Do you have kids that easily bored or need to be entertained at all times. These 7 quick boredom busting activities will keep kids engaged and happy.
1. Do you Hear What I Hear?
Supplies
- Blindfolds
- Wrapper
- Drum
- Tape
- Any objects that make noise
How to Play Do you Hear what I hear?
The first of our boredom busting activities starts by blindfold 1-10 players. Present some noise making objects to a person who is not blindfolded. Then have the seeing person make noise with the object. Ask the blindfolded people to guess what the noise is they are hearing. Have children take turns being the guesser and the noise maker. Wrap up this activity by discussing which items were easy to recognize and which ones were more difficult. Ask why?
2. Compare Fingerprints
Supplies
- Pencil
- Paper
- Tape
- Magnifying glasses
How to Compare Fingerprints
For our second boredom busting activity have kiddos compare their finger prints. Use a pencil to color a dark grey spot on a piece of paper. Color until you see powder forming. Then, have kids roll a finger in the pencil powder. Place a piece of tape over that finger, pressing hard but not rubbing. Remove the tape and place it on a piece of paper. Now they should see a perfect fingerprint. Have them examine their print with the magnifying glass. Ask them to compare them to others. How are they the same? How are they different? If you like this activity checkout our more in-depth fingerprinting activity for kids.
3. Potato Stab Boredom Busting Challenge
Supplies
- Potato
- Plastic Straw
Set out a potato and a plastic straw. Then ask kids try and stab a potato with a the straw. They will likely hold the straw in a tight grip and stab the potato, the straw will enter the potato slightly. Now challenge them to stab the straw all the way through the potato. Ask them to experiment with the way they hold the straw.
The Trick: make the straw stronger by covering the hold on one end.
4. Does a Tin Can Phone Really Work?
Supplies
- Two Tin Cans (poke a hole in the bottom with a nail)
- String
- Yarn
- Fishing line
- Rope
- Optional: various other sizes of cans
How to make a Tin Can Phone
Put out the string, yarn, fishing line, rope and cans. Ask kids if they think they can make a tin can phone that really works. Ask them to experiment with the available supplies to see if they can make a successful tin can phone.
Then, have children put one end of the yarn, fishing line, string or rope through the hole in the end of the can and tie it into a knot. Repeat with the other end in the remaining can.
Have one kiddo take one of the cans and another take the other can. Stretch the cans until the string or line is pulled tight. Have one child speak into the can and the other listen.
The Trick: Use string and pull it tights. As long as the string is pulled tight, the children will be able to hear each other. Challenge kids to try the different connecting cord. Does which material works the best? Does the length of the string make a difference?
5. Cup Tower Boredom Busting Activities
Supplies
- 25-50 Plastic or Paper Cups
- Tape measure
Build a Tower
The fifth of our seven boredom busting activities is a simple one. Build a tower with plastic or paper cups. How tall is your tower? What could you do to make it larger? Taller?
6. Paper Clips and Keys Trick
Supplies
- Four Keys or Key rings
- Paperclip
- 3 feet of string
How to do the Paper Clips and Keys Trick
For this boredom busting activity give the kiddos these instructions and see them freak out when the keys don’t hit the floor.
- Tie the keys to one end of the string.
- Next, tie the paper clip to the other end of the string.
- Put the string over your finger so that the keys hang straight down, just a few centimeters.
- Hold the paper clip with your other hand.
- Then, let go of the paper clip. What happens?
Because the keys weigh more than the paper clip, the paper clip gets pulled forward pretty fast by the falling keys. But no matter how fast the paper clip is going forward, it also has to fall downward because of gravity. Then it keeps going until it wraps around your finger.
7. The Strongest Shape Boredom Busting Activity
Supplies
- Paper
- Scissors
- Tape or Glue
- Stapler
Test Shapes with these
- Build three shapes, a triangle, a square and a cylinder. Connect taping or gluing the ends together.
- Ask the kids to predict which shape will be the strongest and hold the most weight. Ask them to think about shapes they see in buildings and bridges. Then have them test their prediction by seeing which one can support the most books. Behold the power of paper!
