101 Things to Do When Kids Say "I'm Bored"

School's out and many families are going to be home. How will you occupy the kids short of farming them out every day to a different friend or relative?  Happily, Care.com has some suggestions.

Nix boredom in the bud with this list of fun (and low cost, low stress) activities to keep your kids occupied and happy.

By Kayla Mossien, Contributor

"I'm bored!" If you’re raising or acting as a nanny or babysitter for kids, chances are you're all too familiar with this phrase. But what do you do?

For the best chance of hooking -- and holding -- kids' attention, aim for activities that engage the senses and are at the right level of difficulty (not too easy, not too challenging). And don’t get down on yourself if you're having a hard time brainstorming inventive new ideas.

“I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that kids, even young ones, are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves with a little push,” says Sarah Hamaker, parenting coach and author of "Boredom Busters."

So the next time your little one whines, “I’m bored!,” check out this list of 101 kid-friendly, parent-approved things to do.

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Show & Tell: 7-Year-Old Maayan and Her ‘Shabbat Siddur’

Zivar Amrami for Kveller

This is the tenth post in Kveller's portrait series, Show & Tell, which features children ages 4-12 photographed with their favorite object.

This is Maayan, age 7 with her Shabbat Siddur (prayer book)

Her favorite thing is her Shabbat siddur, which she received as a reward for passing Book 3 in Kriyah at Lamplighters, where she goes to school in Crown Heights. Maayan loves studying, especially the sense of accomplishment that comes with working hard. Because of this, she is ahead in her class, and enjoys challenges, especially figuring out how to conquer them. For her, the siddur reminds her of this every time she opens it.

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The Top Jewish Baby Names of 2015 Are Here

Joanna Valente (Editorial Assistant) for Kveller

It seems like Jewish baby names are going strong this year, taking up several slots in the top 25 most popular names of the year, according to Baby Center’s Top 100 list for 2015. Parents just can’t enough biblical and old-fashioned names these days, with Noah making the #5 boy name and Ava earning the #4 girl name.

It seems, however, that Jewish boy names are much more popular than Jewish girl names. We wonder why this may be the case–expectant parents everywhere, get on this. (We’re kind of kidding. Kind of.)

Without further delay, here are the most popular Jewish baby names for 2015:

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The Chanukah Story: Why Jews Celebrate Miracles

A Chanukah Video from G-dcast.com, explains the story in their delightful way.






 For more great Hanukkah ideas, check out our    page.

For even more great ideas, visit our Hanukkah Holiday Spotlight Kit

 

8 Hanukkah facts for kids

by Nina Spitzer for SheKnows.com

Even though Hanukkah is often included in "Christmas Around the World" celebrations, it's not the "Jewish Christmas." Here are some basic Hannukah facts for kids.

Hanukkah does fall in December, frequently very near the dates of the Christian Christmas celebration, and may involve the exchange of gifts, but that's where the similarity ends. Here are some basic facts about this Jewish holiday that will help children better understand the difference.

1. Hanukkah (The Festival of Lights)
The history of Hannukah predates Christmas. Antiochus, the Greek king of Syria, outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods. Most Jews were angry and decided to fight back. In 165 B.C.E, the Jewish Maccabees managed to drive the Syrian army out of Jerusalem and reclaim their temple. Hanukkah is the celebration of this victory. In history, Hanukkah has been a minor holiday, only gaining in popularity since the late 1800s. In Hebrew, the word "Hanukkah" means "dedication."

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For more great Hanukkah ideas, check out our    page.

For even more great ideas, visit our Hanukkah Holiday Spotlight Kit

Top 10 Interesting Hanukkah Crafts & Activities For Your Kids

From MomJunction

The Hanukkah celebrations are marked with lots of decorations. There is a lot to design and develop to create the best of the Festival of Lights and Feast of Dedication.

It’s even more fun with children, as together you can create beautiful decorations. This will be a great way to educate them about the culture and also engage them in some interesting activities.

What Is Hanukkah Festival?

Hanukkah is a lesser known Jewish festival. It starts from the 25th day of Kislev (in December) and goes on for eight days. The festival commemorates the rededication of the temple in 165 BC by the Maccabees after its ruin by Syrians. Eight lights are successively kindled to mark the same.

Top 10 Hanukkah Crafts And Activities For Kids:

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For more great Hanukkah ideas, check out our    page.

For even more great ideas, visit our Hanukkah Holiday Spotlight Kit

50 Jewish Things To Do Before 13

By Lenore Skenazy for The Jewish Daily Forward

Bucket lists are kind of sad, focused as they are on the stabbing regrets we’ll feel on our death bed. As if dying weren’t enough of a downer.

On the other hand, the lists do present a nifty, compact way to remind ourselves that the time to enjoy life is now. That’s why I was so excited to hear that Britain’s National Trust had compiled a list of “50 Things To Do Before You’re 12.” What a great way to remind kids — and their parents — that what looms for all tweens is adulthood. Pretty soon it will be too late, or at least more awkward, for kids to make their first fort, or mud pie.

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How Our Schools are Screwing Up Recess

Rachel Fadlon for Kveller

I am *this* close to packing up and moving my family to Finland. This close.

The Finns, they just get it. Their health care system works for everyone. They provide educational opportunities for the their citizens. They all take real vacations and appreciate life. They have amazing maternity leave.

You know what else they get right? School. Have you seen their international rankings? They score above the US in every subject. But what intrigues me most about the Finnish system is how often they let their students take unstructured breaks during the school day. At a time when our school system is reducing the number and length of recess time, the Fins are giving their kids 15-minute breaks after each 45-minute session. Think about that for a minute…

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Think You Hate Barbies? You’ll Probably Love Their New Ad

Joanna Valente for Kveller

When you think of Barbie, you probably don’t think of feminism or female empowerment. If anything, you probably think of all the ways Barbie reinforces unhealthy stereotypes about women’s bodies. Mattel, however, is looking to throw that stereotype in the trash, where it belongs.

Like every major company these days, Mattel is rebranding Barbie with a new advertising campaign. The goal is to show little girls that women aren’t just eye candy, but intelligent people who can make a positive difference in any field they choose. Evelyn Mazzocco, global svp and general manager of Barbie, told Adweek:

“We want to remind the world what Barbie stands for. Founded by a female entrepreneur and mother in 1959, the Barbie brand has always represented the fact that women have choices. This ongoing initiative is designed to remind today’s parents that through the power of imagination, Barbie allows girls to explore their limitless potential.”

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‘Sesame Street’ Introduces First Character with Autism

Joanna Valente for Kveller
Well, this makes us totally happy. “Sesame Street” just made history with the creation of their new muppet, Julia, who is the first character on the show with autism. Launched just this morning, “Sesame Street and Autism: See Amazing in All Children“ seeks to reduce “the stigma of autism,” which we’re all about.

The initiative was created for families with children ages 2 to 5, which includes a free app that incorporates video, digital story cards designed to make daily life tasks easier for those with autism, and storybook materials for organizations and families. These materials are intended to make children with autism feel included and understood. For instance, in the storybooks, Julia describes to her friends how she likes to play a little differently from them.

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Everything That Ran Through My Mind After My Baby Fell Off the Table

Meredith Ginsberg for Kveller

My baby fell on the changing table.

You’re probably already judging me. I’m judging me, too–don’t worry. Yeah, it happened, and it could happen to anyone. Thank God, he was fine. The pediatrician kind of laughed at me when I insisted on bringing him in, and told me that it does, in fact, happen every day. If it does happen to you, watch for vomiting and a change in behavior and eating habits. Unless that happens, however, but your kid is most likely totally fine.

Here’s almost exactly what went through my mind:

1. Oh my God…
2. How did that happen, I was holding his leg…Wow, he is strong.
3. Man, his head makes a loud thump, even on carpet.
4. I am the only mom who has ever done this before, ever in the history of parenting.

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Is It Kosher for Parents to Spank?

Michelle Cove, Editor, 614 HBI eZINE

Spanking was in the news spotlight this year. There was much controversial discussion after a mom smacked her 16-year-old son (on camera) for throwing rocks at the police during a violent demonstration in Baltimore. In June the Massachusetts Supreme Court established guidelines for the use of physical punishment, including spanking, by parents. I was spanked as a child, although only if I’d done something really wrong. The fact that I can’t remember any of the reasons behind getting spanked makes a case for how ineffective, at best, this type of discipline may be. None of the moms I know today spank their kids (I’m told), and yet, as you’ll learn in this issue, the large majority of American parents do spank. We Americans certainly have complicated feelings about the topic, and on whether we are meant to “Spare the rod. Spoil the child.” (Proverbs 13:24). In this issue, we present various Jewish perspectives to help you form or reshape your own opinion. Our name “614” comes from the fact that even though there are 613 good deeds suggested for leading a Jewish life, there’s always room for exploration. No. 614 this month: Be intentional about how you discipline your children.

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Mayim Bialik: The Hebrew Prayer That Brought My Son & Me Together

Mayim Bialik for Kveller

How did it happen? How did he do it? How did we do it?

He’s almost 10 now. He still has so many echoes of his tiny self. Those big eyes. The rosy cheeks. The sweet cuddles and the smile that melts my heart.

But now the eyes have a better-proportioned head around them. The rosy cheeks once porcelain and smooth now have freckles and even a well-earned scar or two. The cuddles are only in private. The smile is older, and it’s wiser.

It doesn’t seem long ago that we hired a Jewish studies/Hebrew tutor. We homeschool our sons, so Hebrew and Jewish education are one of the things we “outsource.” His tutor noted early on how much he loves the structure of learning, how much he wants to do more and more, how astute he is. I was like that in Hebrew school. I remember.

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I Feel Like I Walk on Eggshells with My Own Daughter & I Don’t Know What to Do

Meredith Ginsberg for Kveller

I rode a roller coaster today. Actually, I ride one everyday. I hate these kinds of roller coasters. They’re anxiety-inducing, nausea-causing misery. I ride them with my 5-year-old, my first baby, these “behavior coasters” as I like to call them. Today it was about shoes in Target, yesterday it was about choosing the wrong underwear. Everyday, it’s about nursing her brother.

My first baby, this smart, witty, and sweet girl, is what you might refer to as a “difficult child.” Trying to guess what her reaction will be to a question, command, or suggestion is simply futile, and it sure is a tough way to live. The ladies in the grocery store say, “Doesn’t she have quite the personality…” Others remind me, like I need to be reminded, that I have my hands full.  “Strong-willed,” most people tell me.

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Explaining Yom Kippur to Children

From bje.org

What is Yom Kippur?

‘Yom Kippur’ means the ‘Day of Atonement’. That is, the day when we try to make up for any wrong things we have done. It is a day of fasting which starts at sunset on the 10th of Tishrei and finishes when night falls on the 11th Tishrei.

Yom Kippur is also called ‘The Sabbath of Sabbaths’. It is the most holy day in the Jewish year. It is the day when God decides what will happen to every Jewish person in the year ahead.
Asking forgiveness and making up for our sins

Yom Kippur is not like other special Jewish days. It does not remind us about something that happened to the Jewish people in our long history. Instead, it is all about each individual Jewish person’s behaviour

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The High Holidays are upon us, check out our High Holidays Spotlight Kit

Survive Yom Kippur with Kids!

Pediatric Occupational Therapy Services

How on earth you are going to fast, pray and reflect while feeding and entertaining your children? GOOD QUESTION. It is hard, but with some preparation it can be survivable. Here are our best tips:

At Home:

1. Set the table the night before
2. Create snacks and meals that kids can manage themselves
3. For breakfast, pour cereal in bowls, cover with a napkin and leave it on the table. Put cups with the right amount of milk for cereal in the fridge
4. For snacks, have cut up fruits and vegetables in transparent, easy to open containers or baggies
5. Buy a new game, puzzle or book
6. Have quiet games that your child enjoys and can play with independently within sight, reachable, and organized enticingly

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Check out Jvillage’s High Holiday+    page.

 For more information and ideas visit our High Holidays Spotlight Kit

High Holiday Services with Kids

Engaging your children at synagogue.

By Sarah Gershman for MyJewishLearning.com

High Holiday services have the potential to be the spiritual climax of the year–an opportunity for communal and personal reflection and growth. Yet, for many adults, the long hours in synagogue feel overwhelming and foreign. It can be difficult to understand what is happening, let alone to find meaning.

These challenges are complicated further when you bring children into the picture. Parents are often faced with some difficult choices about High Holiday services:

If I bring my young children into synagogue with me, will it be disruptive to others and stressful to keep them quiet?

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Check out Jvillage’s High Holiday+    page.

For more information and ideas visit our High Holidays Spotlight Kit

Co-Sleeping Doesn’t Have to Wreck Your Sex Life

Wendy Wisner for Kveller

Since becoming parents almost nine years ago, my husband and I have always had a child (or two) in our bed, camped out on the floor, or on an extra mattress smushed up against ours. Basically, my husband and I have given up all bedroom privacy since kids entered the picture. I’m not going to lie and say it’s all sunshine and roses, but it’s what we do, and everyone (including my husband) is happy with the arrangement. I totally get that not everyone wants to share a bed or a bedroom with their kids, and it goes without saying that every family should do what works for them.

But anytime someone mentions co-sleeping, there is always a lot of chatter about how it will supposedly destroy your sex life (almost always coming from someone who has never co-slept). Again, if you don’t want to share a bed with your kids, don’t do it. But I want to make one thing clear about those of us who co-sleep: We still have as much sex as we damn well please.

Really.

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Please Don’t Feed My Toddler Without Asking Me

Maurie Backman for Kveller

My family recently attended a party where we knew several guests in attendance, but not well. At one point a well-meaning acquaintance came over to say hello and decided to give our toddler a plate of cookies. It was really nice of her—no question. But it annoyed me, because rather than ask if she could offer my son something to eat, or what that something should be, she decided to just hand over a bunch of cookies to him directly.

This has happened to us before. In fact, I’ve kvetched about people giving my son candy at temple and gotten some feedback along the lines of, “You need to chill out.” But my philosophy is this: At a certain age—and frankly, I’m not sure exactly what it is—I think it’s OK to offer a child food directly. But if that child is 3.5 like my son, or younger, it’s not OK, and here’s why:

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Our First Family Vacation Failed, But For Reasons We Didn’t Expect

By Jaclyn Novatt for Kveller

Our first family vacation was both a huge success and a total failure.

Our twins are almost 4 years old, and our destination was Pennsylvania. We planned to visit Dutch Wonderland and the Please Touch museum—both destinations were highly recommended by friends whose kids are also almost 4 years old.

We arrived at our hotel in Lancaster at about 2:30 Sunday afternoon. We were thrilled to see that our hotel was literally ACROSS THE STREET from Dutch Wonderland. Perfect! Our tickets allowed us to enter Dutch Wonderland after 5:30 p.m. on Sunday and still use our tickets all day Monday. Since we had about three hours to kill before we could enter the park, we decided to explore the hotel.

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Meet Mifold, The Tiny Grab-And-Go Booster Seat That Fits Into Any Bag

By Eunice Lim, NoCamels

An innovative booster seat developed in Israel provides proof that good things come in small packages.

The mifold “grab-and-go” seat promises to simplify carpooling for parents without compromising safety. mifold is flat, portable, foldable, dishwasher-friendly (!), and much smaller than traditional booster seats, so that children can carry it around in their backpacks. Soon, you won’t need to schlep a full-size booster seat on your vacation!

The crowds are already cheering for mifold: The miraculous booster seat has raised $162,000 on crowd-funding platform Indiegogo in only two days, which is more than four times its goal of $40,000. And, there are four more weeks to go for those who still want to jump on the bandwagon – early-bird supporters will receive the product for $31 by March 2016.

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Why My Kids Are Going Back to Jewish Day School

By Rona Kaufman Kitchen for Kveller

For four years, my children attended Community Day School, Pittsburgh’s independent Jewish day school located in Squirrel Hill, the city’s historically Jewish neighborhood.

The school’s mission is to “educate Menschen: young people who are academically strong who grow to be good people, knowledgeable Jews, contributing citizens of the people of Israel, the United States, and our world.” Essentially, CDS promises not only a rigorous secular education–it promises to partner with me to raise my children.

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The 9 Stages of Toddler Art

By Lindsey Barnes for Kveller

As little as I know about art, I know this: Art is subjective. If the kid believes it’s “art,” who am I to say otherwise?

If you are now, or have ever been, the parent of a toddler, you know exactly why “art” is in quotes. While these mini-masterpieces take many shapes and forms, few of them are what one might call gallery-ready.

These are the nine phases we go through with our toddler “art.”

1. The Prodigy

It all started when our little geniuses figured out how to hold a crayon properly in their hand… Amazing! With tongue splayed out the side of their mouth, contact was thoughtfully made with the paper. Incredible! Just like that, the first “masterpiece” was created. We cherished that first gem. It got pride of placement on the fridge and ample discussion of its many artistic merits. Should we start saving now for art school?

2. On A Roll

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10 Kid-Friendly Meals for Shabbat Dinner

Shannon Sarna for Kveller

Planning Shabbat dinner each week is one of my greatest joys. No, really. Cultivating a creative and seasonal menu, grocery shopping, setting the table–I really love it all. Or at least most of the time.

Then there are other weeks when I have no flipping idea what to serve. I am tired, pressed for time, or just lacking the energy to come up with something more than average.

And now that my daughter is old enough to express opinions about what’s for dinner, I have added another layer of stress to those weeks: kid-pleasing dishes.

To help on those off weeks when you barely have time to shower, nevermind come up with some brilliant dish in the kitchen, I put together a few of my favorite recipes sure to take some of the pressure off of you, and satisfy even your most demanding, little Shabbat guests.

1. Pretzel Chicken Fingers from Tales of an Overtime Cook

What’s better than chicken fingers? Chicken fingers coated in pretzels with a honey mustard dipping sauce. This is the kind of dish you make “for the kids,” but secretly can’t stop eating because it’s so good. Miriam Pascal says this is one of the most popular recipes on her site.

2. Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Icing from SparkPeople.com

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Teaching Kids to be a Jewish Hero

Five ways to help our children realize their hero potential.

by Ruchama King Feuerman
Every kid has a secret fantasy of saving the day – being the one to stop the mugger, jump into the ocean to save the drowning child, commandeer the plane away from the hijackers. I think we all harbor that wish to be brave, to be a hero.

I met an elderly man in Safed who had thrown his whole body on top of hand grenade about to explode in a crowded plaza. It didn't detonate but his legendary act still inspired awe and gratitude years later. Now that's a hero, I thought. Every Israeli soldier who goes into his battle and risks his life is a hero.

But what is a Jewish hero? Are our heroes different? Ethics of the Fathers (4:1) asks, “Who is considered strong and brave? Who is regarded as a hero? Someone who conquers his yetzer hara – one’s impulses to commit wrong and do bad. As it written, “Better is one slow to anger than a strong man, and one who rules over his spirit than a conqueror of a city” (Proverbs 16:32).

This definition of a hero tells me lots of things:

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Florida Parents Temporarily Lose Custody of Kids Due to Unsupervised Yard Time

Suzanne Samin for Kveller

The free-range parenting fracas continues. According to an interview posted on free-range expert Lenore Skenazy’s website, two Florida parents are facing felony charges for…allowing their son to play in their yard while waiting for them to come home from work.

Skenazy wrote:

    One afternoon this past April, a Florida mom and dad I’ll call Cindy and Fred could not get home in time to let their son, 11, into the house. The boy didn’t have a key so he played basketball in the yard. He was alone for 90 minutes. A neighbor called the cops, and when the parents arrived — having been delayed by traffic and rain — they were arrested for negligence. They were put in handcuffs, strip searched, fingerprinted and held overnight in jail.

    It would be a month before their sons — the 11 year old and his 4-year-old brother — were allowed home again.

“Cindy” and “Fred” were charged with a felony, and their two sons were sent to live with a woman who is described as a “problematic relative,” who refused to bring the children to visit their parents. She eventually grew tired of caring for them, and sent them back into state custody, where they were fed cereal and not much else.

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