Low-Prep Bordom Busters to Combat the Summer Slide

Looking for fun quality activities to do with your students this summer? The following is a list of low to no-prep boredom-busters to keep their brains active and sharp throughout their summer break.

1. Read Every Day: Hopefully this one is a no-brainer as a homeschool parent, but I must say it anyway. Encourage kids to read every day, whether it’s a book, a magazine, or a newspaper. Reading helps improve vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking skills.
2. Write in a Journal: Have kids write in a journal every day, whether it’s about their summer adventures or their thoughts and feelings. For students struggling to find inspiration, create a list to place inside the journal of fun and creative writing prompts. Writing helps improve spelling, grammar, and creative thinking skills.
3. Explore Nature: Take kids on nature walks or hikes and encourage them to observe and document what they see. This helps improve science and observation skills.
4. Visit a Museum: Many museums offer free or low-cost admission on certain days or times. Visiting a museum helps improve history, art, and cultural knowledge.
5. Cook or Bake: Have kids help with cooking or baking, which helps improve math and measurement skills. Even for the smallest of children, being in the kitchen with mom is invaluable. And as they get older, you see the reward! Cooking is an essential life skill they need to know well before leaving the home. They can also learn about nutrition and healthy eating habits.
6. Volunteer: Encourage kids to volunteer in their community, such as helping at a local food bank, animal shelter, political organization, or church. Volunteering helps improve empathy and social and communication skills.
7. Build Something: Have kids build something, such as a birdhouse, a fort, or a model airplane. Building helps improve spatial awareness and problem-solving skills. You can easily vary the complexity of this type of activity. Building a fort can be done independently by the youngest of elementary students.
8. Create a Tinker Box: We all have something laying around in our junk drawer we don’t care if we lose. Some hardware, pieces of scrap wood, and hand tools can make for hours of tinkering fun. This will help build and practice fine motor control, logic, spatial reasoning, and more.
9. Create Art: Encourage kids to create art, whether it’s drawing, painting, or making crafts. Art helps improve creativity, fine motor skills, and self-expression. I highly recommend creating a small space or basket with everything they can use to create whenever they get the urge. Place it somewhere accessible and visual. You’ll be surprised how frequently children will gravitate toward it. We’ve been loving the Crayola app that can turn your drawings into printable coloring pages: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/crayola-color-camera/id1481094201
10. Start a Book Club: Encourage kids to start a book club with friends or family members. I have heard of online book clubs, but in my opinion, this is a far better activity in person. And you’d be surprised how even the newest of readers will be able to discuss what they’ve read. Let them take charge of their own club and see where it leads. Discussing books helps improve critical thinking and communication skills. Having these discussions also builds stronger bonds and encourages more communication.
11. Practice Math Skills: Have kids practice math skills by playing games like Sudoku or doing math worksheets. For the child who doesn’t like traditional worksheets, try playing math war with a simple deck of cards. These improve problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
12. Watch Educational Videos: There are many educational videos available online that cover a wide range of topics. Most children’s programming is junk. Don’t settle for candy when you can dig into a feast. Watch videos on science, nature, history, and even math. This can help improve knowledge and comprehension in a wide range of topics.
13. Take Online Courses: Many universities offer free online courses that kids can take to learn about a variety of subjects. Khan Academy has a wide selection of courses with various topics and difficulties for free.
14. Learn a Musical Instrument: Have kids learn how to play a musical instrument, whether it’s a guitar, piano, or drums. Don’t have an instrument? Explore music theory or take a music appreciation course. Band Lab is a great tool for mixing and producing your own music:
15. Play Board Games: Board games like chess, Scrabble, and Monopoly help improve critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Don’t have any good board games? Print off a file folder game or maybe they can make their own! My kids love a game called Pandemic. It’s a wonderful strategy game:
16. Start a Garden: Have kids start a garden, whether it’s a small herb garden or a larger vegetable garden. This helps improve science skills and teaches responsibility.
17. Explore New Places: Take kids on field trips to local landmarks, State parks, or historical sites. This helps improve knowledge and cultural awareness, and in some cases keeps them physically fit. You don’t even have to plan much as their operating hours are generally predictable.

By engaging in these summer activities, kids can continue to develop their academic skills while also having fun and staying active. These activities require little to no purchase or preparation, leaving more time for planning your next academic year.

What are some summertime favorites in your homeschool?