When Your Kids Say "I'm Bored"...

I used to hear these two words all the time. I would take the opportunity to assign chores or suggest a game or project, but I finally realized that my kids need to be able to entertain themselves. I can't always be there to give them productive things to do. When I explained this to them, I told them I would expect them to find their own hobbies. And, they did!

Here is a list of activities my children currently busy themselves with when school work and chores are completed.

•  Drawing. Both of my oldest children have a love of drawing. I have purchased several books that teach drawing, and they both check out books from the library on drawing. My son has checked out books on how to draw army vehicles, fighter jets, race cars, jungle animals, and more. My daughter has checked out a book on drawing horses and has become quite adept at drawing them.
• Making comic books. My son has become very interested in reading and making his own comic books. This keeps him busy for hours! He researches the  best way to organize his pages, write a storyline, create characters, and fold and staple them. He has made several in the past few weeks.
• Collections. My son has collections of baseball cards, basketball cards, coins, and stamps. He finds books at the library on the value of these items, researches the best ways to store them and clean them, and is constantly on the look-out for old or rare coins. He also tears the stamps off the mail we receive, soaks them in a plate with a little water to separate the stamp from the envelope, and puts them on his stamp page.
• Magic tricks. My son won a magic kit at our summer reading program at the library. He watched the DVD and put on a magic show for us. My daughter was his assistant. Afterwards, he found books on magic tricks, card tricks, and coin tricks, and he and my daughter will "wow" us with magic shows in the evenings.
• Making jewelry. My daughter has a loom with little plastic bands and makes us all jewelry! She also has some beads and jewelry string and can make some really nice bracelets for us to wear.
• Crochet. Mikaela learned to crochet years ago and recently started it again. She is working on Christmas presents right now. Pot-holders, scarves, and doll blankets are all great beginner projects.
• Outdoor play. Riding bikes, drawing with chalk, and playing whiffle ball are some of our favorite things to do outside. But I also like to give them a chance to use their imagination. They play anything from wild Indians to pioneers to run-aways... I never stifle their imaginations (One of my favorite games from my childhood was "street rats"...) or make fun of what they are playing. In fact, I do my best not to "watch" them or they get embarrassed.
• Card games. This seems obvious, but my children got a book from the library with 101 cards games. We had so much fun trying out new games, figuring out the rules, and making up our own! We also love UNO, and even my 3 year old can match colors and numbers and play with us.

There are so many other things that my kids do to entertain themselves! I hope this list has helped someone who doesn't know what to say when their child says, "I'm bored!"