Evelyn Rayner: I’m Bored Activity Cards

It doesn’t take long for my children to tell me they’re bored, especially during the summer. When our days are less scheduled and the kids have way more free time, it’s only a matter of time before I hear… “Mom, I’m bored.”

For many years my response to the “mom, I’m bored” complaint was to pull out our list of chores and start assigning jobs to the kids. However, that did not make me a fun mom. My solution? The I’m bored activity jar keeps kids entertained for hours. One hot summer day I sat down at the dining room table and wrote as many activities as I could think of on index cards.

85 Activities to keep the kids from saying "Mom I'm bored" this summer. Boredom busters.

When I’m involved in a project my default response to the kids is either play a computer game or watch a movie. While an occasional movie or computer game isn’t a bad thing, it can quickly become the default activity in our home and I’d rather my kids do something else.

Bust Boredom with I’m Bored Activity Cards

With the help of my kids, I came up with 85 boredom busting, kid friendly activities. Print your personal copy of the cards on business card sheets (Avery 5371). If you don’t want to purchase business cards, print on card stock and cut them out yourself. If you plan on using them for several years I recommend laminating the cards.

The activity cards are easy to use. First, cut out the cards and place them in a jar, basket or box. Ask your children to decorate the card container. When your kids are bored ask them to pick a card from the jar.

The card they pick is their activity for the next 30 minutes!

Since life is busy, I’m sharing the activity cards my family created with you. When you download the activity card file you’ll get 85 activity cards along with 15 blank cards. Use the blank cards to add your family’s fun activities. There are indoor and outdoor activities so it might be helpful to use two jars or color code the cards so your kids don’t pick an outdoor activity on a rainy day.

See all of The Happy Housewife’s Free Homeschool Printables here.