If the long weekends are bringing a chorus of “I’m Bored!” to your ears, remember that the best cure for “the boreds” is hands-on activity. Nothing will get your kiddoes to shake the dust off like an active project. Another movie won’t do: you need some action.
You may offer up suggestions like making cookies, going for a walk or starting/ finishing up an art project. Or you could let your kids tear something apart!
When you need something a little different to offer, head into the basement, garage, or back closet and find an electric appliance that either no longer works, or has been replaced. Pull out a screwdriver set, clear a piece of floor and let the fun begin.
Tip1: Make sure you have phillips screwdrivers on hand- most appliance screws these days are phillips.
Kids of all ages will enjoy pulling out wires, and disconnecting gears of blenders, printers and old DVD players. Almost any type of appliance will work: tools, kitchen stuff, computers.
Tip2: It is our family rule, oft repeated, that no project can ever be plugged into a wall socket. But just to make sure we cut off the cord close to the device. All that extra wire just gets in the way. Remove ALL batteries and make sure there is constant adult supervision.
If your kids get into tearing stuff apart, you’ll find yourself saving all sorts of old devices. You can pick them up from the curb, work, or thrift stores. One of Bluey’s early forays into deconstruction was a hand mixer TRDad brought home from work. We still have parts of it around.
After the appliance is completely disassembled, toss all the ‘coolest’ parts into a box for the next next time your kiddoes claim boredom. Now they can make a sculpture or a robot out of all the bits!