What can I do Can?" is filled with little slips of paper with various activities on them. If you ask "what can I do" or whine about being bored then you pull a slip of paper out of the can. Some of the slips of paper say fun things, some of the slips of paper have chores on them, some of the slips of paper have exercises on them. The rule is...YOU MUST DO WHAT'S ON THE PAPER RIGHT AWAY.  I think it's going to be fun :)

Here's my master list with my own ideas and ideas from lots of other websites (go here to read a ton of ideas and to get some free printables):

Play with sidewalk chalk
Climb a tree
Catch some ants
Help Mommy with the laundry
Build the biggest LEGO tower you can!
Build a giant train track and show it to Will
Run around the house 4 times!
Watch TV
Build a fort with blankets
Blow bubbles
Fly a kite
Do 15 jumping jacks
Set the table for dinner (fancy)
Throw all the laundry downstairs
Make a beach in mommy’s bathroom
Make a craft out of the recycling trash can
Draw a picture for Grammy & Grampy
Read a book
Paint with water
Swing on the red swing
Play math games on the computer
Put a puzzle together
Go cloud gazing
Make a zoo with your stuffed animals
Go a million miles on your bike :)
Make 8 baskets with the basket ball
Play with play dough
Make sock puppets
Play hide & seek
Type a letter on the computer
Sweep the garage 
Build a blanket fort
Make a musical instrument
Go for a walk and collect items to use for a nature rubbing
Build a tower out of toothpicks and marshmallows
Play categories (aka: 20 questions)
Make a list of as many black and white animals as you can
Clean the playroom
Babysit Will
Do school work 3 papers
Clean up the yard
Draw a picture with your foot
Play with remote control car outside
Play the Wii
Dust your room
Put on a blindfold and draw a picture
Pillow fight
Make pudding 
Do school work 2 papers
Make up a show for mommy & Will
Set up the slip n' slide and have fun!
Ride your bike to the circle
Sing a song
Say (2) scripture verses
Call someone to say “hi”
Play air hockey
Have a balloon stomping race
Plan a surprise for the mailman
Make and plan dinner and do it by yourself
Make a treasure map &  go on a hunt
Make an obstacle course
Wash mommy’s car
Play a board game
Do something nice for someone else
Make popsicles
Bake a cake and decorate it
Create a rainbow out of food & eat it
Slide down the steps in a sleeping bag
Go to the circle on your scooter
Vacuum under the kitchen table
Make up a song & dance
Make a list of words that rhyme with “ball”
Cut out some coupons for mommy
Fill up a watering can and water some plants outside
Get the net and clean the pool
Go on a scavenger hunt (get the paper from mom)

My goal (for the most part) is to make whatever activity they're doing an independent activity. I want them to be able to do it on their own and I don't want to have to go dig around for supplies to find for them to do whatever...so I've put together a bin of all the supplies we could need and it's ready to go.

1 comment:

Millicent said...

totally doing this!!!!!