Summer Boredom Busters

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain my own.

How many times have you heard “Mom, I don’t have anything to do,” or “Mom, I’m bored,” already this Summer?? In a perfect world, the kids would go outside from sun-up (or if we are being honest they would sleep in) to sun-down and play nicely together only coming in for lunch and dinner. BUT we alllllll know this is not a perfect world and that kid boredom turns into screen time, lots of snacking, and a VERY stressed out mom at the end of the day sitting in the pantry eating chocolate chips outta the bag. SOOOO here are a couple of our current favorite summer activities to beat the boredom…but you are still welcome to eat the chocolate chips…you earned them.

During school, we had a rule about T.V. time…no screen time until after 4pm. Soooo once we finished up home-school for the year, we decided to stick with that rule through the summer to keep the kiddos (one kid in particular) away from the television. But I KNEW in order to keep them away from the TV, I needed some alternative activities to help pass those hot afternoon hours. I mostly wanted fun crafts and kits, but I also wanted a few activities that at least required a minimal bit of learning…or at least discovering a new hobby.

So far the biggest hit with my 10 year old are these Aquabeads. He has gotten this kit out multiple times over the last few weeks and spent 2 hours yesterday organizing his bead refill kit. Basically these are little beads that you lay out into a pattern and then spray with water. The water then bonds the beads together to form a cute permanent design. These are almost exactly like perler beads that I shared in last summer’s post, but since these don’t require an iron or parent supervision, I love these EVEN more:) I did receive a warning on social media that these beads, if swallowed by young kids, can be hazardous, so keep that in mind if you have little ones in your home.

Another favorite this year was slime. Even after years of making slime, Ethan STILL loves it EVERY time. We got a few different kits, but this slime kit for FLUFFY slime was hands down the favorite. My kids have TRIED multiple times to make their own slime recipes with the stuff we have around the house based on YouTube videos, but usually just end up making a fat mess. I love that the kit comes with everything needed to make the slime, the directions are easy enough that they don’t need help, and when it is done there is nothing to store. PLUS it makes perfect slime and doesn’t require an entire bottle of my conditioner!!!

Another big hit for Ethan was this ThinkBox Inventors’ Box. It is basically a box full of crafty supplies and a guidebook to creating fun simple inventions. This is more craft then science, but Ethan has made some fun stuff. Some of the projects have been simple enough for kiddos on their own, but a few have needed a bit of dad intervention. But it is SOOOOO great having all of the supplies together. Normally my kids are sending me off to the store to buy pipe cleaners and popsicle sticks when they want to create…and then by the time I return they have lost interest. So for me this box was more about convenience…they can just open the box and have everything on hand that they will need to be creative.

Ethan made a bouncy ball at our homeschool co-op this year and talked about it for a week, so I KNEW this bouncy ball making kit would be a hit. We have not tried this one out yet, but the next time we have friends over at the house, this kit is coming out of the closet.

I have no idea why kids love painting rocks…but THEY DO!! I almost didn’t grab this rock painting kit because I thought…all you need are rocks and paint…why would I need a kit?? WHICH to be fair…is the truth. You can easily head outside, grab some rocks, and have fun painting them. But the cute transfers that are included are ADORABLE!!! PLUS…and I know this will sound dumb…but the rocks are included. So this would be great for taking on a camping trip or to Grandma’s house.

At Christmas time, Emersyn got this adorable llama embroidery kit from Usborne. It was a perfect beginner embroidery project because it did not take weeks to finish, didn’t require learning too many stitches, and ended up SOOOOO cute!! Emersyn finished her llama in a day or so and since it came with the hoop, it was ALL READY to hang up and show off. Emmy is 13, but this would have been simple enough for a much younger kiddo…I would think a 7 or 8 year old could do it with a little adult help.

So for THIS summer I decided to up the embroidery difficulty level and grabbed this embroidery kit since it was only around $8 and came with the thread, 4 projects, scissors, needles, and hoops. I swear buying the embroidery floss for a project is my LEAST favorite part. The fact that this kit comes with LITERALLY everything needed…including 4 hoops…is a BIG plus for me!! So far Emmy has been too intimidated to try these, but I started one and CANNOT STOP EMBROIDERING now. I love grabbing my hoop and sitting down to watch a quick show at night. Just an FYI, there are stitch guides in the kit, but they are not great. So if your kiddo (or you) are new to embroidery and do not already have a grasp of the basic stitches, it may require a quick google HOW TO search.

So far the biggest hit for Emersyn was this Paint By Number kit. These kits are like the paint by numbers we had as a kid…on steroids…haha. They come on a pretty canvas, are VERY detailed, and have wooden hangers to use for hanging when finished. These are definitely for older kids…or adults. The spaces are quite small and require time and patience…but holy moly they are so pretty when finished!!!

• 

• 

Another hit for my art loving girl are these diamond beading kits. Rapunzel is Emmy’s favorite Disney princess, so this one was a no brainer. Although these diamond painting pieces LOOK intimidating, they are pretty simple once you get the hang of it. And then…watch out…they are addicting!!! FYI…if you have smaller kids be warned. There are A LOT of tiny little diamond beads involved. Also FYI…you might join your kids and stay up WAY to late beading:)

• 

• 

This diamond beading turtle is currently in my cart. ONE because it is on sale for around $5 and TWO because LOOK AT THAT LITTLE TURTLE FACE!!! This might be a mama boredom buster purchase:)

Another fun artsy boredom buster are these Paint By Sticker books. They are the same idea as a paint by number, except each piece is a sticker. They have alllll different designs…or course you know we are ALL about the dinosaurs over here. Although I am thinking about grabbing THIS book with vintage travel posters for myself for road trips. Do you see a theme here??? I am a huge nerd that likes to steal my kids’ toys instead of cleaning the house…it’s a problem:)

There is still one more month of summer left, and I still have a few more ideas up my sleeve. Here is a look at what is currently waiting in my shopping cart…

Ethan loves ANYTHING science related, so I think this kaboom science kit will be SUPER fun!! What boy doesn’t love to blow stuff up right?!?! These are a bit more on the spendy side though, so I might wait and try to use these for home school science in the fall. ORRRRR add them to our birthday present idea list.

Magnets, circuits and boomerangs make this Ridiculous Inventions science kit VERY appealing!! I love when kids are playing, but also secretly learning too:)

Ethan has loved these paper airplane books in the past…so I think this spaceship paper airplane book will be a good addition…perfect for when his friends come over to play!! It is perfect because the papers just rip RIGHT out of the book and are ready to make the COOLEST airplanes EVER!! Cool for little boys and also 40 year old little boys:)

• 

• 

Two more books that are currently hanging out in my cart are 50 Science Things To Make And Do and 100 Science Experiments. I think these will make a great addition to our home-school science next year as well…for those days when book learning is NOT going to happen. Speaking of books, we have read some AMAZING read alouds this summer as well. I made a goal of reading to the kids EVERY day this summer…and even though I DID NOT reach that goal by a long shot, we HAVE read some REALLY great books together. I will pop back on next week and share ALL of our current favorite books and audiobooks!! ANDDDD if you need more ideas for making it through the summer with the kiddos at home…check out THIS post with more fun activities and THIS one with some of our favorite board games. Let’s chat soon!! JESSICA