Wednesday, June 4, 2008

WFMW: The List and the Art Supply Cabinet

Today I'm offering 2 boredom chaser ideas.

Why 2?

Because I'm supposed to be cleaning/doing laundry and it seems that I have 2 brain cells left that each had only one idea.

Idea #1

  • Take a large piece of poster board and a sharpie.
  • On this poster board, write down as many activities as you and the kids can think of that do not in any way involve the TV. Try to keep them simple and something the kids can do on their own.
  • Get two pieces of masking tape and tape that sucker so that it hangs from the top of the set and completely covers the TV screen.
  • Whenever your kids wander in and try to turn on the TV, complaining that they can't see the screen because there's this poster hanging in the way, refer them to "The Great List of Summer Funness" and tell them to pick an activity.
  • The masking tape makes a good hinge, so as soon as the kids are in bed, you can flip the poster out of the way and watch whatever you want. It's pure genius, people.

Idea #2

  • Find a cabinet/drawer/large paper bag.
  • Fill it with art supplies - pom-poms, googly eyes, scissors, feathers, glue, stickers, construction paper, paint with water books, watercolors, foam shapes, etc.
  • Get a large sheet of hard plastic to protect the table. You can also use wax paper and masking tape or those plastic place mats from the baby aisle.
  • Make it available to the kids to make whatever they want as long as they follow two rules - they must use the table protector and they must clean up when they're done. If the rules aren't followed, then the art supplies go into time-out.
You will be amazed at how well this can entertain those kids.

For more ideas to combat summer boredom (and Mommy breakdowns), visit Rocks in My Dryer.

2 comments:

Sherri said...

Great ideas Valerie!

Anonymous said...

That is such a cool idea... I came over from "Cheaper by the Half Dozen" and this is something I'm definitely gonna try! I have a 2-year-old and almost-5-year-old who both enjoy playing with glue, scissors, paper, stickers, etc. We've had an incredibly rainy spring so far and I'm running out of ideas - so thank you!!!