Boredom Busters for Distance Learning

We’re on week two of being out of school and we already miss our students. We sent them these ideas to keep boredom away and to help parents who might need activities. Of course, we want to share with all of you. These are tough times indeed. Sending out positive vibes and prayers for good health for everyone.

Writing ideas:

*If you do not have much paper at home, see if you might still have any old journals or the kindergarten journal from last year, or use the back of things you receive in the mail such as envelopes or letters. Use the backs of old school papers, the inside of cereal, rice, or pasta boxes, or brown grocery bags. If you run out of paper, all of these ideas can be done orally. Let your child tell their answer.

1. Make a list of the food you have in one cabinet or the pantry. Then arrange the words in ABC order. First graders should be able to alphabetize 8-10 items by the first letter. If you’re looking for a challenge, try using some words that start with the same letter.

2. Write about the night you found a bear in your bed.

3. Make a list of 15 of your favorite foods. Ask someone else in your house to tell you their favorite foods. Compare your lists.

4. Write about a cat that came to your home to be your new teacher while school is out.

5. Tell about you and your best friend who happens to be an elephant. What do you like to do together? How are you the same? How are you different?

6. Write a workout routine for yourself (and brothers and sisters if you have them.) Include sit-ups, jumping jacks, push-ups, and running in place. Don’t forget to tell how many times each exercise should be done. See if you can get someone in your house to do it with you each day.

7. Watch a TV show or movie. Write a review where you tell others how you feel about it and if you would recommend it. Tell how many stars you think it deserves.

8. Write down the name of every family member you have. Next to their name tell why you love them. Share this with your family at dinner.

Math ideas:

1. Practice patterns with cereal, M&Ms, blocks, coins, or things in nature such as sticks and pebbles. Make patterns such as AB, ABC, ABCD, ABB, ABBCD, or ABCC. Create more.

2. Write out your own addition or subtraction facts. Then set a timer and see how fast you can answer them. Ask an adult to check your answers.

3. Make addition or subtraction facts for someone else in your house such as an older brother or sister. Set a timer and make THEM write the answers as fast as they can. Then pretend you are the teacher and check their work. If they get any wrong, teach them how to do it correctly.

4. Draw your favorite shape. Walk around your house or yard and see how many places you can find your shape. Put tally marks every time you see it. How many tally marks did you have altogether?

5. Practice counting backwards. Start at an easy number such as 20. Then start at higher numbers like 67 or 93. See how fast you can go. Use different voices: baby, monster, robot, or tiger.

6. Make a schedule for yourself. Draw clocks or write the digital times to show when you will complete each task. For example, 8:00 Wake up, 8:30 Eat breakfast…

7. Make up addition and subtraction word problems about your family and friends. Don’t forget to circle or highlight the important information.

8. Count by twos while marching in place. See how high you can count. Try to get to 110 but go higher if you want! Do it a second time and march faster.

Other ideas:

1. Read anything!

2. Find two objects in your house such as, stuffed animals, shoes, or forks. Make up a conversation between the two objects. They can talk to each other about what they will have for dinner, or what they plan to do tomorrow. Perform the conversation for someone in your house.

3. Build a fort. Ask your mom or dad what blankets, pillows, towels, or coats are okay to use. After you make your fort, crawl inside and pretend you are someplace far away. Where is it? Do you speak a different language? What will you eat in your faraway place? If you don’t have anything to build a fort, crawl into an empty bathtub, a closet, or under a table.

4. Call a friend or family member who doesn’t live with you. Tell them 3 things you like about them.

5. Draw pictures or do a craft. Use old scraps, items from recycling, or even empty paper towel or toilet paper tubes.

6. Take a walk around the house. What do you see? Count how many pieces of furniture you have. Or help someone in your home clean up.

7. Write a commercial for your favorite food or toy. Perform it for your family.

8. Make up a song about how you feel today. Sing it for your family or call a friend and sing it for them.

Technology ideas:

1. Learn how to draw by following along with this family. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGM_VhNXMmo&fbclid=IwAR3yPZXAZYXjibbylKseildWdCl-0-LcUBdWg2pfbTB76hpTRUvKSZiw98c&app=desktop

2. Practice flexibility and mindfulness with Cosmic Kids Yoga. https://www.youtube.com/user/CosmicKidsYoga

3. Review and extend math skills at www.SplashMath.com. Parents can sign up for free.

4. Learn about animals, space, the fifty states, and more at https://kids.nationalgeographic.com.

5. Listen to celebrities read some great books at https://www.storylineonline.net.

6. ABCYa has TONS of math and reading games organized by grade level. No need to sign up for anything. https://www.abcya.com

7. Highlights Kids has everything from easy-to-follow recipes to jokes to science questions. https://www.highlightskids.com

8. Do you like podcasts? Smash, Boom, Best and Brains On are two great ones! https://www.brainson.org

9. Who doesn’t like escape rooms? Can you break out? Check out some free activities from BreakoutEDU at https://www.breakoutedu.com/funathome.