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New Mexico State University

School's Out, Now What?

Summer and After-school activities for School-age Children

Guide F-105

Diana S. DelCampo, Ph.D., Family Life Specialist

College of Agriculture and Home Economics New Mexico State University

Throughout the school year, and especially in summer, parents face the problem of what their children can do to occupy their time. If children aren't given positive activities to fight boredom, they will find something else to do that may be negative. Although each child is unique and every family situation is different, the following boredom busters may work to keep your child occupied during his/her free time.

Post this list of activities on the refrigerator or write each suggestion out and put in a box to be picked out when the child needs something to do.

  1. Make a scrapbook. Staple blank paper together to make a book. Then tape or glue in anything that has special meaning to you souvenirs, postcards, movie tickets, awards, pictures and so forth.
  2. Get a state map and trace the route to some location you think would be fun to visit. Use a yellow crayon or marker so the highway numbers will show. Plan what you would need to take on your trip and what you would like to see on your trip.
  3. Be a pen pal and have fun learning about other people and other places. For possible pen pals write these places: Around the World Friends, 550 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10036; American Friends Service Committee, 160 North Fifteenth Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102; International Friendship League, 40 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. Or write the United Nations, 405 E. 42nd Street, New York, New York 10017.
  4. Try chalk painting. You will need colored chalk, paper towels and a pan of water. Dip the chalk in the water and use it to draw anything you want on the dry paper towel. Experiment with different colors and designs. Allow the picture to dry before you hang it up. Have a special place in your house to display your art.
  5. Make up a funny song, pantomime, story or jokes to share with your family at supper.
  6. What's in the future? Design clothes, cars, houses and so on, whatever you like for the year 2020.
  7. Make a bird feeder. Mix bird seed and peanut butter together. Stuff the mixture between the petals of a pine cone. Tie a string or a piece of yarn around the top of the cone to hang it up. You can also string raisins and popcorn. Hang the bird feeders on a tree branch facing a window of your house so you can watch the birds each day.
  8. Plan a dinner for the president. What would you serve?
  9. Write a story for your favorite television show.
  10. Go shopping with a catalog and pretend you have $100 to spend. What would you buy? Would you buy one or two expensive items or many less expensive items? What if you had $500 or $1,000?
  11. Make a puppet. Paper bags, an old sock, a mitten or a glove with yarn hair and button eyes or a painted face works fine. The easiest puppet to make is simply to draw a face on the palm of your hand and wrap a fabric scrap around your hand and arm for a costume.
  12. Make a puzzle. Glue a picture from a magazine on a piece of cardboard or posterboard. Let it dry. Use a black ink pen or marker to mark the picture into sections. Cut along the black lines to make the puzzle pieces.
  13. Make your own greeting cards. Create messages, verses and pictures with markers, crayons or paints on plain or solid-colored paper. Make different sets of cards to give: birthday, get well, thinking-of-you and so on.
  14. Green Thumb Project. Put a sponge on a dish. Wet the sponge. Sprinkle grass seed on top of the sponge. Wet the sponge a little each day. The seeds should sprout in about week. For extra fun cut the sponge into an animal shape the night before you are going to plant it.
  15. Do you have a question for the president, or something you would like to tell the president? Write him!
    The President
    The White House
    Washington, D.C. 20500
  16. Write and draw pictures for a storybook to share with a younger brother or sister, or a neighborhood friend. Maybe you can make up funny endings to nursery rhymes or stories.
  17. Try fingerprint art. Press your fingertips down on an ink pad then press your fingertips on paper. Draw lines and other details to make fingerprints into bugs, monsters, animals, people and other objects. Be sure to clean your hands when you finish.
  18. Write a note, story, secret code or letter to a friend using typed letters and words cut out of the newspaper. Be careful cutting. Glue or tape the letters and words in the correct order to say what you want them to say. Be sure to use an old newspaper that has already been read.
  19. Keep a daily journal. Staple blank sheets of paper together and decorate the cover. Each day write about what happened that day at school or while you were home.
  20. Plan the house and yard you would like to have someday. Arrange and glue magazine pictures of houses, trees, flowers and shrubs on the posterboard. Show your dream house to friends.
  21. Try washcloth painting. Ask permission first. Be sure to do this only on a cabinet or kitchen table top that has a Formica (plastic coating). Wet a dark-colored washcloth, and put on the kitchen table. Run a bar of soap back and forth on the washcloth until it is sudsy. Draw pictures in the suds with your fingers. Smooth over to erase.
  22. Pretend you are a radio disc jockey. Make up your own commercials or some deejay chatter. Tape it along with some songs to perform for your family.
  23. Draw a picture of an animal, shape, person or any other item. Glue yarn around the outline of the picture. Then fill in the inside area of the picture with small rocks, leaves, bottle tops or paper scraps that you glue in place.
  24. Pretend you have your own restaurant. Make up your own menu. What would you serve? How much would you charge for your food? What would you name your place?

These suggestions work for some children on a temporary basis, but many children need to be in supervised programs that can meet their needs. 4-H clubs and school-age child care programs, can be developed by community groups including parents, school personnel, employers and local government officials.

For more information on starting these kinds of programs, contact your county Cooperative Extension Service Office.

Reference: Robinson, Bryan E., Rowland, Bobbie H., and Coleman, Mick. (1986) Latchkey Kids - Unlocking Doors for Children and Their Families. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books - D.C. Heath and Company.

New Mexico State University is an equal opportunity/affimative action employer and educator. NMSU and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating.

Written: June 1990
Placed on Server: April 17, 1996