Boredom Buster

Today I made something for my kids called a No-More-Boredom box... or a crazy can. All you do is cut a bunch of index cards in half... and on each card write an activity. Get your kids to decorate the box while you write up some cards. I found it helpful to list the supplies they would need to do the project right on the card... that is unless it is self explanatory. You can list toys and games they already play with, crafts, science experiments, pretend prompts... whatever you come up with. You can even put small toys or craft projects right in the box. The Busy Books series by Kuffner has some really great ideas.... they even have a list in the back called Crazy Can Activities that you can pick from. Any rainy day or activity book would work, however, or just use your own ideas. Here are just a few of the long list of activities I put in the box:

Sock/beanbag basketball
Doll and baby play
Hand art (trace hand and decorate)
Indoor tent
Musical instruments
Funny face (cut out noses, eyes, etc from magazines and create your own funny face)
Counting (have kids count all the light bulbs or canned goods... anything really)
Puzzles
Hide and Seek (hide a timer and have kid find it using the sound of the ticking)
Sidewalk chalk
string beads
Lego mania
crayon rubbings
bubble play
washing plastic toys
cleaning the windows (with a spray bottle filled with vinegar and water)
painting the house (with water of course)

And the list goes on and on and on.... I think I made about 50+ cards... and as a result my daughter is quietly absorbed in drawing pictures of animals in her own homemade animal science book.