I'm Bored Jar

Summertime is finally here! It is all exciting and grand at first but now that school has been out for about 2 weeks the summer moto has become, "I'm BORED!" for many kids. Which means trouble for mom. As a teacher I love summer break but as a mom I know it is hard to keep the house clean, the dishes done, and the children entertained all summer long. That is where the idea of the "I'm Bored" Jar was born. This is a special jar that mom's can use to keep their little ones busy. The best part about the "I'm Bored" jar is that it is totally random and never what you expect.

Here's how it works... when a child says, "I'm Bored", all they need to do is go to the jar and pick a stick. Then they have to do whatever the stick says. But the pure delight is that it is not always something the child might want to do, and it is not always something mom might want to do. BUT YOU HAVE TO DO WHATEVER THE STICK SAYS! It is a bonding time for mom's and kids to do activities together as well. I think it is fun to have a surprise, you never know what you might get.

Now my kids are too young for this but I can see it coming in handy in the future. So I made an example based on a 6+year old. Here is a list of the activities I included in my jar.

Clean your room

Read a book or your scriptures

Practice your flashcards

Clean the bathroom

Organize the food storage

Organize your closet

Weed for 30 minutes

Take the dog for a walk

Write in your journal

Unload the dishwasher

Go to a movie

Make homemade play dough

Make some cookies

Vacuum the house

Dust the house

Play a board game

Make a card for Grandma or Grandpa

Have a picnic

Make some finger puppets and have a puppet show

Go to the pool or the beach

Make a giant sand castle

Go get ice cream at the ice cream shop

Do a puzzle

Go on an adventure to some place new

All you need for this little project is:
-a jar (I got mine from the dollar store)
-some flat wood sticks or tongue sticks (Hobby Lobby)
-scrapbook paper
-mod podge
-embellishments

Cover one side of your sticks with the scrapbook paper. Then print out a list of activities, some that the kids will like some that the moms will like. Glue 1 activity to each stick. (I used mod podge for both sides). Put your sticks in the jar, embellish the jar, and enjoy endless "I'm Bored" activities. Even my little 3 year old had fun helping me decorate and put the jar together. I did put 2 blank sticks in as a free stick, where the child could choose the activity of their choice. You will never have to be bored again.
I am linking up HERE