Rocks in My Dryer sent out a much-understood plea (for herself and other fellow moms with kids on the brink of being at home all summer) for boredom busters.

Well, I do have a very lengthy list of boredom busters that I run to frequently, but many of these things are geared towards littler ones. I have a feeling once my kids are old enough to begin telling me they’re bored (maybe around age 10-ish), I’ll just put a broom in one hand and a sponge in the other and tell them to help clean the house. (*grin*) Tell me….does this really work?

But for now, summers can be all about FUN…..and so here are some of the fun things we do on a regular basis as well as things we hope to do this summer together:

- Make lick-and-stick “sweet stickers” (what girl doesn’t love stickers!?)

- Make flubber or goop.

- Throw a doll’s birthday party. Go all out — streamers, balloons, re-gifted presents, even cake. I did this 3-4 times a summer as a little kid…one of my most fun summer memories!

- Camp out in the yard — or in the living room. Put on a nature sounds CD, eat by lantern-light, and make s’mores (in the toaster oven if inside).

- Bake cookies for an elderly or shut-in neighbor.

- Go on an icy treasure hunt…in the bathtub.

- Listen to books on CD, download vintage kiddie records, or story-time podcasts.

- Look through family photo albums or scrapbooks….or watch family home movies. Our kids love this.

- Make soap. These easy glycerin alphabet soaps look like fun!

- Bubbles, bubbles, bubbles! We can’t seem to keep enough bubble solution around here. There are some great homemade bubble mixes over at Family Focused Fun.

- Subscribe to Highlights magazine. For me growing up, this magazine left no excuses for boredom! Stories, games, even crafts (my favorite). And now they even have a preschool version!

- Visit a local fruit orchard or farm. Go on a tour; pick berries; eat ice cream!

- Have fun with shadows. (Thanks, FamilyFun magazine!) Have the kids try to: Hide from their own shadows….shake hands with someone else’s shadow….touch someone’s shadow with their own….make their shadow do things they can’t (like touch the top of a tree or house)….fit their shadows inside others’ shadows….turn his shadow into letter shapes…. OR, go all out and do these elaborate shadow puppets. What a show that’d be.

Go read about tons more summertime boredom busters at Rocks in My Dryer. I’ll meet ya there!