Fighting Children's Mid Summer Boredom Part 2

Here are some suggestions from my daughter for fighting that summer boredom for what doesn't have to be a "boring" Monday morning:

1) Plan a scavenger hunt in the house or backyard.  Change up this idea by having the children plan the hunt and you participate.

2) Have your children make up or find jokes and then perform them as if they are on Comedy Central.  Who knows you may find you have a budding comedian.

3)  Cooking projects.  Note that there are plenty of recipes that don't require the stove or a knife to make, if you are concerned about safety.  This one is much more fun when a parent participates, but your participation is not a necessity. 

4) Have your child come up with some simple home carnival games and have them invite neighbors, friends or family members over to play them.

5) Have your children use their creativity to develop a game.  Make sure they right down rules, to avoid fights down the road over changing rules.  Trust me on this rule thing.  Learn from my mistake.

6) Who doesn't love a fun science experiment.  Search for one that fits your family both age-wise and ability-wise.  Make sure that if the experiment is messy, you perform it in a place that you don't mind getting messy. 

7) Have your children plan and complete a "kid's" garage sale.  There are atleast two benefits to this idea:  gets rid of junk and makes your children some spending money of their own.

8) Help them to create a collage of some of their favorite pictures to decorate their room.  Hint: use copies of those pictures if you don't want them to destroy the originals.

9) Take a pretend journey using books or the internet to explore a place that your child wants to go.  This may help with planning a future family "dream" vacation or allow your child to explore a place that they may never get to go to.  With virtual tours of many places, this may leave them feeling as if they have actually gone there.

10) Have your children make a movie or play.  Invite grandparents to view.  If they live too far away there is always streaming or skype.