We are almost at the half-way through summer point. As a child, I remember feeling like the days were racing by, getting away from me too quickly. I love summer and always have. My son just asked how much time we had left, and the disappointment was palpable when I told him we were half-way through. Half empty, half full — however you look at it, it is halfway over.
In the interest of filling each of the days we have left with lots of fun, I’ve got a list of summer “boredom busters” to help make the most of the rest of your summer. These ideas are more for the rainy days in which you can’t be at the pool or nights for which you don’t have plans.
Tie Dye t-shirts: This is a fun and relatively easy activity. Hobby Lobby has a kit for $29.99 (and you can use your 40% off coupon from the website); it has everything you need to make some fun tie dye t-shirts, dresses, and anything your kids can get their hands on. My kids love doing this.
Make your own popsicles: Fellow CMB contributor Kimberly Casey wrote this great post about making summer popsicles with some yummy recipes. This is an inexpensive and fun activity for a rainy day.
Drive-in Movie: We are lucky to have a drive-in movie theater a short drive from Chattanooga. The Wilderness Theater in Trenton, GA has two screens and usually shows a G rated or kid-friendly movie on at least one of the screens. This one is better for older kids because it is a late night; movies start at 9:45.
Painting Fun at Home: This one is easy (and maybe a little messy), but you can get canvases at the Dollar Tree or a value pack at Hobby Lobby and have a paint party at home. Depending on the age of your kids, anything from finger painting with washable paints to getting acrylic paints and brushes can be a fun time for all. We have also used rocks to paint and left them around town for people to find.
Virtual Reality Fun: This is a new one (or at least new one for us), but we just happened upon Adventure Sports Innovation right next to Coolidge Park and checked it out. It is so much fun! From virtual hang gliding to walking a balance beam “100 feet up,” this is a super cool adventure to check out. They also rent electric scooters, motorized paddle boards and other fun things.
Friendship Bracelets: This is a blast from the past for me, but I headed to Walmart and got embroidery thread, plastic thread holders, a box to hold everything, and taught my kids the fine art of friendship bracelet making. We have spent many a summer day making friendship bracelets. This YouTube video gives step-by-step instructions on five different bracelet techniques.
Sprinklers and Slip ‘n Slide: There’s really nothing as fun as a slip n slide in the summer. Grab the slip ‘n slide or some fun sprinklers, and spend the hot afternoons cooling off with some backyard fun.
Game Night: I imagine I am organized enough and have enough “fun mom” in me to do this once a week or once a month, but it really ends up being once a year. In a perfect world, I would love to sit around and have game night with the kids once a week. My kids are eight, six and four, and you have to pick games that are age appropriate, which is tough when they are really young. We like Uno a lot. A friend suggested Tenzi, which is a dice game we haven’t gotten to try yet, but she says her kids love it. Charades and Pictionary are other fun ones.
Library: The library has fun planned activities as well as tons of books to encourage your kids to read this summer. On a rainy day, head to the library to explore the awesome book titles or catch a planned activity.
Catch Fireflies: Sometimes trying to plan some big activity or event, we miss the little, sweet, fun ideas that are so simple. I put this one the list to remind myself to stop and do the little stuff, and just enjoy the moment. Watching the kids catch fireflies, make mud pies, and splash in puddles on a rainy day can be some of the best summer moments.
Ask Questions: Sometimes it’s fun to sit around and ask questions together. If you could have one super power, what would it be and why? If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be? What is your favorite thing about yourself? It can be really fun to see what everyone’s answers are.
Water Balloon/Squirt Gun Fight: Text the neighbors and get everyone to bring their favorite squirt gun, or buy the Bunch O Balloons packs from Target or Walmart and have a neighborhood water balloon or squirt gun fight.
There are so many things Chattanooga has to offer: amazing hikes, water adventures on the lake or the river, the Aquarium, Creative Discovery Museum, the Zoo. We are surrounded by endless fun activities for the kids, but some days it is fun to relax together and just enjoy the downtime. Hopefully these ideas get you started!
