“Moooooooooom! I’m booooooooooooooored!” is a well-used phrase in my (and maybe your?) house. Wouldn’t it be great if there were an easy way for the bored party to find something to do? Enter the “Bored Jar”! Simple to create, and fun to use, this jar holds dozens of to-do ideas for a bored child (or grown-up). Simply write a chore or activity on a slip of paper, wooden chip, popsicle stick, or other material and place it in the jar. When you need something to do, reach in, pull out an activity at random, and voila! No more boredom.
Some ideas to include are:
- Vacuum the dining room
- 10-minute dance party
- Do a load of laundry
- Dust the baseboards
- Draw a picture of your family
- Read a book to your younger or older sibling, or to a stuffed animal
- Clean the mirrors in the house
- Clean all the tech screens in the house
- Listen to music
- Do 1-minute of jumping jacks
Making the Bored Jar can be a family activity. Have your kids help you come up with ideas to write down. If your kids are old enough to write, they can help you write down the ideas. If they are too young, they can help you decorate the jar (or bucket, or box – whatever it is you decide to use).
Next time the child in your house complains of being bored, hand them the Bored Jar!
Check out these great books about boredom, and ideas to combat it: