boredom jar

Summer is quickly approaching as we celebrate Memorial Day this weekend and the unofficial start to the season.

I am very much looking forward to relaxed mornings, carefree days, outdoor evenings and, of course, no homework.  What I am not ready for is, "Mom, I'm bored."

Honestly, my boys don't use this phrase too often.  It's not because they can easily find hundreds of things to keep them busy.  It's because they each own one of these:

or these:

But this summer we plan on putting this agreement into place thanks to the idea from Rebecca Cooper at Simple As That:

So I'm thinking we might have a record number of "Mom, I'm bored's" this year.

I'm ready with this:

A simple jar, filled with simple tasks/acitivities, and some simple rules:

The slips are color-coded for individual activities, partner activities (when two or more are bored), and outdoor activities (when it's not too hot or stormy).  They range from chores (clean your junk drawer) to crafty projects (sculpt with Fimo clay), academics (write a cooperative story) to physical activity (run a mile on the treadmill).

There are extra strips so we can add other ideas as we come up with them throughout the summer.

I've got some pretty high hopes for this little jar.  Hoping it's going to keep the boys busy, me from losing my mind, and all of us happy!