There is nothing that irks a parent’s ears quiet like hearing the “I’M BORED” whine. While some kids are quick to amuse themselves, others struggle to find things to do unless it involves a screen.
Of course boredom is SO good for kids. It allows time for their imaginations to run wild, and it fosters creative and strategic thinking. But some kids just need a jumpstart on ideas before running off to do something solo.
For those times, I’ve come up with a quick list of ideas for things my kids can do and figured I may as well share it here in case it can be of any use to you as well! So now when I hear “I’m bored,” they can know I’m going to say “Stop complaining and go look at the list for ideas!” 😉
Since I work from home, it’s crucial I have some go-to ideas for summer. For that reason, none of these require parental supervision…and most are somewhat mess-free. Enjoy and let me know what other ideas you have!
100 Screen-Free Ideas For Kids To Fight Boredom
- READ
- Play games with a bed sheet
- Create with Kinectic sand
- Go on a bug hunt
- Blow bubbles
- Fill up the entire driveway with chalk drawings
- Swing
- Build with LEGO
- Bring toys outside to play with
- Do puzzles
- Set up a lemonade stand
- Count/sort the money in your piggy bank
- Practice jump rope
- Play hopscotch
- Set-up dominos
- Pull weeds from the garden
- Water plants
- Go on a bike ride
- Ride scooters
- Practice tying shoes
- Practice drawing
- Write a book
- Take a nap outside
- Find shapes in the clouds
- Create a scavenger hunt for a neighbor friend
- Make-up a play
- Play restaurant {with pretend food}
- Make a card to mail to a friend or grandparent
- Make a cootie catcher
- Play in the bath tub
- Clean your room
- Play with pet
- Have a dance party
- Create with toothpicks and marshmallows
- Draw a self-portrait or a family portrait
- Play a board game
- Fill bird feeders and record what the birds you see look like in a journal
- Make a collage from old magazines
- Play “don’t touch the ground” with a balloon
- Create an obstacle course — inside or outside
- Play hang-man or tic tac toe with a friend
- Practice hula hooping
- Have a jumping jack contest
- Create with Play-Doh
- Play with stamps on paper
- Walk around the neighborhood and collect litter
- Make a blanket fort
- Plan a picnic in the yard
- Dust, sweep or mop!
- Play frisbee
- Create an fly paper airplanes
- Play freeze tag with friends
- Draw a picture of your pet
- Make friendship bracelets
- Play school
- Trade toys with neighbor friends
- Run through the sprinkler
- Play duck-duck goose
- Create a tower with paper and solo cups
- Play a sport in the yard
- Bowl with water bottles and a baseball
- Have a tea party
- Play with rice bin
- Play hide-and-seek
- Decorate a cardboard box from the recycling
- Make cereal necklaces
- Practice letters in salt inside a tray
- Paint rocks
- Create with craft sticks, pom poms and pipe cleaners
- Play Eye Spy
- Make hand puppets out of paper lunch bags and put on a show
- Clean your room, or have a competition with siblings to see who can do it the fastest
- Create a fairy garden with supplies from home
- Build a ramp and have Hot Wheels cars go down it
- Play water balloon baseball with a pool noodle
- ‘Paint’ with water on the sidewalk
- Make a carwash for toy cars
- Create boats from recycled items and see if they float in a bucket of water
- Look for four-leaf clovers
- Do a random act of kindness
- Make a bird feeder with recycled supplies
- ‘Paint’ with shaving cream on the driveway
- Build an outdoor fort with sticks and branches
- Have a crazy hair-do contest
- Make a magic wand using items found in nature
- Try to find items around the house for every letter in the alphabet
- Trace each other’s body outline with chalk
- Play car wash with bikes
- Make a craft using paper plates
- Build a catapult and launch marshmallows from it
- Have a The Greatest Showman sing-a-long
- Play Simon Says
- Create a daisy or dandelion chain necklace
- Catch butterflies or fireflies
- Hide treasure, make a map, and make someone go find it
- Thumb wrestle
- Practice juggling
- Search for animal footprints
- Play rock, paper, scissors
- Have a book exchange with neighbors
Go ahead and follow this link to a printable version of this: 100 Screen-Free Ideas For Kids To Fight Boredom
Additionally, make sure to check out this list of FREE things to do to encourage outside play!
What is your go-to “I’m bored” advice?
[…] We LOVE making a big summer bucket list each year to gear up for the seasonal fun ahead. Although our lists are usually too ambitious to get through {believe me ya’ll — I’m not that extra!}, we just love having a guideline for things to do when we have an open day or boredom strikes {find ideas to squash those days here}. […]