“He who seeks rest finds boredom. He who seeks work finds rest.” - Dylan Thomas
July is National Anti-Boredom Month. It is a fitting month for it, too. After all, students have been out of school for a few weeks, and the novelty of having endless spans of days to lounge around and not do things is growing tedious. But boredom need not be the end result. Rather, allow it to become the impetus to begin engaging activities, whether they be work, as Dylan Thomas encourages, or other forms of enrichment.
Not sure what to do? Use this blog post as a launching off point to help you collect some ideas, but don’t stop here. Long summer days and warm weather mean the sky’s the limit (unless your heart’s desire is to build a snowman, that is!). We hope these ideas will inspire you to come up with a few more of your own. If you do, please share them with us! We can all use suggestions to stave off the dreaded, “I’m bored! There’s nothing to do!”
Without further ado, here are a few suggestions to boot the boredom beast to the curb!
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Start a summer book club in your neighborhood. Pick a fun, summery book to engage young minds. A great place to mine for book suggestions is Sarah Mackenzie’s Read-Aloud Revival.
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On a particularly hot day, set up the sprinklers in the yard and churn some old-fashioned ice cream. This recipe doesn’t require a machine, but it does take a kid or two to help it along the way!
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Make homemade bubbles and see who can blow the largest bubble.
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Start a photography club. A great book for learning more about digital photography is Better Photo Basics: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Taking Photos Like a Pro.
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Learn how to knit or crochet. There are tons of free videos on the web that will get you up and running in no time. And then you can donate your pieces to charities such as Project Linus. Make it even more fun by starting a club!
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Visit a new park in your area. If you’re doing the photography club, assign everyone a photo to capture.
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Camp in the Great (backyard) Outdoors! Pitch a tent, invite some friends, and roast hotdogs and marshmallows around a fire.
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Start a culinary club and create cuisine from around the world or around the nation. A few books to help spark your imagination include Eat Your Way Around the World and Eat Your Way Through the U.S.A.
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Teach yourself how to watercolor using a book such as Paint This Book!: Watercolor for the Artistically Undiscovered.
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Invite friends over for an old-fashioned game night. Have each person bring a favorite board game and snack to contribute to the fun.
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Having a rainy day? Take those couch cushions, pillows, tables, and blankets, and build an awesome fort!
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Become a tourist in your home town. Pull up your Chamber of Commerce website and see what hidden gems your town has to offer. Throughout the summer, visit a few of them.
We hope these ideas have inspired you to bust boredom before it begins by trying something new and imaginative. Do you have any ideas you can share with us? Leave them in the comments. We would love to add to the list so that we all have a bank of suggestions for when the days grow long.
