Simple Summer Fun Day 18 - Taking the Bored out of Board Games

Like most American families, we have a game cupboard stuffed full of fabulous board games.  Some are from my own childhood, some are educational, some were "family" Christmas gifts from friends, and most are just like new.  After a few days of flurried play right after they were opened, they've been consigned to the closet shelf.

I can't tell you the number of times I've had this conversation:

"I'm bored," says the listless child, collapsing to the floor in a heap of lethargy.

"Why don't you play a board game with your sister."

"Board games are boring."

"Well," I answer, with my best pulled-from-the-internet-quote. "Bored people are boring too, and right now you're boring me.  Go find something to do!"

It's amazing though, how much more interesting a boring old board game can become, when instead of sitting unnoticed in a dusty closet, it turns up somewhere unexpected...

...like on the breakfast table with the morning muffins.

...and then reset, and ready for play, after the dishes have been cleared away.  Just left sitting there, out of the box, out in the open, all day.

This tactic works in the winter as well, but it's especially suited to summer...

...when children tend to have extra time on their hands...

...while they're inside for a drink of water, or a break from the heat...

...or waiting for their friends to finally crawl out of the bed, so they can meet up at the library, or the pool.

The best part is that it requires very little effort on my part (other than putting up with the clutter all day). All
I have to do is set the game up, and then stand back and watch (or in this case snap covert photos) as the children come and go, playing, and rediscovering the fun of the not-so-boring-after-all board games.

This strategy works equally well for simple science kits, too...

...by the way...

...for sneaking in...

...a little bit of summer learning...

...along with...

...the fun.

It's great to be a homeschooler.