"Be yourself, and you will rarely be bored." - Zack Aaronson
Summer is here and for many of us that means the kids won't be getting on the bus to go to school for 8 hours. Instead, they will be home. Of course, we all love more time with our kids, but we will inevitably hear "Mom, I'm bored" more than a handful of times even if they are signed up for every camp in town (and the surrounding areas). So take an afternoon this week to get your pre-emptive strike ready so when you hear that pathetic "Mom, I'm bored", you go to the closet and hand them their "I'm Bored" Craft Kit in a Pail and let the creativity begin.
All you need is a pail that you can find at your local craft store and some household items to fill it up. Of course you could use a box, jar, beach paill, etc. I started by raiding the closets and pantry in the house. I found and included plastic cups, popsicle sticks, buttons, scrap paper, yarn, excess fabric, feathers, ribbon, wiggly eyes, straws, and styrofoam balls. At the DollarTree I found some pipe cleaners and colored cotton balls and at Michaels I found some $1 craft projects. Include whatever you think would work well for that age. Mine was made for a pre-schooler. Then I made a list with possible ideas to see if they could make the item with the materials in the pail such as a duck, a house, a flower, a cat, etc.
Take a peek of what is in the Lil Man's pail....
And a peek from the top...
Another twist on this "I'm Bored" Craft Kit in a Pail is to put different ideas on pieces of paper, fold them up, and throw them in. When they come to you saying they're bored let the 'boredster' pull a slip of paper from that pail for an idea of what to do. You could make this a fun mix of things and even include a few chores that they could do around the house :). Then we will all be happy (or at least us)!
Add their names to the outside to personalize the pails and you'll be set. You could even take them on road trips. Hope you enjoy and I'd love to hear or see pics of your "I'm bored" Craft Kit in a Pail variations.
Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!
