Summer Boredom Busters : No Screen Required

As the school year winds down I/we get really excited for the summer. For me, I love the relaxed mornings, trips to the pool, a little vacation time, and less structure. I also know that we need a couple boredom busters to carry us through the summer because everyone needs a little downtime/ rest time, right? Best thing about this list? It doesn’t require a screen, an outlet, or a cord – hooray! You could re-purpose this for trips, things to do with a sitter, rewards for extra chores, etc.

Here’s what you need to do:

• grab a basket, a bucket, a bag to gather your boredom busters – look for something that you have and can reuse.
• collect existing coloring books, workbooks, and other resources that you already have around the house that you know your kids will enjoy during the summer.
• add some new activities – I like to keep things in a couple categories to captivate the kiddos for an hour or so. Art, strategy, brain exercises, tactile activities, puzzles….
• put together the bucket or basket and HIDE IT until summer – it’ll be a great surprise when the ‘I’m bored’ comments start!

These are all items that we have, have used, or have bought for the summer – I know you and your kids or grandkids, or friends’ kids will love them. This list is best suited for the elementary-aged crowd, but there are definitely some preschool, pre-teen and early teen crossovers here as well.

Kids go crazy for this fun book that contains 50 3-D models of creative and silly monsters. The pages are perforated and tabbed to make construction easier. Papertoy Monster

Star Wars meets paper airplanes. What’s not to love? Star Wars Folded Flyers

Step by step directions make paper airplane making easy and fun! Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes

This book is full of various brain games and puzzles to stump and challenge all minds. Kids Big Book of Games

This puzzle book is so fun! Various mazes, word games, visual and logic puzzles, and more will keep kids busy for hours. Brainiest Insaniest Ultimate Puzzle Book

Fun facts and challenges encourage kids to use their brains in new ways as they learn and solve puzzles. National Geographic Kids Brain Games

These intricate dot to dot puzzles range from 300 to 1400 dots. Intricate and challenging to encourage high level thinking skills. Extreme Dot to Dot Animals

Great for a variety of ages and skill levels, this book is full of fun and thought provoking problems that are sure to engage and challenge. Word Winks

Intricate color by number artwork that is ideal for building concentration and encouraging relaxation. One for animal lovers : Color Counts: Animals

And one that would be great on a road trip : Color Counts: Travel the USA

The element of surprise in this coloring book makes it extra intriguing. Mystery Mosaics: Book One

Who doesn’t love a good maze? The details and twist and turns in this activity book make it extra fun. Extreme Mazes

These simple but intriguing water toys are a blast from the past. Tomy Pelican Water Game

Tomy Dolphin Water Game

Encourage higher level thinking with this ingenious puzzle cube. ThinkFun Adams Cube

This gravity powered logic maze is wonderfully versatile for various ages and skill levels. Gravity Maze

Encourage spatial thinking and logic with this addictive and challenging game. Rush Hour

Mesmerizing and challenging, this three dimensional maze is fun for any age. Perplexus Epic

And of course there needs to be one for me – The Inspired Room Coloring Book – it comes out July 1st, just in time for some lazy summer day coloring 🙂

Have any other favorites to add? Here are a couple more posts that might help you get through the summer!