Summer Boredom Busters

The average summer vacation for children in the United States runs between 10-12 weeks. This is the event students look forward to all year long. However, by the third or fourth week of vacation, boredom can start to settle into to an otherwise perfect scenario.

Here are some of the "tried & true" activites we've put to the test in our own family, making summer feel like the adventure it should be.

Make It Monday (click title for more information)

Make It Mondays was a summer tradition on our home. Our children eagerly anticipated the start of each week, knowing it also meant the start of another fun project. By setting a designated time aside each week for making, baking and creating, we were able to keep chaos at a minimum. Some of our favorite Make It Monday projects include...

• making homemake pretzels

• constructing a mini gold course in our backyard

• doing science experiments in the lab of our basement

Our children definitely thought outside-the-box when it came to their Make It Monday projects. While things could get a little messy, at times, they certainly never suffered the plight of boredom.

Donuts & Debates

As our children got older Donuts & Debates became a summer staple. We actually continued this tradition into the school year for the three years I homeschooled our children. For the summer months, the objective was simply to keep their minds active and engaged. We usually feasted on homemade donuts for this weekly event. Our summer debate topics were more for fun.

For example: -Board games are more fun than video games.

-Does an audio book count as reading?

-What is the best season of the year?

Despite being more casual over the summer, Donuts & Debates honed our children's critical thinking and active listening skills.

Family F-U-N Friday (click title for more information)

To this day, family FUN night is part of our weekly routine, all year long. This simple tradition gave everyone in our family something fun to look forward to each Friday night. From a game of miniature golf to paddle boating at the lake, family FUN nights through the summer were all about getting outdoors as a family, weather permitting. With a different activity each Friday night, our children had their share of adventures before the school year started.

Some FUN inspiration:

• making s'mores

• scavenger hunt

• pizza picnic

• yard games: corn hole, badminton, frisbee

Library Reading Program

During the summer, the library was like a 2nd home for our children. Each year, we'd sign them up for the Summer Reading Program at our local library. The Reading Program was full of incentive that motivated our budding readers with everything from a free kids' meals at participating restaurants to free admission to a maze quest park. The more they read, the more they earned. The rewards from this library program added an extra layer of fun to their already enriched summers.

If the magic of summer vacation is beginning to wane for you or your children, these boredom busters may be just the thing to help everyone get the most out of the next three months.