Summer to do List

"I'm bored!" If you are a parent, you have undoubtedly heard this from your children at one time or another. At the start of each summer, children are excited about all of the free time that they have, but as summer wears on, they often become bored and restless. One way to help them to alleviate boredom is to post a list of things, large and small, that they can do to keep themselves occupied. Here are a few ideas:

Outdoor Fun

• Plant a garden.
• Take a walk.
• Skip Rope.
• Play hopscotch.
• Weave flower stems into chains to wear.
• Ride bikes.
• Go for a swim.
• Lay back and study the clouds.
• Give your dog a bath.
• Draw pictures.
• Gather flowers.
• Practice tai chi.
• Go stargazing and look for shooting stars.
• Try to identify the constellations.
• Take your dog for a walk.
• Perfect your cartwheel technique.
• Have a lemonade stand.
• Organise a garage sale.
• Camp in your backyard.
• Go roller-blading.

Indoor Fun

• Paint a picture.
• Write a letter to a faraway friend.
• Start a scrapbook.
• Do your hair in a funny way.
• Read to a younger sibling.
• Write a list of things that you love about your mum and then give it to her.
• Clean your room.
• Bake cookies.
• Paint your nails.
• Make friendship bracelets for your best friends.
• Write a story.
• Surprise someone in your family by doing their chores for them.
• Tie ribbons in your dog's fur.
• Read a book.
• Make up new lyrics for songs that you know.
• Call your grandparents just to chat.
• Make a collage using pictures from old magazines.
• Try a new recipe.
• Rearrange the furniture in your bedroom.
• Draw pictures of your family members.
• Look at all of your old baby pictures.
• Take a long bubble-bath.
• Serve your parents dinner as if they were at a restaurant.
• Make jewellery using beads and string.

Fun with Friends

• Write a play, practice it, and then put on a show.
• Organise a neighbourhood talent show.
• Wash cars and donate the money you make to a children's hospital.
• Parade up and down your street wearing homemade costumes.
• Visit a nursing home and sing songs for the residents.
• Organise a neighbourhood "Olympics" and award ribbons to the winners.
• Have a night time campfire and roast marshmallows.
• Tell spooky stories.
• Organise a multi-family dinner party.
• Act out scenes from your favourite books or movies.

Making Lists

Encourage your children to create their own lists of things to do, from silly to serious. Summer is fleeting, so make the most of it by encouraging each member of the family to accomplish some of their goals each year. By looking over the lists that your children make, you can get a pretty good idea of the things that they hope to do. Remember, it's summer, so enjoy!