We all know the dreaded words, “I’m bored” that seem to happen all summer! It is important to be prepared with some summer boredom busters. Last year, I prepared ahead of time and created what we are calling, the Summer Boredom Box. It was a summer boredom idea box that was used as a reward system for when chores get done. It worked really well and I wanted to do it again, but we did make a few adjustments for this year. I wanted to include a lot more free activities and things that my kids could do without my help.
Summer Boredom Busters
I will include everything that we put in the summer boredom box from last year and this year, as well as tons of great summer activity ideas that you can use that aren’t in our boxes.
I wanted it to be used as a reward system, so that we were sure to get chores done before anything else. I also wanted it to be kept in a box that only one thing is taken out each day, so that everything is looked at as a novelty. Some days, we will be going out and doing fun activities after chores are done, so the box won’t be necessary on those days. A summer boredom box doesn’t need to be a crazy financial investment. I did spend a little more this year than I did last year on a few of the items because I knew they were going to be items that we were going to buy this summer anyway. Because there were a few more expensive items, I wanted to include more free items as well.
Free Printable Kid Activities
There are so many great free printable kid’s activities available! I printed out tons of them that my kids can do this summer. Some of them are ones that I printed on cardstock, others on regular paper, and some will even be laminated so that they can continue to play with them. This is the laminator that I love and the –. I will include links to all of the fun printable kid activities that I printed out. There are lots of imaginary play ones, templates for Legos, and coloring sheets. They are all so great!
Pretend Library Set: This is one that I printed on cardstock and laminated. They draw the set with dry erase markers.
Play Animal Adoption Printable
Printable School Play Set: This is also one that I am laminating so it can be used over and over again.
Disney Paper Dolls: This isn’t actually meant to be printed and used. It was just a blog post for a Disney Style blog. You will need to enlarge these images before you print them out on your computer. This is also one that I will be laminating.
Printable Play Landscape: This is one that you can build Lego sets to lay on. I will be laminating this so that my kids can also build Play Doh villages on it too.
I printed off some of our favorite pages from this adorable Kid’s Activity set that we got from A Girl and A Glue Gun. It is perfect for any summer day! We printed off the comic strip papers, some doodle art pages, writing prompts, drawing prompts, and bingo sheets. The kit comes with tons of other pages that you can print of as well (over 50 of them)! They would be perfect for road trips or airplane rides during summer travel. We’re excited to use them in the summer boredom box! I plan to print them out multiple times throughout the summer, for days that I need to have more to do in the kit!
Summer Craft Ideas
We are all about summer crafts at our house, so including craft supplies was perfect! We included stickers, erasers, pens, travel desks, etc in our box. It would be fun to include paint paper for these summer finger paints too! This homemade puffy paint is another favorite of ours!
Summer Snack Ideas
I had a lot of fun putting together this box. I tried to be thoughtful about the types of things that we would need throughout the summer. If you don’t want to shop for this many things, or can’t do it all at once, you can even put together a few items each month or even each week! I shopped at the Dollar Store, Target, Walmart, Costco, and ordered a few little things. I wanted a good mix of craft activities, art projects, toys, games, and special snacks.
Some of the snacks that I included were the ingredients for s’mores, a cake mix, a brownie mix, popcorn, and chocolate chips to make cookies. You can even print out the recipes for snacks and treats that your kids can make.
I loved the idea of putting in small Lego sets that weren’t a big financial commitment, but would keep her busy for a good portion of the day. I also love the idea of her slowly building up her collection throughout the summer so that she can continue to expand her story when she plays with all of them together!
Summer Boredom Buster Outdoor Toys
I included sidewalk chalk that we can use to play all sorts of sidewalk chalk games. I shared some of our favorite sidewalk chalk games in a this post a few years ago. We love them!
I was able to find lots of great outdoor toys that were in the Target Dollar Spot. They were inexpensive and there are items that can be great for individuals and for siblings.
We have a pool in our neighborhood, so I knew that we would need pool toys. The pool floats that I included were definitely more expensive than any other items in the summer boredom box, but it was important for me to include them.
What you include in your summer boredom box is totally up to you! It is all about making it unique to your family. I wanted to choose items that I knew our family could enjoy. Not just my 6 year old. We are all excited to see which item is chosen each day so that we can all experience it!
You can get the Summer Boredom Box printable label so you can start creating your own, by clicking on the link below.
Seeing the excitement that came from seeing what was in the box made all of the time putting it together worth it! Chores have never been done so quickly at our house. In the first two days, my daughter chose one small LEGO set and a set of books that she will be able to read all summer. I am always curious to see what she is going to choose each day!
What are your best summer boredom buster ideas?
Fourth of July Scavenger Hunt for Kids
Monday 4th of June 2018
[…] we go camping this summer. The second is a Summer Scavenger Hunt that I’m going to put in our Summer Boredom Box for when the kids are looking for something to do. The kids never get bored during summer vacation, […]