The three dreaded words of summer vacation… MOM, I’m Bored! I heard that every day last week, even on the days we went to the pool. Growing up is so different now than when I was a kid. For example I had kids to play with no one went to summer camp meaning there were always 10-15 kids at my parents house at all times. My mom would also kick our butts outside at 8am and we wouldn’t go home until the sun was going down. I am pretty sure meals were optional most summer days. Having my own kids there is no way I would let my kids do that I don’t care how old they are, not happening. My kids are more interested in video games which drives me crazy. I think it drives me crazy because I didn’t have a gaming system as a kid so we had to be creative even on the hot days (my brother got a Game Boy when I was in high school otherwise we were a video game free zone). I sat down and thought of all the things we did when we were kids and made a list. I wrote everything on strips of paper, cut them up, folded them and put them in a jar with a tag that says MOM, I’m Bored!
An old candy jar I had. I added some ribbon and a tag to remind them what it is.
I did add things like “clean your room” and “work on a math page” but for the most part it is all fun stuff that I thought they could learn from. I am hoping this saves my sanity this summer 🙂 There are rules associated with the jar because I didn’t want a constant stream of items being made and me left to pick up the mess.
The Rules:
1. There is only one major craft project a day.
2. All items must be picked up and put away or no more crafting.
3. No fighting over any craft item, sharing is important.
4. If mom rejects a project for any reason (either too messy for that day or we don’t have a supply) no fussing or the jar is put away.
5. Have fun!
Who Are You Calling Crafty? 