This is not my list, I got it off a Facebook group and now I can't remember which one to credit it
90 Things to Do When You’re “Bored”:
Creative Non-Screen Activities
Brainstorm and list as many alternative ways you can think of to use a paperclip. OR ways to use a rubber-band, a toothpick, a tennis ball, a spoon, a cup, or any other ordinary object.
Brainstorm and list as many new ideas you can think of for new toys or games. Or ideas for a new book, or for a new business, or for a new type of school, or for a new club, or for new ways to organize your bedroom, or for new movies, or for new weekly TV shows, or for new household appliances/gadgets, or for new electronic devices, or for new inventions, or for new video games, or for new amusement parks.
Choose one recent day, and imagine that you were a journalist writing a news story/article what happened to you that day for the local newspaper. Spend a few minutes thinking of the major events and story arcs of your day, key players and characters, points of drama or conflict, etc. Then ask yourself: What would the headline be? Try to come up with at least three different headlines, and write them down in your notebook.
Write a story or create a short comic book/graphic novel. It could be about you, a family member, your favorite television/movie character, a pet, your favorite animal, a dragon, a princess, a young athlete, a young person in another country, etc. Create a quick outline before you start writing or drawing.
Write a letter to an older family member or family friend that you don’t live with. Tell them about three interesting things about your life, and provide a bit of detail. Create a quick outline before you start writing.
Write a letter to your favorite author, letting them know what you like best about their book(s).
Read a book. Write a summary of it, or tell a sibling, family member, pet or toy about it. You can even call a family member that you don’t live with, and tell them about the book.
Draw a picture, person, animal, or illustrate a scene from a book. Challenge yourself to draw something you’ve never drawn before.
Color in a coloring book.
Clean out and organize your dresser or closet. Go through your clothes, shoes and accessories, and make a pile of those that don’t fit anymore or that you never wear anymore.
Clean out and organize the kitchen cabinets.
Build something with a building/construction toy (e.g. LEGOs, Tinker Toy, etc.).
Create a piece of art using recyclable trash that you find in your home.
Write a poem, song or rap.
Memorize the words to a song.
Memorize and recite a poem by heart.
Start a journal and write in it every day.
Create a map of your neighborhood.
Create a plan of the building/house you live in.
Create a plan of your school building.
Visit your local library and borrow some books.
Attend an event sponsored by your local public library.
Play outside. Explore an area nearby that you haven’t carefully explored before.
Jump rope or Double-Dutch.
Play hopscotch.
Watch a sunrise or sunset. Describe it in detail to someone.
Get a cold drink and sit outside (or at a window) and observe the outside world: birds, squirrels, workers, passer-bys, etc.
Clean up the front yard or back yard of your house or apartment building, or of a neighbor or family member.
Create a “scientific journal” of all the birds, insects, trees, OR flowers in your neighborhood. You can draw pictures of the item, describe it, and make notes on where and how often you see it, its behavior, etc.
Dress-up in an old Halloween costume, an older family member’s clothes, sheets, towels, or anything else in your home that your parent/guardian will allow. Role-play the characters you are dressed as: ninja, princess, dragon, pirate, superhero, Pokemon character, an explorer, archaeologist, wizard/sorcerer, inventor, U.S. President, scientist, astronaut, character in one of your favorite books, etc.
Create/write and act out a skit, play, or puppet show.
Play a card game you already know.
Learn a new card game (Solitaire, Spades, UNO, etc.).
Build a tower out of cards.
Play a board game, Connect Four, Jenga, etc.
Do a puzzle.
Play Dominoes.
Do a crossword puzzle, word search or Sudoku.
Play a game of chess or checkers. Learn how to play, if you don’t know how.
Play Charades.
Play I Spy.
Play Tic Tac Toe.
Play Hangman.
Play Rock, Paper, Scissors or Thumb war.
Play Simon Says.
Play Jacks. Use pebbles instead of jacks, if you don’t have any. You can also use a small stone if you don’t have a small bouncing ball; just toss the stone up in the air, grab the pebbles, and then catch the tossed rock before it hits the ground.
Play marbles.
Play Throwing Fists, a traditional Chinese game (age 6+). On the count of 3, two or more participating players throw out their hands in front of them with anything from 0 fingers to 5 fingers extended. At the same time, the child whose turn it is, calls out a number. If the fingers extended add up to that number, the child wins. Obviously, the child must call out a number that might come up. So if 2 children are playing, the numbers can be between 0 and 10; if 3 children are playing, between 0 and 15, and so on. Children must be careful to throw their fists on time, too, so that no child can be accused of changing her fingers after the number is called! Kids will soon learn that if they are displaying zero fingers themselves they should call low, etc.
Play Throwing the Square, a traditional Chinese game (5+). Draw a rectangle, about 24 inches by 12 inches, on the ground with chalk or scrape it in the dirt - or cut one out of paper for an indoor game. Divide the rectangle in two so that you have two squares side by side. Draw or mark a further line about 8 feet away from the rectangle (you can adjust this according to the ages of your players). The game is played with two players or teams. Each side will need a throwing object - perhaps a miniature Frisbee, a beanbag, a flat rock or a wooden disk. One player places his object in one square. The other player moves to stand behind the line and tries to throw his object to land in the same square as the other player's object. Score as follows: The same square: 2 points. The other, empty square: 1 point. Outside the target: 0 points. The first side to an agreed score - perhaps 10 - wins.
Play Throw Coins, a traditional Chinese game similar to marbles (any age). Each child holds a coin up against a wall, with its edge touching the wall, and lets it drop. The child whose coin rolls furthest away from the wall then gets the first turn. He picks up his coin, marking its place with his foot (which he must not move). He then pitches his coin at the other coins lying around. If he touches a coin, he wins it and has another go. If he misses, everybody picks up their coins (or, if they have lost their coin, brings out another one or drops out) and starts again. You will need to decide whether to play with real coins as the prize or to claim them back at the end!
Play Hopping Chicken, a traditional Chinese game similar to hopscotch which can be played both indoors and outdoors, (6+). Each player or team (of two) has 10 sticks, each about 12 inches long. They are laid on the ground like a ladder, about 10 inches apart, one ladder for each player or team. One player from each team starts, hopping over the sticks without touching any of them. If a stick is touched, the player is disqualified. When the player has hopped over all the sticks he stops, still on one foot, and bends down to pick up the last stick. He then hops back over the remaining sticks. Reaching the beginning again, he drops the stick and sets off again to hop over the nine remaining sticks, pick up the last one, and return. Play continues until all of the sticks have been picked up. Remember, a player is disqualified if he puts both feet on the ground at any point during his turn, or if he touches a stick with his foot. Individual game: Count your mistakes. The winner is the player who finishes with the least mistakes. Team game: The winner is the team that has got the furthest along when all players are disqualified! If both teams finish, the winning team is the one that finishes with most players left. Variations: (a) Play as a race game. If you make a mistake, you start over. (b) Play as a relay. The first player hops over ten sticks, returning with the tenth. The second player hops over nine, the third hops over eight, etc. This works very well with mixed age groups, where the younger children play towards the end of the team's go. (c) Try changing the foot that you hop on each round!
Play Tripa Chuca (Dirty Guts), an indoor Salvadoran children’s game played with two people. Players will need a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. Take your sheet of paper and write two sets of numbers 1-20 all over the piece of paper in random order. Flip a coin to determine who will go first. Player 1 will draw a line from number 1 to the other number 1 without touching any other numbers or lines. Player 2 will then draw a line from number 2 to the other number 2 without touching any other numbers or lines. The game continues with each player taking a turn to connect the numbers. It may sound easy at first, but once you get to numbers 4 and 5, lines are everywhere. Hence the name, dirty guts!
Learn how to play a clapping game (Concentration, Mary Mack, etc.)
Find some string or yarn, tie it in a circle, and learn how to do “Cat’s Cradle” and “Jacob’s Ladder”.
Learn how to whistle.
Practice the limbo, or hold a limbo competition with your friends or family members.
Build a fort.
Make a leaf rubbing by placing a piece of paper over a leaf, and then rubbing/coloring/drawing over it. OR make a leaf print.
Create a collage or “vision board” by cutting out images from magazines and newspapers, and gluing/pasting them on a piece of paper.
Create a scrap book or memory book.
Plan and cook a meal for the family.
Learn how to cook a new recipe.
Bake cookies or another baked treat.
Make homemade popsicles.
Learn how to meditate: Lie or sit in a comfortable position, relax, close your eyes, and focus on one phrase or image for 30 seconds, and then gradually increase the length of time you can focus.
Learn some yoga poses.
Create a “family tree” of your extended family.
Look at old family photos.
Interview an older family member about something interesting he/she experienced or accomplished, or about how life/school was different back then, or in their country.
Call and talk to an older family member that you don’t see very often. Before you call them, brainstorm a few things you could talk to them about.
Practice braiding hair and creating new hairstyles.
Practice some popular dance moves.
Have a dance-off or dance battle.
Take a bubble bath.
Do calisthenics: sit-ups/crunches, push-ups, squats, jump squats, burpees, jumping jacks, jump rope, etc.
Learn how to fold a new kind of paper airplane.
If you play a sport or participate in cheer, dance, or an athletic activity, then practice some drills for that sport or activity.
If you play a musical instrument, then practice some drills for that instrument.
Ride a bike or skateboard.
Create and decorate a homemade birthday/holiday/greeting card for a family member. Inside it, write some lines to express how you feel about the person, or why you appreciate most about them.
Make a time capsule about your or your family, to be opened in 5-10 years, that includes some artifacts that represent some important things about your present-day life.
Make a cardboard box robot.
Make sock puppets.
Create a paper mache ball. Blow up a balloon and tie the end. Tear up strips of newspaper, dip them liberally one-by-one into a paste of flour and water, and then criss-cross the balloon. Let dry for about 3 days or until it is thoroughly dry. Use a straight pin, safety pin, or needle to pop the balloon. Paint and decorate the paper mache ball.
Create a tin-can telephone with two tin cans and a long string.
Create a volcano science experiment using vinegar and baking soda (optional: add a bit of red food dye, if you have any).
Create tie-dye t-shirts. You will need a white t-shirt, clothes dye, rubber bands, some medium large receptacles (pails, bowls, storage containers, etc.), and adult supervision.
Learn how to fold Origami.
Create and play your own Mancala game, using an egg carton and 36 small items (dried beans, pebbles, paper clips, etc.). Mancala is an ancient African game (possibly the oldest known game in the world!) that is still popular in many parts of Africa today.
http://www.sinasohn.com/crafts/mancala.htm
https://www.thriftyfun.com/Egg-Carton-Mancala-Game.html
https://amysfreeideas.com/English/egg_carton_mancala_game.html
ACTIVITIES THAT NEED INTERNET ACCESS
(& A BIT OF ADULT HELP)
Research and learn about an immigrant culture that is important to your family or community. For example, some of the largest immigrant populations in the Washington DC area are from El Salvador, Ethiopia, Mexico, India, Korea, Vietnam, the Philippines, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nigeria. Select one of these countries, and conduct some research about both the country/culture as well as about the presence and influence of people from this country/culture on the Washington DC area. Do some research on any of the following topics, and then either write a brief (written or drawn) report about what you learn, and/or teach a family member about what you have learned.
Geographic location (locate the country on a world map)
Languages
Religions
Cuisine and traditional dishes
Traditional clothing
Notable customs, holidays, celebrations, or traditions
Popular national sports/pastimes
Major industries and exports (for example, coffee)
Important historical events.