WFMW

The theme this week at Rocks in My Dryer is keeping the kids from being bored.

My tips offered are for older kids.

Two things that kept my kids busy the most were:

1. The video camera. I taught them how to use the camera safely by age 10 or so. They made the most entertaining videos such as spoofs of TV shows and movies, ( A favorite seemed to be Blair Witch Project even though they never saw it they had seen many spoofs on TV and made their own. They loved using the night vision feature) talk shows, commericals, music videos(we have a great one of dancing boxes!LOL), you name it, they probably filmed it.

2. A hammer, some nails and a couple of boards. For some reason they loved pounding nails into boards. My son could spend a good hour or so nailing two boards together. Simple but effective.

I found summer to be a great time to teach kids various skills that required longer periods of time than might be available during the school year. We kept a fully stocked art box and supplies for every type of craft project you can imagine on hand. It is also a great time to teach cooking skills.

A great source for skills to teach older kids are Boy and Girl Scout manuals. You don't need to be a scout to learn the skills taught. These manuals are easy to find at thrift stores and yard sales or straight from the scout offices in your area.

If I can give one bit of advice to moms of young children it would be to teach your kids early to entertain themselves. I found that having chores for the kids to do when they came to me whining that they were bored prevented it from happening very often.

For more ideas check out Rocks In My Dryer.