Now that the Christmas hoopla is over, vacation may be stretching before you with housebound with self-proclaimed bored kids.
Don’t believe it. They’re just baiting you.
As the creator of Mrs. Ule’s Mean and Cruel Summer School, I have ideas for “entertaining” children.
1.Teach them to cook.
I don’t mean Betty Crocker‘s brownies or even the alleged macaroni and cheese that comes in a box. I mean honest-to-goodness, get out a knife and learn how to make something from scratch.
What’s their favorite homemade meal? My kids like Enchilada Pie, which involves browning ground beef, mixing in refried beans and a host of other spices.
The meat mixture’s then layered between grated cheese, chopped onions and tortillas. Not difficult, but it can be time consuming.
But isn’t that the point? Consume some time?
Why not oversee them cooking dinner every night during vacation?
2. Read aloud something wonderful they probably wouldn’t choose.
Here are several suggestions:
Farley Mowat‘s The Dog That Wouldn’t Be or Owls in the Family. I read both aloud to my children on a Hawai’ian afternoon, so you know they’ve got to be good! (one book per afternoon.)
How about Laura Ingalls Wilder‘s The Long Winter? My young children listened to it all afternoon long in snowy Connecticut.
Any of the “magic” books by Edward Eager. Short, clever, funny and with one terrific line drawing per chapter, these books grabbed my imagination as a kid. My kids found them engaging and sometimes thought provoking. My personal favorite is Knight’s Castle.
3. Run a movie marathon.
Watch something they’ve never heard of.
Laurel and Hardy movies, Shirley Temple, Anne of Green Gables. With older kids try older classics: The Great Race, October Sky, Apollo 13, The Princess Bride. 
My kids liked The Great Escape and Good Neighbor Sam.
Make popcorn on the stove for extra points!
4. Work a jigsaw puzzle.
We usually did that while watching movies or listening to me read. You can run competitions–who can put in the most pieces in a given amount of time? Or run two puzzles and see who can finish first.
If all else fails, find an old puzzle and make them put it together with the picture side down.
The important thing is to participate with the kids!
5. Play Monopoly.
Yep, from the beginning, by the directions, all the way through. Your kids will learn about base 10 and how to manage money. It’s training as well as play. Let one of them be the banker.
6. Sort the Lego.
You heard me.
Dump it all out and have them sort it into appropriate containers.
You won’t have bored kids complaining about nothing to do after this!
We only did this once and it became a family legend . . .
7. Make a memory day.
Hand over the digital camera and send them out.
Have them document that particular day of their life from their perspetive.
Or, if they don’t get the concept, turn it into a theme: dogs, strange triangles in our town, kids at play, mean adults, the color orange, anything to spur their imagination.
At the end of the day (or an hour or two depending on your time constraint), print the photos and put together a memory booklet from their perspective.
It’s fascinating to catch a glimpse of how they see life.
Are we done yet?
Have fun.
Any other ideas? What’s worked well for you?
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