Yet other parents are enjoying their time at Disney, or on the beach somewhere, or some other vacation destination full of entertainment for the kids, and cocktails for the adults. Chances are, if you’re reading this newsletter, that’s not you - it's certainly not me. For the rest of us, we are acutely aware of how many more days we have until the school routine returns with our sanity, while wanting to make the most of the time we actually have with our kids. “Let’s not blow it!” we think. And let’s not forget the work at home parents, who have the extra pressure of still knocking out work with kids underfoot and in their ears - not to mention on their nerves! 

How do we keep boredom at bay while encouraging our kids to get creative about play? Here are a few ideas: 

• Sticks, Stones, Dirt, and Cardboard Boxes.
  Kids don’t need much to get creative with. Point them to some sticks, stones, or dirt, encourage them to play with them, and watch them go! Cardboard boxes are perfect cars, homes, spy hideouts, and sarcophagi (if they’re into being mummies). Give them access to the measuring cups, your tupperware collection, or your pots and pans for a makeshift drum set. Anything can be played with. Our kids love rocket shoes! Any shoe will do; insert toy person/animal and Blast Off! The best part: all of this is free! 
• Have Supplies on Hand
  Kids will play with just about anything, but it can be helpful to have some materials on hand. These could include a fort kit, a pile of blankets and pillows, art supplies (paint, crayons, colored pencils, etc), homemade playdough or oobleck, puzzles, matchbox cars, Legos and other building toys, and more. Some items could be requested as gifts from grandparents (Magnatiles, Building Blocks, etc).
• Show Them How It’s Done
  Inspire your little ones by being creative too! Start drawing at the dining room table and see how long it takes before you are joined by a pint-sized artiste. Or work on something together. Or go even bigger, and plan a family project for everyone to join in on. 
• Limit Screens
  We tell our kids that they have a choice to make: they can either consume entertainment, or make entertainment. The more they consume it, the less they will create it. That isn’t to say that entertainment can’t be inspiring. It absolutely can. But there is a tipping point, beyond which entertainment effectively sucks our children dry of creativity, as well as their ability to be kind members of our family. Establish the limits you need to keep your kids from becoming brain-drained monsters. 
• Allow Them to Be Bored
  Somehow, parents believe that they are responsible for managing their kids’ boredom. That they owe their kids more television time if they can’t come up with some entertaining alternative that piques their interest. But we’re not. Experts claim that boredom is the doorway to imagination and creativity. If we keep telling them how to entertain themselves, we may rob them of the opportunity to come up with their own imaginative play. Let them be bored! 

Happy Spring Break! And if this list of ideas doesn’t help you enjoy it, then hang in there! It won’t last much longer. 

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