Need some ideas for bored kids? These 30+ boredom busters are perfect for keeping school aged kids busy!
Use the free printable boredom buster planner pages (see below to download) and this list of fun ideas for 5-12 year olds and you’ll never hear the words ‘I’m bored’ again… well almost never!
Last school holidays I ended up writing a list of jobs my kids cold do and allocating them every time the ‘I’m bored’s got too many and began to drive me insane. It worked quite well, but when I saw Childhood 101’s parent smarter post about being prepared I knew that taking it a step further for the winter holidays was a smart move!
While I think a good dose of boredom is beneficial for my kids, even essential, sometimes it can really drive me bonkers when they are all wandering around doing nothing apart from annoying each other and fighting! And these school holidays my usual remedy of sending them all outside is not always going to be an option, given the cold wet weather we are expecting… so I am getting prepared now.
Together we are making a list of ideas, of boredom busters! We are including simple ideas, as well as more involved activities, and places we’d like to visit. We are including things we’ve done lots of times before, and things that are new to us. We are writing them all down and sticking them on the fridge where we can all see it. Now when someone is at a loose end they can check out the list and pick something!
Free Printable Boredom Buster Planner Pages
Print out these boredom buster planner pages, get the kids together, and sit down and plan our some things to do during the holidays.
You might choose to simply write a list of ideas and stick it up somewhere so the kids can easily see it and choose something from the list to do. Or you might choose to make a more concrete plan for the week and decide which ideas you’ll do on each day.
Please remember that the printables at picklebums.com are for personal use only, you may not sell, share, or link directly to these files.
Boredom Buster Ideas for School Ages Kids
To get you started making your boredom buster list or planning your week, here is a list of boredom busting activities that are perfect for 5-12 year olds.
Most of the activities will also work for younger kids too with a little adult support.
If you have younger kids pop over to Childhood101 for a matching list of boredom busting activities for preschoolers!
Art and Craft Ideas
Keep the kids busy with these easy, low-mess, art and craft ideas.
- Make some Folded Paper Bracelets
- Learn to sew – try these beginner sewing sheets from Skip to My Lou.
- Recycle some plastic bottles and make some Melted Bottle Jewelry
- Combine art and science with this super cool Marbled Milk Paper activity from Babble Dabble Do
- Everyone will want to try these Melted Crayon Drawings
- Make some origami! Use our free printable paper if you don’t have any handy.
- Try your hand at making a string bowl from Laughing Kids Learn
- There is always time for drawing! Try one of these fun drawing ideas.
- Get out the fusible beads and try these fun Perler bead ideas
Kids Cooking Ideas and Recipes.
Get the kids busy in the kitchen. Older kids will be able to cook many of these recipes with minimal help.
- Make some muffins with this easy homemade muffin mix.
- Cook some deliciously easy Apple and Oat Pancakes.
- Try this amazing Cinnamon Pizza
- Everyone will love these easy to make Sprinkle Sticks
- This Cinnamon Cookie recipe is one of our favourites.
Find lots more kid-friendly recipes and tips for cooking with kids here.
Fun Activities to do Inside
Don’t worry if the weather isn’t cooperating, there are lots of fun things the kids can do inside.
- Make a paper and bamboo helicopter and see how well it flies!
- Build a cubby or fort – try one of these awesome fort building ideas.
- Kids of all ages love this awesome ‘Wrecking Apart’ activity.
- If your kids love slime they’ll love these awesome slime recipes from Little Bins for Little Hands.
- Try a Lego challenge! Frugal Fun for Boys has lots of Lego challenge ideas.
- Make and fly a paper rocket.
- Write your own secret code and send some coded messages with these fun secret code printables.
Awesome Activities to do Outside.
The kids will be happy to go outside to do these fun outdoor activities.
- Build and test this Paper Airplane Launcher from Frugal Fun for Boys.
- Don’t let a rainy day stop you from playing outside, try making some rain paintings.
- Try out geocaching, these Geocaching instructions from Childhood101 are really great.
- Try out some shackling – check out this info on slacklining from Imagination Soup
- Have a backyard campfire and try these delicious campfire cones from Kids Activity Blog.
- Try this mega huge scavenger hunt!
Super Fun Places to Visit with Kids.
Get everyone together and go on a family trip!
- Visit the zoo or Aquarium! We’d like to visit Healesville Sanctuary.
- Take a trip to a museum, or gallery. We are hoping to visit ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image).
- Go to the park, we might make some kites to take with us.
- Go to the beach! Even if it is cold, the beach is still a great place to visit. Make this nifty underwater magnifying glass from One Time Through to take with you so you can see under the water without getting wet!
- Visit the library, there are still a few books on this list of books for tweens from Childhood 101 that we have not read!
Family Activities to Do All Together
Get the whole family together and try one of these fun family activities. These ideas are great for kids of all ages and adults too!
- Play the What Am I game.
- Play some cards. Try one of these Card Games for Kids from Bounce Back Parenting.
- Go out to dinner at a restaurant, or turn your dining room into a resteraunt!
- Wait till it is dark and try some of these Flash Light Games from A Mom With a Lesson Plan
- Have a movie night! Here are some great move night tips from Childhood101.
- Everyone will love this silly Funny Bunny Faces Game from Housing A Forest.
That big long list of boredom buster activities should keep my kids busy for a while, I hope they keep your kids entertained too!
Don’t forget to visit Childhood101 for more boredom buster ideas!
Thanks for the great ideas, and the planner. This will come in very handy!
What an amazing collection of ideas! Love the planner too. I know many people would find this so helpful during the school holiday period.
This list is AWESOME, thank you! We tried the one ingredient slime, I love that it’s non toxic and not sticky, my four year old doesn’t like sticky things very much.