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We have longed for these relaxing summer days, but from a child’s perspective, they can seem to lag. When we hear “Mommy, I’m bored!” or better yet, before we hear it, it’s wise to prepare some activities that direct our children toward wholesome play.

The purpose of play is to laugh, learn, build relationships, strengthen growing bodies, and make memories. So wholesome play is key to a child’s health and happiness. In this generation of electronic entertainment, let’s look back on some time-honored categories of satisfying play, inspired by children’s classics like Laddie: A True Blue Story, Little Women, Tom Sawyer, Anne of Green Gables, and the Little House series:

Food fun – cook for the joy of it
Make up a new recipe, decorate sugar cookies, pick blueberries, can tomatoes, surprise daddy with a picnic lunch at work, make snow cones, bake muffins, make home-made ice cream, have a tea party; play restaurant, have a dessert tasting contest, host a cookout, share a treat with a neighbor.

Solve a mystery – let curiosity rise and then search for the end of the matter
Pretend to be a frontiersman; plan a scavenger hunt; use a microscope; collect fingerprints; make disguises; hide something and play the hot/cold game; challenge yourself with a jigsaw puzzle, brainteaser, crossword puzzle or Sudoku; learn a magic trick; track animals; sleuth like a spy; read a mystery book.

Play with/in water – any activity that involves that wet, cool entity
This can be fishing, rafting, wave jumping, water guns, sticks and a stream, bubbles in the bathtub, a bucket of water and different sized cups (for toddlers), a slip and slide, a day at the lake, bathing the dog, running under a sprinkler, visiting a water park, setting up a dunk tank, or splashing in a kiddie pool.

Learn how – gain a skill
Learn how to build a birdhouse, plant a garden, make paper flowers, change a tire, bake bread, design in Adobe Photoshop, build a fire, arrange flowers, roller skate, sew on the sewing machine, care for a pet, write a book – anything that you wish you could do, or would be useful to know how to do.

Make music – enjoy sound
Dance to worship music, make homemade instruments, join a bell choir; karaoke with a microphone, start a band, have a parade, write a song, learn to play a guitar, attend a concert, tap a melody on jars filled with water, learn to sing harmony, challenge yourself on the instrument of your choice, sing to Jesus with all your heart!

Be an artist – create something beautiful
Watercolor, graphic design, weaving yarn on straws, face painting, sidewalk chalk, scrapbooking, silhouettes, model airplanes, basket weaving, printmaking, play dough, mix primary colors to make secondary ones, acrylic on canvas, puppets or masks, pressing flowers and leaves, a photo shoot, quilting, carving, stringing beads, candle making, embroidery. To show off your creations, you could host a neighborhood art show or set up a home art gallery.

Makeovers – try a new look
This could be organizing a closet, planting a wildflower garden, sewing a pillow, applying make-up, hair and nail polish, painting a room, cleaning the garage, or rearranging the furniture.

Games – fun with rules
Parlor games; baseball; chess; relay races; pick-up basketball; Candyland; freeze tag; Spades; kickball; kick the can; sardines; a backyard carnival; Mother, May I?; Hopscotch; capture the flag; soccer; ring toss; Parcheesi; Chinese Checkers; hula-hoop; seeing who can roll down the hill the fastest

Family worship – leaning into the Lord as a family
Join or host a Bible study, memorize Scripture together, hold a Hymn Sing, host a Bible Bowl, organize a neighborhood prayer walk, attend a Christian family camp or VBS, visit a church with another family, host a testimony night

Dates – plan a special time with a person you love
Serve mom breakfast in bed and cuddle with her while she eats, plan a party for family night, bake cookies with your little sister, read aloud to each other, go to lunch with Dad, do a craft together, make popcorn and watch a movie, hike the beach or woods together

Missions/volunteering – sacrifice or serve so that someone else will be blessed
Earning money for water wells, serving lunch at a homeless shelter, writing a letter to someone in the military, praying for Brazilian street children, taking muffins to the neighbor with a new baby, building a casita, mowing the lawn of an elderly neighbor

A day away – break-up the routine
Visit the zoo, the pool, the park, a local landmark, a museum, etc. Go camping or shopping.

Make-believe – be someone else just for the adventure of it
Become a prairie girl, superhero, cowboy, American Girl, G.I. Joe, mommy for baby dolls, movie star, Bible character, astronaut, repairman, firefighter, train conductor, singer – anything that you can imagine!

Widen your horizons – get immersed in another place or perspective
Read, read, read, memorize a poem, invite someone to tell about a place they have visited (almost as good as going yourself), research places named on a map, invite a foreign exchange student to live in your home, study a language, visit a family or church that speaks a different language, pray for the nations with a book or study guide like You Can Change Your World, learn to count in another language.

Build a clubhouse – build and inhabit a base for adventures
A tree house, a “house” outlined with pine needle borders, a hideout under the bushes, a refrigerator box, a tent (which could be as simple as a blanket thrown over the kitchen table or as sophisticated as a Coleman pop-up), a dollhouse, a fort, a hideout, a clubhouse, a place to hammock, a campsite. When it’s all set up, make-believe, hold a meeting, write a story – maybe even eat and sleep there!
More childhood favorites: Legos and Duplos, Lincoln Logs, gumdrops and toothpicks, K’nex, gears, popsicle sticks and low-temp hot glue, Erector Sets, wooden blocks

Collecting – gather and examine anything that seems fascinating
This could be as simple as collecting stuff (rocks, seashells, baseball cards, stamps, etc.) or as involved as family genealogy – the ideas are endless!

Entrepreneurism – adventures in making money
Set up a lemonade stand, publish your own newspaper, sell things at a yard sale or on Craig’s List, babysit, plan a bake sale, start a small business, provide a service, raise money for a good cause.

I hope this classic overview sparks some summer fun at your house. In part 2 of “Mommy, I’m Bored!” I will share some of our family’s favorite summer memory makers. Please consider submitting your family’s best boredom-buster ideas in the comments section at the bottom of this post. Here’s to giggly, good times!