What to Do Out of School?

10 Things To Do Out of School

Bet I know what you’re thinking:  

That still did not solve my problem! What is it we will do for these hours?

Let me offer ten general suggestions.

These are great for school holidays, summer breaks, or rainy days. Or worldwide quarantines.

Remember:  Have a plan, announce it, get things together, and keep it interesting. 

First, do meals at the table differently. 

That alone can change the mood.  Use special plates for a meal.  Make pancakes together.  Cut food into shapes, or serve different foods in small bowls.  Got any leftover paper party plates? Now is the time! 

Second, make a tent.

If you have a tent or teepee, get it out. If you don’t, just grab a large sheet and drape it over whatever you can position — dining room chairs, old science fair backboards, anything tall and stable. 

Separate tents can be very helpful for testy children.

Inside the tent, the supplies can be tailored to the game. Is it a fort or hideout? A boxcar on a train? Let the ideas develop and go with it. Supply appropriate snacks, and maybe a phone or tablet. Use flashlights, walkie talkies, stuffed animals, even books.

Or set it up to view the television and watch a movie.

Third, review your board games and puzzles. 

If it’s been a while, maybe someone has grown to the next level and can play a game or work a puzzle they couldn’t before.

Five, do an outdoor project together. 

Maybe it’s time to get your potting soil into the outdoor pots, maybe even plant something.  Do you need a hole somewhere? Weeds pulled?  Give someone a shovel they can handle and pull up a chair.

Six, do an indoor project together.

Make something with paint or clay, try preparing a snack recipe together, or teach a new skill.

Seven, Read.  

Really.  Read a new book. Or an old one. Start a chapter book by reading aloud, continue it each day. Sometimes this is a new habit that needs to be “warmed up” and coaxed a bit. But children love to be read to. It’s so healthy.

Eight, Research something interesting.

Look online and find out about a different country, or the ocean floor, or dinosaurs, or gemstones, or factories. Maybe afterward you can make a book or a model, or color a picture, or plan a meal.

Nine, Go to a park.

Take your hand wipes, maybe meet a friend, and have fun.  Whether there’s a germ threat or not, playgrounds aren’t sanitary.  When you’re finished you need to wash the bird poo and the squirrel fur off your hands. Always.

Ten, just play.

Yep.  Ride bikes, roll around in the grass, squirt water guns, use some sidewalk chalk, or push little trucks around and make loud noises. Use a long rope to make a shape on the ground — a rocket, a plane, or a ship. 

You may find the little ones are delighted to enjoy these activities and may ask to repeat them. That’s a double win, right? And save a few ideas for later, setting a great pattern of solving the boredom.