Boredom Busters – part 2

Lest you think that I only assign my children chores when things are a little slow over the summer, let me share a few of my other ideas.

I am incredibly thankful for the blessing it is to home school, but I do look forward to a summer break!  Our goal is to work on schoolwork from August 1 – May 1, but this doesn’t always work exactly.

When the majority of our schoolwork finishes up, I sit down with the kids to help each of them write up a list of about 10 summer goals.  (I admit this is the first summer in many years that my adult children have not done this with me!)

These goals include family activities (like going swimming or to a movie), as well as getting together with friends and projects (like cleaning out a closet or painting a picture).   Each week I try to make time to accomplish at least one of each of the kids’ goals for the summer.

During the school year, I keep my own list of goals for the summer dated in May on my Google calendar.  Then, when summer comes I can start working on them.  These goals range from house upkeep and cleaning projects to writing projects to field trips to homeschooling prep to lots of catching up with friends that I’m unable to do during the school year.

In the summer, we continue our daily Bible study as well as math and book reading, plus plenty of outdoor play.  But the kids are still frequently at a loss for what to do when I’m busy on one of my many projects.

So, this year, I’m trying a terrific idea a friend posted on Facebook.  The kids and I each wrote several activities on popsicle sticks and marked them with a time (like 30 minutes or 60 minutes or 2 hours) .  That way when we had a little time or a lot of time, we could pick one out.  This has worked well so far!  Thank you, Suzanne!

What do you do in the summer???

TWIG

 

 

What to do when you hear, “MOM! I’m BORED!”

This DARLING little girl feeding a bottle to a baby pig, is none other than my very own mom.  I like to imagine that when she was growing up on a working farm, she didn’t have many opportunities to sit around with nothing to do, though I imagine that’s probably not true.

But, in today’s American entertainment culture, I find my children often “bored” and looking for something to do.  Are any of you like me where you can’t think of something quickly for your kids to do when they’re “BORED?”  This is particularly prevalent in the summertime when our days are not quite so filled with schoolwork.

So, several years back I came up with this list and posted it inside a kitchen cabinet.  Do you have any ideas you’d like to add?  I’d love to hear them!

You can download the list in Word format by clicking here:  BOREDOM CHORES LIST

BOREDOM CHORES LIST

Computer desk

Straighten and dust Fireplace/Mantle

Dry sink

Kitchen cabinet fronts

Inside fridge

Inside microwave

Vacuum 1st floor

Foyer

Pick up stairs

Vacuum Stairs

Mop tile

Sweep floor

Ceiling fans

Front porch and walkway

Clean outside patio

Pick up backyard

Dog poop

Laundry room

Baseboards

Doors

Light switches

Refill soap and toilet paper

Organize bathroom cabinets

Clean windows

Fold Laundry

Sort & wash laundry

Clean laundry room

Take out ALL trash

Clean under beds

Clean closet

Sharpen pencils

Organize school bookshelf