If you find yourself spending any amount of time with your grandchildren this summer, you’ll inevitably encounter a moment (or perhaps many moments) when you’ll hear the dreaded phrase, “I’m bored.” Maybe this will happen on the third consecutive rainy vacation day, or maybe it’s the first thing out of their mouth whenever they find out screen time isn’t an option. Either way, it’s a good idea to have some fun and engaging grandkid activities prepared for these moments so you don’t enter the exasperating cycle of telling them to “find something to do.”

Strategies to Employ with the Resistant Child

As karmic punishment for some terrible transgression in a past life, two out of my three children are utterly averse to doing craft projects with me. As an avid crafting enthusiast, I have a closet filled with more crafting supplies than your local Michaels, and yet getting my kids to make something themselves is like trying to squeeze blood from a stone: inconceivable and exhausting. 

If you have a grandchild who seems to prefer whining about the state of their boredom over doing something about it, you may need to resort to psychological warfare. (I’m only kind of kidding.) Here are a few strategies I’ve found helpful in getting my project-averse kids to participate, mixed in with some advice from the parenting website, The Conversation:

  • Schedule activity time: For some kids, having a set amount of time that they can anticipate being devoted to crafting or games or what-have-you makes it easier for them to relent and join in. You can even help by periodically reminding them in advance that they’ll be responsible for choosing what they want to do — that way, when the time comes, they’ll already have some ideas for how they want to spend it.
  • Provide less appealing alternatives: Trying to convince a reluctant child to play creatively on their own? Nothing will get their creative juices flowing faster than threatening to make them do non-preferred activities instead. If given a choice between playing with their toys or vacuuming the house, most kids will opt for the former. Worst-case scenario, you end up with a grumpy grandchild, but the chores will be done.
  • Help them get started: Kids’ lives are typically structured and organized for them, which is why they often struggle with unstructured time. Sometimes, they just need a little assistance getting started. That might involve helping them to make a list of preferred activities, getting materials ready, or even providing some hands-on instruction until they’re ready to do it on their own.
child cuts colored paper strips
Each slip of colored paper in a “Boredom Busters” jar could correspond to an activity category. (Image: Chris Rogers from Getty Images, via Canva.com)

Craft Ideas:

A quick Google or Pinterest search will reveal a plethora of craft ideas for kids of all ages. Our best advice is to refine your search terms to find a craft that will appeal to your grandchildren’s ages, abilities and special interests, as well as what kinds of materials you might already have around the house. 

Alternatively, here is a brief list of crafts that we found to be uniquely cool, on-trend, and appealing to even the most screen-addicted, activity-resistant little demons (sorry, children):

  • Boredom Busters Wreath or Jar: You can occupy your grandchild with a project while ensuring they will have project ideas for the future at the same time! Have them make a list of activities they would like to do, and then help them sort each activity into a category, such as Rainy Day, At Home, At the Pool/Beach, Field Trip, On My Own, With a Friend, etc. Then, assign each category a color. Next, depending on how crafty they are or what supplies you have on hand, make a system that enables them to select an appropriate activity at random. You can have them write the ideas on slips of the corresponding color paper and mix them up in a jar (which they could also decorate), or they could paint clothespins or clips and then attach them to a wreath frame — see crafting website Design Improvised for an example. Alternatively, they could create a Summertime Scrapbook to record summer memories that have already happened, leaving some of the later pages themed for activities they hope to do from their list.
  • Backpack Charms: If my elementary- and middle-school-aged kids are any indication, this is a trend that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Kids are currently obsessed with collecting unique “tags” or charms to dangle off their backpack zippers. They’re silly, and they frequently get lost, but they can also really help you avoid accidental bag swaps at summer camp or day care. Have children select the lightweight toys they want to use, and then your only challenge is deciding how you will MacGuyver them onto a string or keychain. (The link above has instructions and advice for a few methods they recommend.) Then, have the kids paint or embellish the dangly toys to their heart’s delight.
  • Pool Noodle Pom-Pom Launcher: This Pom-Pom Launcher is the answer to every beleaguered mom’s prayers. It is a simple, cheap craft that kids can make themselves, and then have fun engaging in battle without inflicting any damage. (As any parent can tell you, that’s the idea behind Nerf guns, but those bullets really do sting at close range.) If you don’t want the kids shooting at each other (or you), set up household items as targets. Even better, they could make their own targets, like these cute monsters made out of Kleenex boxes.
  • Ice Dyeing: According to many preteens, tie-dyeing is out; ice dyeing is in. Ice dyeing is a method of permanently coloring a pretreated fabric using ice and fabric dyes. Essentially, the fabric is washed and kept damp, and then pretreated with salt, vinegar or soda ash, depending on the fabric and dye that you use. Then ice is placed onto bunched fabric and powder dye is applied to the ice. As the ice melts, it creates a watercolor effect, which is pretty neat.
  • DIY Foam Paint: Foam paint is a sensory delight, super fun to play with, and creates 3D artwork that kids love. All it takes is shaving cream, Elmer’s glue, and food coloring. (Just be warned: food coloring will stain.)
  • Seashell Crafts: Bored at the beach? You can have kids make any number of seashell crafts, such as picture frames, painted shells, necklaces, critters or crowns.
kids with paper airplanes
Kids could use a variety of paper airplanes to compete for furthest flight distance, longest air time, coolest tricks, best unique design, etc. (Image: Stel Antic from corelens, via Canva.com)

Activity Ideas

Many of these activities are a bit arts-and-craftsy, yes, but they’re still likely to appeal to kids who aren’t as artistically inclined. Some of these suggestions are hands-on — good for grandparent-grandchild bonding — and others will buy you some quiet time. 

  • Fort Building – On a rainy day, a fort can be made from couch cushions, blankets, furniture… anything in the house is fair game. On fair weather days, kids could build an outdoor fort. 
  • Cooking Class – Ask them to name their absolute favorite food, and then teach them how to make it themselves from start to finish. (This will also help you answer the question “What’s for lunch?”)
  • Legos – You can buy a new set (which can get expensive), or have the kids dig through their existing bins of random building blocks and challenge them to make something — either something from their imagination or a useful item like a napkin holder, pencil cup or picture frame.
  • Flight School: Paper airplanes come in all different permutations, from the simple design most people memorized in grade school, to more complex trick models. Print out instructions for folding a variety of paper airplanes, and then issue a challenge: compete for furthest flight distance, longest air time, coolest tricks, best unique design, etc. Or you can use poster board to make a target with a point system for the planes to fly through.
  • Toy Donation: Announce that it’s time for the kids to go through their toys and pick out the ones they don’t play with anymore, marking them for donation. Not only will this help to declutter the playroom, but odds are good that they’ll rediscover some toys they haven’t seen in a while, and actually play with them.
  • Sponge Water Bombs: It often seems like a good idea to let your kids have a water balloon battle. But after doing all the work to fill the balloons, the battle only lasts a few minutes, inevitably ends with someone in tears, and you’re left with rainbow-colored balloon shrapnel all over the yard. Instead, have the kids help make these reusable “water bombs” out of sponges. The supplies don’t cost much, they’re soft, and kids can reuse them over and over.
  • Walk with a Purpose: To get everyone out of the house, plan a walk with a purpose. You could challenge kids to pick up litter, do a nature scavenger hunt, or find something from each color of the rainbow.

Also: When in doubt, go to your local library. They often have kids’ activities, special events, crafting tools you can use that you might not have at home, and, oh yeah, the ultimate boredom busters: books.

row of falling dominoes
Dominoes are great for kids. You can teach them how to play the game — or just have them set up elaborate structures to knock down. (Image: wragg from Getty Images Signature, via Canva.com)

Game Ideas:

Sometimes the best way to beat summertime boredom is to resort to the classics from our own childhoods. (Well, within reason… unfortunately, society’s tolerance of unattended children in public has gone the way of the dodo, so we can’t just put the kids outside and tell them to come home when the streetlights go on.) 

  • Classic Card Games: Go Fish, War, Slap Jack, Old Maid, Uno, Spoons. Or, play our current family favorite: Taco-Cat-Goat-Cheese-Pizza.
  • Bingo: The internet is filled with downloadable Bingo templates you can print out and use. As an added twist, you could play DJ for “music bingo.” You play a song and the players need to identify it before the chorus to mark it off. (If you have granddaughters, by the way, a Taylor Swift-themed music bingo will be a huge hit.)
  • Board Games: Board games/bored games, po-tay-to/po-tah-to, right? Even rental beach homes usually have a selection to choose from, because sometimes what a family needs is a rousing game of Monopoly. (We lie. Monopoly is fun for no one. But you get the idea.) Current family favorites of ours: Scrabble, Monopoly Deal, Castle Panic, Labyrinth.
  • Pool “Olympics”: You can come up with your own competitions like “best cannonball,” fastest lap, etc., and appoint country-affiliated judges. (The German judge will always award lower scores — them’s the rules.)
  • Matching Games: Younger kids adore matching games. They can be purchased, or kids could make their own personalized set.
  • Guess “What’s in the Box?”: You could play this game several ways. First step, get a cardboard box and place a mystery item inside. You could blindfold players and have them touch the item to guess what it is, you could play 20 questions, or you could do it like Jimmy Fallon does on his show, and try to stump each other by giving false clues. 
  • Red Light, Green Light: Popular with big and little kids alike, this game is great for getting them to kill off some energy while you stand still. You can play in the backyard, indoors or at the pool. (Variations on how to play are here.)

Top image: Photodjo from Getty Images, via Canva.com

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