One of my favorite phrases, and one I tell my children when they say they're bored is, "Only boring people get bored". I saw this quote somewhere many years ago and have used it ever since. In a nutshell this quote is saying that you need to use your imagination, think outside the box, empower yourself to learn to occupy your time- don't BE boring. And while I've enjoyed this time to slow down and spend more quality time with my family, this time has also allowed myself and my children to really explore what we are passionate about and what brings us joy, outside of work, school, and activities. I think for our family, we've all been going at a 'Too-fast' pace for too long.
This new way of life has probably effected my daughter more than anything. She's 14 and she's a competitive gymnast. She's been in the sport for over 9 years, and while gymnastics offers many positives, it's year around and very consuming. She trains 20 hours a week on top of school, studying, etc. This sport has left her with very little time to "be bored", but it's also left her with very little time to develop a hobby, or a love of something outside the gym.
The tears were many the first week. Imagine such a structured life for as long as you can remember, and then nothing. Nothing. We talked a lot during this time and I tried to throw out so many suggestions: knitting, painting, online piano lessons, writing, you name it. Nothing could fill this void for her. Of course as time has gone on, she's settled in. She's reading more and dancing. She's been on many bike rides and a picnic with her baby brother. She's hammock'ed and tried her hand at the piano. And she made a "Bored Jar".
If you're like me and you're trying to help your child fill the void they're experiencing with social distancing, a Bored Jar is exactly what your family needs. Simply find an empty Ball jar or any empty/washed condiment jar. Feel free to decorate your Bored Jar with stickers, labels, signatures of your children. We personally had several popsicle sticks here at home, so we wrote down our fun and simple activities on each stick. You can paint the sticks or keep them plain. You can also write ideas down on little pieces of paper. This is your family's Bored Jar, make it what you want.
Our family has several years between our oldest and youngest child ,so we needed to come up with several ideas that were tailored to school-age and teen-aged children. The popsicle sticks were color coded accordingly. Below you'll find ideas for preschoolers and beyond.
Some of the ideas for preschool and grade school aged children are:
Some activities for teens might include:
As you can see the ideas are many. Just use your imagination, let your ideas flow, and surprise your kiddos with a Bored Jar. They'll love it and more importantly, they won't "be bored".