Summer Boredom Fixes
As adults, we’d give just about anything to have the summer off just like our kids. They have so much time for all sorts of fun activities — yet they still get bored mid-summer. It’s hard to be responsible for entertaining them all summer long when you have work, errands and chores to do, but The Lakeside Collection has a few ideas to get you started. Here are 7 quick and easy boredom fixes for those mid-summer lulls.
DIY Ice Treats It’s hard to keep your freezer full of cool treats in the summer, but on a day your kids are out of ideas for activities, you can put them to work replenishing your supply with an old school treat. Have your kids stir together their favorite drink mix with sugar and water (a little less water than the directions call for). Pour it into an ice cube tray and cover it with plastic wrap. In the center of each cube, poke toothpicks through the plastic — the plastic helps the toothpicks stand up in the liquid. Place it in the freezer and wait for three to four hours for the cubes to freeze. When they’re frozen, you’ll have miniature ice pops to while away a hot summer day.
Obstacle Course This one requires a little bit of imagination from your kids. Using items from the garage and the house, have them build an obstacle course. It doesn’t have to be elaborate like the ones you might find at a military boot camp — it can be as simple as laying out a two-by-four to use as a balance beam or using a hula hoop to hop through. It can even involve crafting a bracelet out of kitchen twine — have them use their brains! When they have everything in order, they can race each other to see who can finish the course first.
DIY Container Garden A container garden is an upcycling craft to last the whole summer! Have your kids look for an interesting container from the house that you no longer need. Coffee cans, tea cans, old plastic storage containers that no longer have lids all work as planters. With a few seeds, soil and sunshine, your kids can care for and document the growth of their plants or flowers as they sprout and become greenery. A few weeks or a few months, it’s an activity to keep the kids occupied long-term.
DIY Spray Paint There’s so much you can do with empty spray bottles, it’s a shame to save them solely for cleaning! This project is pretty easy — all you have to do is dilute tempera paint with water and pour the different colors into spray bottles. Your kids can spritz a few paintings (outside, of course, to save yourself serious cleanup time) and create a backyard masterpiece to add to your refrigerator art gallery.
Bubble Brilliance Have extra bubble wrap you don’t have plans for? While your kids’ first instincts might be to pop every bubble one-by-one, help them resist the temptation so they can make cheerful paintings! With a little bit of tempera paint, your kids can get creative with colors and shapes — they can even get creative with the applications — check out how Mess for Less stomped out a few bubble wrap paintings.
Ice Cube Racing This activity requires a hot slide — if you don’t have one in your backyard, the one at the park works just fine. Have the kids take a cooler of ice cubes to the top of the slide. On “go” have them each set an ice cube on the slide and watch it melt all the way to the bottom. The first cube to make it to the end of the slide without completely melting, wins. If you want to make it more colorful, make ice cubes the night before with a drop of food coloring for each cube.
Balloon Ping Pong With a couple of paper plates, tongue depressors and a balloon, your backyard will get more face-time with your kids than you might want. All you do is staple or glue the tongue depressors to the paper plate to create your paddle and blow up the balloon as a ping pong ball substitute. It may not be an official summer sport, but it’ll get the kids moving. Plus, it’s easy, inexpensive and addictive!
At The Lakeside Collection we have ideas and products to make the most of you summer and keep your kids from getting bored. Keep checking back with us until the 4th of July and throughout the summer for more inspiration!
