Chronicle Books - 52 Creative Boredom Busters for Families

• Large roll of paper (like butcher or kraft) or large sheets of paper taped together
• Pencil
• Markers, paint, or crayons

Have each family member lie down on their back on a sheet of paper thats at least as long as they are, and trace around their body with a pencil. Add details (clothing, hair, and facial features) with markers, paint, or crayons. Find a spot in your home where your familys self-portraits can hang together. (And when you find a youngsters portrait several years later, youll wonder, Were they ever so small? )

Who can build the tallest freestanding tower from nothing but paper? Get creative by trying out different structural techniques. Will you stack the paper? Create a house of cards? Create a pile of crumpled-up paper balls? Then see whose creation can stay upright the longest on its own no other objects allowed!

Superhero action figures, stuffed lions, itty-bitty dollhouse figurinescreate some furniture for your familys favorite toys. Search for household items to use as potential interior accessories. An unused plastic bowl could be a teddy bears bathtub. A stack of matchboxes glued together becomes a small dolls dresser. What materials can you repurpose?

Whether family and friends live far away or just down the street, everyone welcomes personal letters. For kids who arent writing yet, let them dictate to you. (This is particularly charming when you can capture their quirky word choices, baby talk, or changing the subject mid-sentence.) For older kids, this is a good way to practice handwritingeven if they do everything with a keyboard!

Materials:

• 3 cups (700 ml) shaving foam
• Food coloring (optional)
• cup (110 ml) white glue
• teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon saline solution, plus more if needed

Try your hands at this slime concoction. Add foamy shaving cream to a bowl, and stir in food coloring (if using). Add glue and gently stir. Add baking soda and mix thoroughly. Pour in saline solution and mix again until slime forms. Knead and add more saline solution if the slime feels too sticky. Stretch it, shape it, and then store it in a container with a tight-fitting lid.

Materials:

• Potatoes
• Small metal cookie cutters
• Marker (optional)
• Sharp knife
• Paint
• Paper

Slice a potato into thirds. Press a cookie cutter inch (6 millimetres) deep into a potato third, and then remove the excess potato around the cutter. Gently pull out the cutter. (Or sketch a simple shape onto your potato with a marker, and use a knife to create your stamp.) Dip the potato in paint, and try a few test stamps. Play with different patterns and papers, and save your results for custom-made wrapping paper or stationery.

Its never too early to learn some basic household fixesand teach some life skills. Set aside time to break down easy repairs, like sewing on missing buttons, plunging a toilet, or tightening loose screws. Kids get the satisfaction of completing a job (and refining fine motor skills), and you get a little help around the house. Next stop: clearing clogged drains.

Materials:

• Cereal boxes
• Lidded containers, like those for oatmeal or coffee
• Cardboard tubes, like those for posters or paper towels
• White or kraft paper
• Tape
• Paint or markers

Cover boxes and containers with paper as if you were wrapping a gift. Tape to secure the edges. Decorate with paint or markers to create buildings for a city, maybe based on the one where you live. Schools, stores, homesadd whatever you like. Or create a town square of your dreams: candy stores, toy shops, and ice-cream spots only!

The next time you bring out the sidewalk chalk, decorate your driveway (or other areas visible to passersby) with inspiring art and messages. If you want to dig into a bigger project, try mapping out a larger masterpiece for anyone who walks by to enjoy, or creating signs to place in street-facing windows.

Materials:

• Food storage containers (with lid) or large zip-top bags
• 1 cup (200 grams) white rice
• teaspoon vinegar
• Food coloring
• Large sheets of newspaper or baking sheets

In a food storage container or zip-top bag, add the rice, vinegar, and several drops of food coloring (one color). Shake the container vigorously until all the rice is colored. Let the rice dry out on newspaper or baking sheets and store. Make other colors of rice, and use them for pouring, scooping, color-combining, or decorating other projects.