Activities for Children to Deal with Summer Boredom

The full impact of summer doesn’t hit home until schools actually close for the year. While many parents have the summer planned out with camps and activity classes, it is not an affordable option for many others.

“I am bored. What do I do now?” is a question that often drives a parent to despair.

Here are some tips that can help keep your child busy and at the same time, give you a creative break from mundane
household tasks.

1. Origami:

Origami is the art of paper folding. In Japanese ori stands for folding and kami means paper. The origins of origami are
not clear. However it is known that Origami was mostly used as a traditional art for the amusement of children in Japan.

Origami kits are widely available in the market and in bookstores, with folding instructions that can create simple
to elaborate results.

Some of own favorites are a paper ball, boat, crane, crow and panda. Help your child make an object with plain or colored paper and have him/her color in additional features or decorations.

If you don’t want to step out and buy a kit, there are several excellent websites that offer origami instruction.

http://www.paperfolding.com/diagrams/
This is an excellent paperfolding resource with links to
other sites on the art of origami.

http://www.origami.com/index.html
Scores of designs to try out.

http://home.comcast.net/~meenaks/diagrams/
Another great site with lots of folding designs and
iinstructions.

2. Write a Story:

This is an activity that can be done on the fly, without much preparation or planning. All you need to have handy is a notepad and a pen.

Pick up a sentence or idea (silly or ingenious!) thrown out by your child during conversation. Prompt further, and introduce a new thought, and ask you child to build further on the idea. Take turns at adding to the story. Write it down as you go along. The outcome can be hilarious or a masterpiece. Have your child illustrate it.

3. Crosswords:

Pick a book your child has recently read and build an impromptu crossword. If you don’t have a book handy, build a
crossword that introduces new words to your child. This can also be a great exercise in learning synonyms and antonyms.

Often, the best activities for children are in daily chores around the house. Watering the plants, a summer afternoon spent washing the car, washing vegetables as you prepare dinner, are all activities that can not only keep them cool from contact with water, but lighten your load and make summer a little less unbearable for all. **