Summer is here! The kids are home from school! It’s all fun and games until they start saying the B word… Bored! Well, here are a few ideas to keep your children occupied and avoid summer boredom with your kids.
(1) Encourage them to do something else
I read an article once that talked about how an object in motion stays in motion so if you point your kids in one direction, maybe they will keep in that direction. With that thought and some ideas on Pinterest, I came up with my ingenious plan to (try to) keep my tween off the computer, for a little while anyway. She has to do her “CRAP” every day – Chores, Read 30 min, be Active, and Practice (piano, math, etc). When she is determined to get on the computer, these will last less than two hours. But about half of the time, she gets interested in her book longer than the 30 minutes or is having fun on the trampoline or some other reason and it keeps her in that direction, off the computer. Of course, you can come up with a more child-friendly acronym if you want.
(2) See what’s going on
Check out local listings and calendars of family-friendly things to do around Nashville. Here are a couple.
Nashville Fun For Families
http://www.nashvillefunforfamilies.com/
Facebook Events
https://www.facebook.com/events/
Macaroni Kid
https://franklintn.macaronikid.com/
(3) Get out of the house
Check out some of the parks and historic areas in Nashville. I know, you’re thinking the kids won’t be interested in that at all. But here are a few ideas that make it fun for kids.
Geocaching will take you all sorts of places, from historic parks to urban areas and everywhere in between. It’s a real-life treasure hunt and most of the caches will have trinkets inside as a prize (be sure to bring some of your own to replace the ones you take).
Letterboxing is similar to Geocaching, but you follow clues, instead of coordinates, to find the hidden boxes and you exchange stamps in a log book, instead of trinkets. It is really fun to make your own stamps and see the other stamps in the logbook.
Bicentennial Mall is a wonderful open space with so much Tennessee history embedded into the walkways and monuments. The fountains there are fun for the kids to play in, plus it is right next to the Tennessee State Museum and Nashville Farmer’s Market, a great place for lunch or a treat.
Centennial Park is an awesome place to visit. With the Parthenon, statues, ducks to feed, a playground, beautiful garden, and so much open space to play, Centennial is a great way to get out of the house and enjoy a day together.
Get out ahead of the B word this year and have some fun!
