People of earth, I bring you tidings of great joy.
If you are a reader of my comment section, you’ll recall some of us were talking about Linette Horst’s Boredom Buster Jar, and what a lifesaver it would be for the summer. After communicating with each other, Linette and I have decided to let you in on the fun.
Linette spent hours gathering more than 300 ideas for summertime activities for her own children, and one other family she loved. Then she realized other moms could benefit from her list as well. She gave a few sets as gifts, shared them with extended family, and so on.
Her activities include things like doing a chore, making a craft, playing a game, doing something outside, researching a new idea, or having fun with food. Most ideas are free, most use supplies commonly found in a household, and adult assistance is minimal. The activities are designed for ages 4-12; so obviously younger children will require more assistance than older ones for things like reading a story or making cookies. Only a few ideas are duplicated.
Linette is concerned about sending glass jars in the mail (running the risk of breaking them), and about cutting thousands of slips of paper. So what we are offering is the colorful, full-page list of ideas, for you to cut up into your own jar. However, if you know Linette personally and would like to arrange a pick-up for a filled glass jar, she would be happy to negotiate on that.
Linette is offering one package free of charge on my blog (winner chosen at random). She is selling additional packages for $10. I think that’s a great price for what the set includes:
- Thirteen colorful pages with over 300 activities
- A supplies list for items you might not have on hand
- An adorable vinyl decal to put on your own jar (“Mom I’m Bored” as pictured)
- Free shipping to anywhere in the United States
This would make a wonderful gift for a young family – perhaps for a busy mom-friend, your pastor’s wife, a secret sister, your children’s Sunday school teacher, or anyone else you’d like to bless. If you save the slips of paper, you can use them again and again.
I received a Boredom Jar as a gift from Linette and I’m so excited to let my children start using it. Plus my house will get cleaned along the way, from what I can tell…
If you would like to order a set for $10, please contact Linette Horst at [email protected]. Put “Boredom Jar” or something similar in the subject line, to avoid the suspicion of being a spammer. (You wouldn’t want that.)
If you would like to enter the giveaway drawing, please leave a comment below. I always like to require something of you when you enter a giveaway (nothing ventured, nothing gained) – so this time, please tell me one thing your children are good at doing on their own: something fun/ creative/ thoughtful/ skilled/ helpful/ or anything like that. If you do not have children, think of “the children for whom you intend this jar” and tell me what they’re good at.
And yes, you can wait to order your own set until you hear if you won this giveaway. {Grin.} Again, the email address for contacting Linette is [email protected].
Giveaway ends in one week, at midnight on Wednesday, July 5, 2017. Open to any person with a US mailing address. Please note that neither giveaway nor purchased set includes a glass jar. Feel free to share with friends who may be interested. Winner will be chosen by random.org.
Hi! I’m a mom of two girls living in the south…so gardening is over early in the summer n we get bored!:) love this already made list!:) my girls are creative…this morning it was stick fishing rod n paper fish (with magnets to catch fish) n now a paper lantern is in the making! We go thru lots of paper, glue, tape and yarn!:)
My older children are often found reading or playing piano. My younger ones are good at playing outside. I have some wonderful bakers and the 5 and 8 year old boys love to push-mow.
How fun! Since I know Linette, I’m sure she came up with some great ideas. I’m not quite to where I need this, but it’s too tempting to see if random.org will choose me anyway.
Isaiah (nearly 21 months) is good at recognizing crumbs or real dirt or dead ants and flies and delivering them to the trash can. He can also help his daddy put on shoes, handing him socks and shoes, usually one at a time on request. He names various animals he thinks he sees when he is eating bread or a cookie and bites it into different shapes.
Timothy (one week) is good at crying on his own. He can also eat on his own, thankfully, and sleeps alone some of the time. 🙂
Congratulations Kathryn. I hadn’t heard that your new one had arrived. Say hi to James for us.
I would love to win this! My daughter does a great job of cleaning!
I love this idea! My daughter is good at cleaning & my son does a great job mowing the lawn & my youngest 2 spend lots of time playing with their pet kittens.
My boys (8 and 12) are great at building creative things out of legos; my 4 year old loves to draw and my 14 year old daughter often cleans up and organizes the house without being told.
I love this idea! Just the ticket for the hot summers of the South where we stay inside in the AC! My 2 girls, 11 & 13, do baking, laundry, cleaning, piano, and reading on their own, mostly without being reminded 🙂 My three little boys are good at making a mess inside and out! The 7 year old is good at cleaning up if he can use a trike and wagon. He likes to bottle feed the baby calf. The 5 year old gathers eggs and the 2 year old feeds the chickens.
I would love this for my sister-in-law’s tribe… (10, almost 9(twins), & 7). They are good at making waffles, doing dishes, and playing paper dolls:) It was a long spring while their mom was confined to the couch with morning sickness.
I’m certainly not going to brag about my 5 and 3 year old girls. Just this morning, I made a list of things their responsible for. Kinda like retraining… ? Did you wash your hands after using the bathroom??!! Anyway they will play doll and school spontaneously; otherwise prompting is necessary.
Love this idea! Please, don’t enter me in a draw. I did something similar with my class of first graders during our dreary February and March as a spare time activity. It takes time to think of all those ideas. So, readers , $10 is a steal!
My three girls spend hours of imaginary play with a family of small dolls several small cars and a doll house. They do well with dish washing and helping with the cleaning . This summer so far it is still fun to help mom weed in the garden. This sounds like a wonderful idea !!
Great idea! My daughter six loves reading and creating artworks for all her connections. My son 3 loves “fixing” things. The youngest tries to keep up with her siblings.
Yayy!!!! This is so fun! I actually have one of these myself! Aaaaaannnnnnddddd I will add it’s very worth ur money!
Because of this I discovered that my 6 year old son, Scott can wash the car entirely by himself…and I couldn’t even find any skippers!!!
Cherie 3 has enjoyed making cards for her friends…also another “Jar inspired” accomplishment!
And Shane my little 1 year old will one day benefit from this too, as it is able to be used over and over and over again!
I would love to win this as a gift for a friend!?
Love this! Would love to win it for the sis in law who is living in a camper over the summer, with her 5 children ages 2-10, while they build a house. The boys love to build things with construction scraps.
I would love to win this! My children can play outside for hours and my eight yr old is good at washing dishes!
Just what this household needs:) our oldest loves 2 sew and do crafts.she’s good at baking and the rest are good at demolishing whatever she makes. Our “middle”2 girls can do amazing cleanup if the minds are willing and can help play with their 2 SN siblings .we have only 1 son and he loves 2 draw and sing and his “little ” sis is good at cutting up anything including books.This” boredom”list would take some of the brainwork out of deciding what to have them do next!.. I love ur blog!!
My 5 and 6 year old are good at taking clothes off the wash line and putting folded laundry away. Since laundry seems to be never ending, this chore can occupy time quite often! 🙂 The boredom jar looks like a summer lifesaver.
This looks like a lot of fun! We have three boys (8, 6 & 4) and a 2 year old daughter. I’ve always said our boys will make great business partners someday; the oldest will write up the blueprints, the second one will do the work, and the youngest will be the boss. Their sister will bring them cookies and sing to boost morale 😉
My children are good at making paths of pillows, chairs, blankets, couches,bins, etc. They run/climb in circles without touching the floor because it’s lava, of course. Or alligators. You get the picture.
I just came across your blog the other day, and am enjoying reading on here! I love this idea too! I have 5 girls and 2 boys- oldest is 10. We live in Honduras but do have a States mailing address. ? My children will often tell me to go to my bedroom and I’m not allowed to come out till they say. They get the house all cleaned up before they tell me I may come out. (Although i must be honest- they do their fare share of complaining about cleaning up when they’re not in the mood!) Our oldest, a boy, got the idea to make a flute out of bamboo, and he worked at it till he got it right and now we hear him practicing around the house.
and here’s your renegade Canadian…no, not wishing she were american, not even to win a boredom jar… however I do think this is a great idea and if random.org were to pick me I’d pick it up at FB in August! 😉 My oldest (7)does a great job of cleaning bathroom sinks making cards and my boy (5) is good at complaining and my second boy(2) at doing exactly what I tell him not to do. sigh. Do those count? The 6 mth old is really good at charming everyone and cheering her momma up.
I too would love to win this!! It would save me many moments of frustration when I hear once again those words”what can I do?” My children are good at entertaining themselves outside. My oldest daughter at 13 does very well with our 6 month old baby! It was good for me to think about what my children are good at as so often I focus on the undesirable traits and habits! My 9 yr old son also does well at weedwacking with a small trimmer. Our 7 yr old son just discovered he can run the pushmower. My 6 boys minus the baby are all good at leaving a trail of chaos behind them!!!
My children are super good at entertaining themselves outside. I may or may not be the mean mom who has grossly overused the line “I can find a job for you.” in answer to the “I’m bored.” line.
Enjoy reading your blog. The boredom buster sounds fun and our children would love findin excuses to be ‘bored’!:) We have 6,ages 12-8mo. The older 4enjoy outdoor games,making them up if needed. And making stuff in the kitchen, messes included! The 2 year old enjoys books and being ‘out’. Almost 8mo old loves to eat,play,and moms attention!
This sounds really fun. Kaity is kind of a loner coming several years after her older siblings. I am teaching her to sew and I think she’s getting better at it. She is really good at cuddling with her Mommy. 🙂
Wow that is alot of work to come up with 300 activities!!! My children are 4 and 2 …. good at developing their brains as they pull every item out of the living room or garage! My daughter loves my kitchen too and small son loves DIRT….
This looks like fun!
One thing I have enjoyed watching my children do and doing well is playing together. They even include the 2 year old and would love to have the baby join them too.
Today’s “game” was “The Boxcar Children”. Oh, did I mention that they do well at reading too. 😉
I have 5 children #6 on the way, and my children do a great job of helping me inside and outside and watching younger siblings while I rest! They also do a great job at making messes lest u think my children be perfect!
I’m especially interested in this for the younger half of my children (aged almost 9 and 4). They’re great at imaginative play and art, but they still beg for screen time far too often for my liking.
My children are good at grumbling and arguing. This, plus my admonitions and punishments, might help. They are also good at lots of other things like helping to clean and tidy the house, washing dishes, playing outside together, and coming up with lots of what-if scenarios. My 7-yr-old is good at crafts and teaching and my 5-yr-old is good at singing (made-up) songs that contain profound truths. My 1-yr-old is good at clowning around and making tractor noises.
My son loves making things out of paper, which includes glue, tape, scissors, rubber bands, etc. airplanes, boats etc. He’s very creative.
This is a lovely idea! Or, lots of them!
Our children are very good at reading, imaginative play, and avoiding chores. 😉
They do well with some encouragement. My 14 year old son enjoys making supper occasionally. Usually involves steak. 12 year old son is an avid reader and has a great, quirky sense of humor. Daughter, 8, sings her way through the day, and plays piano by ear. She is very patient with the littles. Third son is detail oriented, and sometimes will organize something. Still working on hanging up his own pj’s, though. Little daughter, 2, is a firecracker. Like to vacuum or help do big things. 🙂
There are definitely times I would pull out the boredom jar!
This sounds exciting! We have two children (8&3) so the age gap does allow room for plenty of boredom sometimes…especially on Sunday afternoons when everyone wants to sleep except the 8 year old:) However the 8 year old is excellent help gathering eggs in the chicken house almost every eve and she does this while telling stories to herself so usually she wants no one helping:) Our 3 year old loves to ride tricycle outside and is usually very willing to help(except when its picking up toys:) )
I would love this!! My children are also great at making messes?But they do enjoy constructing various buildings and vehicles from cardboard take and glue
I have 4 little boys and the oldest 2 have a flare for decorating (which is their very cute and unusual talent). They are also quite skilled at cleaning and organizing (when they are in the mood). That excludes my baby who’s main skill is convincing me that i really need to carry him around a good deal of the day.? The boredom busting jar is such a clever idea…and so cute!
Cool ? Love this idea. My 9 year old needs more to do then reading and is great at doing things on her own so this will be quite lovely!
We’re having so many rainy days this summer that this looks like a great idea! My 10 year old is good with legos and the 7, 5, 2 year-olds love their dolls and Calico Critters, and cats. I love when the sun shines and they can ride bike and pick wildflowers!
Great idea, Linette! And thanks for sharing, Shari! I would love to win this drawing! Our boys 10, 8, and 6, are good at entertaining themselves with legos! And Annie, 3, is good at “helping” me!!
Love this! Our boys spend many hours on the trampoline creating endless variations of Crack the Egg, Dodge Ball, and Wrestling. Local libraries usually have wonderful summer reading programs–ours has a stellar program this year. They have 2 full sheets of projects to earn tickets, things like ‘Help an older person free of charge’, ‘Build a bird feeder with recycled items’,and ‘Build a book with poetry’, ‘Read outside’, and ‘Donate some unwanted items’.
Not a mom here but I am an aunt and I often hear “I’m SO bored” when the nieces and nephews come over. We live in town without all the animals and the room to run and play that they are used to. Last week my 8yo nephew push-mowed our lawn all by himself and I was so proud of him! Maybe he won’t ever be bored here again. 😉 They also love to play doctor and hospital with my random collection of stethoscopes and medical supplies from my nursing school days.
This jar of ideas sounds fantastic and I also know Linette so that’s an added bonus. I’m thinking this would also be a great addition to our school auction this fall! Thanks for a great idea.
I like this. 🙂 I do not have children, but sisters in law and sisters who do! They are good at lots of things…hair-raising boy activities, mischief, hard work, reading and talking…I would re-gift if I won. 🙂
My children are at the young stage of 2 yr old, enjoys talking and randomly puts things away for Mom, and 3 month old, very good with her smiles/laughing/cooing.
I would enjoy being in…for a gift to other Moms/Friends. Or also save it for when my girls are older.
Looks like it could get interesting and gets some good laughs from it!!
What a clever idea and what a generous lady! I would be delighted to receive a package so chock full of entertaining ideas! We live in Kenya, Africa, and our two boys, 5 and 4, love playing airport as well as finding ways to use their bikes to get their jobs done! The toys they do have often sit lonely in the cupboard as they entertain themselves with sticks, empty bottles and what not outside! Our 18 month old boy loves to tag along and is quite good at messing up big Brothers play…! IF, I would happen to win, I can give an address in the States to ship to.
What a great idea! I have four daughters ages 11,8,6,4. The older ones love helping me in my garden and flower beds. They all love to pick bouquets to give to me or other people. My girls all love to play with legos.
Love this idea….I have lots of little people in my life…they have big imaginations…they love to set up the sprinkler under the trampoline and have their own “water park”
This looks fun! My boys love their sandbox and are learning to do little jobs like emptying the dryer for me 🙂
This is such a neat idea! Thanks for giving us a chance to win or buy this. We are blessed with 3 boys. The older 2 enjoy things like Lego & drawing. The youngest can be quite the little songbird & they all love the outdoors.
My girls (the older two anyway) are good at using their imagination… i’m a “mean” mom and don’t allow them to do a lot of devices. They also are good at asking to be read to 🙂 this looks like a fun jar!!!
Sounds like a fun jar! My oldest (age 4) does a wonderful job of singing and my 2 year old can entertain herself for a long time by playing in the dirt! 🙂
Such a good idea! We have 4 children 7yrs- 14month. The 2 girls do a good job at dusting and cleaning bathrooms. And ride their bikes alot. The 2 youngest are boys- they love playing with tractors and farming with daddy!