Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Summer Boredom Busters For Kids

The Boredom Buster Jar!

I was so excited to discover on Smockity Frocks this link to The Happy Housewife with a free download of ideas for when your children are bored!!!





We printed out the download, my son cut the pieces and folded them and now our jar is ready to go!  The next time they say they are bored - they will choose an idea from the jar and that is what they will do for the next 30 minutes!


Busy hands and busy minds keep children out of trouble!


Here's what else we've been up to - and some ideas if you are looking for something to do.  Take note: there are NO crafts...I'm terrible at crafts.  I feel badly about this - just being honest.  If you are a crafty mom - I think my daughter would like to move in with you lol!



Washing Bikes


 


Our very fancy backyard pool lol!  I told my husband when I lay on that raft and close my eyes - I can't even tell that I'm not in some huge fancy in ground pool!  I love this!  And it's fun to spin the kids on too!

Making bouquets from the flowers around our house!


A trip in a small airplane.

School work at Starbucks!


The zoo! I love looking at God's creation - so do the children!

Our Doodle books! These are SO much fun!

Doodling outside!


The slip and slide!

Nerf Gun Wars

Play dates - these are the sweet mamas!  You might recognize Janelle from Comfy In The Kitchen on the far right!

Friends lined up to go down the slip-n-slide!

Summer Vacation Bible School (this is a picture from last year - we'll be headed here in July!)



The Library and reading outside!  This is my favorite!

Some have asked if we are doing any summer school.  We are taking the month of June off and then in July we'll be focusing on the basics: Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.  We are reading library books and the Bible.  We are writing in our journals and writing out verses.  And we'll be doing some flash cards for math. 


Have a GREAT summer with your kids!  Remember how quickly it goes - savor the moments and enjoy your children!  And if you need some encouragement on the topic of Motherhood, we are currently in the midst of a series over on GoodMorningGirls.org where 3 times a week we have posts up to encourage moms in their Ministry of Motherhood.


Please feel free to share in the comment section some of your boredom busters! 

Walk with the King!

This post is linked to Titus 2sdays, We Are That Family and Raising Homemakers.
Today is Women Living Well Wednesday! It's a Link-Up Day!!!

Join the fun, do a little blog hopping and don't forget if you join below -please add the Women Living Well Wednesdays button to your post so your readers can find us here! (posts can include the topics of marriage, parenting, homemaking, finances, recipes, organization and more!)

24 comments:

  1. This post rings of "summer fun" :)
    Hard not to smile at all these cute photos!
    A little boredom is good...brings on the creativity...but I also love having these back up ideas.
    Ours would LOVE a jar like this to pick out of...thanks!

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  2. I hope you all don't mind that I put a link to the writing contest. I thought it was marriage related and that a lot of readers might like it. If you want to delete it, you can. No problem.

    And I LOVE those summer photos. I'm just addicted to summer.

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  4. Summers do go by so fast...and they are times to be treasured. Looks like you have definitely got some fun things planned! And I love the activity jar - what a fantastic idea! Thank you for hosting the link up. I'm looking forward to being inspired by the other wonderful links.

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  5. Great blog,i love the Boredom buster jar that is so cool! I am not a crafty person either so don't feel too bad! :)

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  6. Summer is such a great time, isn't it? My kids have set up a "track" of sorts between our yard and the neighbor's yard (Driveway) and they get going in a huge bicycle parade in the early evenings - complete with singing, bells ringing, etc... It's GREAT!

    I loved your post today.

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  7. That is quiet an inspiring post!!!An easy way to learn picture stories: language and literacy activities for young and adult student’s great work sir thanks...

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  8. Great post and great ideas! I love the idea of cutting up fun things and pulling them from a jar. :)

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  9. Oh, thank you for this post! It made me smile and love the pics! My daughter had the same gymboree dress when she was little..one of her favorites:) I hear other parents comment on what do they do with their kids over the summer...I never understood that. There is so much to do!! Great post, thank you so much. Oh, of course I'm following on GFC, Twitter...and FB I think LOL. Have a great week!!

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  10. I LOVE the idea jar! I know this will be a great tool for my children...well at least I hope so. :) Have a wonderful Wednesday!

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  11. I LOVE the ideas! Thank you for sharing that you are not a crafty mom! I am not either and I feel really bad about it sometimes! But, I am fun in other ways and need to remember that... and let my kids hang out with moms who are crafty sometimes!

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  12. My kids love those Doodle books! So much artistic silliness is inspired each time they get them out. :) Thanks for hosting! I'm sharing two posts today; one on "blessings" and the other is a recipe for baklava muffins which are super yummy. Blessings! ~Lisa

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  13. WHat a cute idea. I definitely need to do this as my kids get soooo bored!

    I haven't been blogging much lately and want to jump back into the mom blog community. I restarted my blog Life from my Laptop and I'm happy to be back Courtney and hope to connect more with you as youo're one of my favorite bloggers.

    Alyssa

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  14. Back for another comment. I LOVE the idea of doing school work at Starbucks. What a great way to study for a test or work on homework!! Both homeschooling, and traditional schooling parents could enjoy this. What is that even called? Traditional? I have no clue. I didn't want to write "normal" or "regular" because I always felt that was a shot. I'll call us traditional schoolers "abnormal" hows that? LOL

    I keep on coming back for a look at your photos.

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  15. You are one busy mother doing many fun things with your children. I loved the jar idea and will try it for grandchildren that are visiting.
    Blessings to you!

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  16. I use my Boredom Block for my kiddos in the summer...you can check it out here:

    http://www.etsy.com/listing/67135451/boredom-block

    Have a great summer looks like yours has started well!!

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  17. I'm not very crafty either but I do like to find project ideas and let the kids do crafts at their leisure- great for rainy days!! I do something around the house while they work on a project!

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  18. LOL...I was just saying this week to another mom that volunteered for the craft group for VBS that I am SO not crafty. And I love when the moms that DO love crafts say "oh, it's easy!". Not for me! LOL well it's nice to see there are others here that feel just the same. I just have a silly question. What do you let your children have to drink at Starbucks? That is a fantastic idea to go there to do some work...and for momma to get herself some coffee!

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  19. Thanks for all of the great ideas for summer fun!

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  20. Lisa V - they like the Vanilla Bean milkshake at Starbucks :-) and hot cocoa!!!

    Courtney

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  21. Can I do my schoolwork with a Starbuck's, please? :)
    Thank you for sharing some wonderful ideas!

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  22. Oh what fun! Love the jar. The doodle books really interested me, too. I wish I would have had the whole blog experience when my children were little. Now I just pass on the great ideas for my grandkids.

    May your day be filled with joy,
    Pamela

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  23. Thanks for some great ideas Courtney! This will be my 'go to' page!

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  24. This is a great idea! My kids have been screaming for something to do lately, so I jumped at this idea. I did a variation of it though & used rocks instead of paper. It turned out great! Take a peek at my blog post on this!

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I LOVE hearing from my readers and I pray for you all regularly. I try to respond to questions in the comment section as quickly as I can - within 1-3 days.

Due to an overflowing email inbox and the desire to keep my husband, children and home first priority in my life, I am no longer able to answer personal emails at this time. I apologize.

Walk with the King!
Courtney