Screen-Free Summer: 10 Boredom Busters That Actually Work

Boredom is where creativity lives, but there's a gap between 'I'm bored' and the good stuff — and that gap is about twenty minutes of whining. These ideas bridge it.

The list: sidewalk chalk obstacle course, library scavenger hunt, water balloon target practice, cardboard box city, nature color hunt, baking something with three ingredients, a living-room campout, friendship bracelets, a backyard 'restaurant' where kids serve you mud pies, and the classic — a sprinkler and a timer for who can run through the most times.

The secret to all of them: start together, then step back. Your job is launching the activity, not running it. Kids who are slightly under-supervised invent better games.

Keep this list on the fridge. When the whining starts, point at it and say 'pick one.' Works nine times out of ten. The tenth time, they're overtired — just roll with it.