Summer Boredom Busters for Kids (That Are Actually Meaningful + Easy)

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If you’ve already heard “I’m bored”… you’re not alone.

Summer can be such a beautiful break, but without a little direction, it can also start to feel long for both you and your kids.

The good news? You don’t need a packed schedule or a full curriculum to keep your kids engaged.

Sometimes, all it takes is a simple idea to get things started.

A Different Kind of Summer Learning

Instead of trying to recreate your full homeschool routine, summer is the perfect time to shift into something lighter:

  • more creative
  • more flexible
  • more curiosity-led

Think:
✔ a watercolor project at the table
✔ a nature sketch outside
✔ exploring a country together
✔ following a question your child already has

This is where learning feels natural and actually sticks.

Pencil drawing of a woodchuck standing on a branch in a book journal. At the top of the page is a text saying sketches with a black and white branch graphic. This is being drawn by a kid with the book sitting on her legs. She is sitting on a rug

Two Ways to Beat Summer Boredom

Whether you’re brand new to Art Makes Me Smart or you’ve been a member for years, we wanted to make summer creativity simple.

That’s why we created two Summer Boredom Buster Wheels—one for everyone and one just for members. Each wheel is designed to help you move past “I’m bored” and into meaningful, creative learning with just one spin.

Not a Member Yet?

Our FREE Summer Boredom Buster Wheel is filled with creative prompts you can enjoy using supplies you probably already have at home.

Spin the wheel and try:

  • 🎨 Choose an artist to learn about and recreate one of their masterpieces.
  • 🌿 Spend 15 minutes in nature and draw what you see.
  • ☀️ Watercolor a summer scene inspired by your favorite summer memories.
  • 📖 Illustrate your favorite story and imagine what happens next.
  • 🎶 Put on a favorite song and draw, paint, or color what the music makes you feel.
  • 🎭 Put on a puppet show for your family using puppets you make yourself.

These aren’t just art projects, they’re invitations to observe, imagine, create, and connect together.

Already an Art Makes Me Smart Member?

Your Members Summer Boredom Buster Wheel takes the guesswork out of planning by pointing you directly to lessons already waiting inside your membership.

One spin might have you:

  • 📚 Completing a Unit Study
  • 🌎 Exploring a country or state
  • 🐦 Watercoloring a bird from the Backyard Bird Bundle
  • ✏️ Trying a lesson from Drawing Nature
  • 🧠 Exploring a concept in The Math & Art Connection
  • 🎨 Learning about a famous artist in Discover Artist Studies

Simply spin the wheel, open the membership, and start creating. No searching for ideas. No last-minute planning. Just meaningful learning that’s ready when you are.

Kid's hands watercoloring prairie scene with blue, green, tan, dark brown, and red colors. Next to her are paint tubes, a small paintbrush, a paint palette, a watercolor palette, and a Oklahoma packet

One Spin Can Become an Entire Afternoon

The best part? One simple prompt often turns into so much more.

Imagine your child spins “Choose a country or state to explore.”

You pull up a lesson, read a picture book together, make a regional recipe, create artwork inspired by that place, and suddenly you’ve spent the afternoon traveling the world without leaving home.

Or maybe they land on “Learn about a famous artist.”

You discover an artist’s story, admire a few masterpieces, learn a new technique, and create your own artwork together.

That’s the beauty of art-first learning. One simple idea naturally grows into an afternoon filled with curiosity, creativity, and connection.

Dark brown wood table with a Henri Matisse painting of a window with flower pots on the sill opening to boats going out on the ocean on a clipboard. Next to this is a hand drawn replica by someone else. On top of it is the Henri Matisse art makes me smart artist study packet with a Henri Matisse self portrait in the middle. Under this are pages from the art makes me smart booklet. On the table are small paintbrushes, colored pencils, a small paint palette with dried paint, a watercolor palette, markers, and markers and pencils cup.

Let Us Do the Planning for You

If you’ve ever found yourself searching Pinterest, piecing together activities, or wondering what to do next, you’re not alone.

That’s exactly why we created the Art Makes Me Smart Membership.

Inside, you’ll find an ever-growing library of open-and-go lessons, including:

  • 🎨 Art Classes
  • 🦩 Unit Studies
  • 🌿 Nature Studies
  • 🌎 Around the World
  • 🇺🇸 Road Trip Around America
  • 🖼️ Discover Artist Studies
  • 🎼 Composer & Music Studies
  • 🧠 The Math & Art Connection
  • 🐦 Backyard Bird Bundle
  • ✏️ Drawing Nature
  • …and so much more.

Everything is thoughtfully planned and connected, so you can spend less time preparing and more time making memories with your children.

This summer, let us do the planning—you enjoy the creativity.

Various images at top of picture. Behind these images on the top left is a light teal watercolor ombre fading into white. On the top right is a blue watercolor fading into white. The first image filling in most of the top of the page is of three kids sitting at wood table doing anatomy art projects. There is a cup full of pencils, a glue stick, a box of pastels, watercolor palettes, paintbrushes, drawn anatomy reference pictures, Around the World packet, pictures of hand drawn anatomy pictures in front of the kids. The next image is a smaller vertical one of a girl watercoloring referencing an artwork on another page. She is sitting at dark wood table with a book and jar of water next to her painting. Next to her is a girl in a purple dress. The next image in the top right is a horizontal one of a boy is crafting three paper Koi fish. One Koi fish is light pink, the other is blue with a yellow tail, and the third koi fish is orange with a green tail. The pink koi fish has red, blue, purple, yellow, and pink pastel outlines. The blue koi fish has blue, white, and pink outlines. And the orange koi fish has black, green, white, and orange outlines. Each are whole punched near the top with either light blue or dark blue string strung through. This is all done on a dark wood table with a pastel palette, scissors, yarn, hole puncher, and mini flag next to it. On the bottom of that picture is another same size horizontal picture of a kid's hand drawing watercolored fish. The fish is pink and purple watercolor and the background is green and blue. A small yellow border is under these pictures with black words in all caps in the middle saying artmakesmesmart.com. Under this yellow border on the bottom of the page is five art makes me smart cover pages. On the near top of all of these pages is the bold words art makes me smart in all caps with various colors. In the first three packets under the art makes me smart words in small black text says an art first approach to learning. On the very top of the first three packet covers is blue, teal, green, yellow, pink, red strips. The first packet cover is a painting of Vivaldi. In swirly black font over his painting says The Music connection. Under the painting in smaller black twirly text are the words composer study antonio vivaldi. The next cover image is a circle of light blue with a drawing of lungs that are light pink and the spine is light tan and the bronchial tree that was light tan. On top of the circle in black swirly text says anatomy adventures and on the bottom of the circle in smaller black swirly text says the respiratory system. The next cover page is a watercolor dark watercolor blue of a whale with a light blue grey watercolor underside. Under it in swirly black text is the words Whale Unit Study. The next packet cover in the has designs in the art makes me smart words. In the t in art is a paintbrush. In the A in makes is a pencil compass. In the m in me is a ruler. And in the t in smart is a t ruler. Under these words in smaller swirly black text says The Math and Art Connection. There is also a picture of watercolored country road painting with a paintbrush next to it. In bold black text under this painting is the words country roads in all caps. The last cover page has a graphic of the globe of the earth with swirly grey around the world text on top and swirly grey smaller scandinavia text on the bottom. On top of all of this on the middle left side is a red swirly badge graphic with white words trusted by over 1,000 homeschooling families the 1,000 being bigger than the rest of the text.

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