Fighting those Winter Blahs with "BORED GAMES"!

Wouldn't it be great to be a bear and hibernate through the rest of this unbelievably long winter? I am SO READY for spring. Did you hear that, Punxsutawney Phil? No shadow!!!

In the meantime, there is a whole slew of NEW activities on the Fishful Thinking site to help keep our spirits up and focus on "what is controllable" (because this cold weather stuff is definitely out of my hands). This activity seemed to CALL OUT to me -

BORED GAMES : Tired of your kids spending all of their time playing video games, i-chatting or watching television, but dread the inevitable "I’m bored" chorus (or in Noah's case - incessant whining) whenever you make them step away? Try creating a list of "Bored Games."

First, help your children explore some of the things they like to do - cooking, reading, drawing, learning to play an instrument, etc. Then, once you have a good list, put each activity on a slip of paper and place them in a "Bored Jar." When the time comes and your kids get bored, they can draw a random activity out of the jar.

Examples of Activities that reinforce Fishful Thinking:
Resilience

• Puzzles
• Stacking cups (See how long it takes to stack and unstack plastic cups in the form of a pyramid)

 (How my boy loves to stack cups!)

Emotion Awareness

• Creating knock-knock jokes (Noah loves this one too!)
• Giving mom or dad a fashion makeover (I've had a few of these already. Dad? Not so much.)

Goal Setting

• Painting
• Baking (Homemade chocolate chip cookies always brighten my day!)

Optimism

• Bake cookies for a neighbor
• Draw a picture for a grandparent or someone special
• Plan a funny surprise for one of your family members (The kids love the rubber band around the kitchen sink sprayer trick.)

Empowerment

• For curious kids: reading a mystery book (Abby is very into The Boxcar Children right now.)
• For adventuresome kids: making an indoor obstacle course

 (cardbox "tunnels" courtesy of Daddy)

Here's hoping these "bored games" keep 'em busy - at least until Valentine's Day. (What are some of your kids' favorite boredom busters?)