Boredom Busting Bingo
Do your kids ever complain about being bored? Mine do! They’ve learned to be more careful about saying they’re bored, though, because they know I’ll be happy to find something “fun” for them to do. (Like wash the dishes, fold laundry, or dust the furniture.) The truth is that all of us find ourselves looking for something fun to do now and then, though, especially if we’re stuck at home due to sickness, lack of transportation, etc.
Boredom Busting Bingo Game
That’s why we’re sharing this fun Boredom Busting Bingo game with you today! You’ll find lots of fun suggestions for things to do, things to learn, and ways to keep busy. Many of these ideas are free or very low-cost. Some of them are downloads that you’ll find right here on Only Passionate Curiosity.
If you’re at home looking for fun and constructive things to do, print some copies of our Boredom Busting Bingo game for your family. Then set a time limit (a few days, a week, or whatever amount of time you think is reasonable), and see who can reach “bingo” first! Want to go five in a row? That’s great! You’ll each learn or accomplish five new things! How about doing something a little different and going for an arrowhead pattern, a kite pattern, or a double bingo? (Take a look at these Nationwide Bingo patterns for lots of fun bingo pattern ideas!)
Freebies to Go with Your Bingo Game
We have articles and/or printables available for many of these bingo prompts, so take a look at the list below (in the section that says “Links to the Bingo Activities”).
Please Feel Free to Share!
Also, please feel free to share the link to our website and our store with friends and relatives who might be blessed by these printables and ideas!
Links to the Bingo Activities
Top Row:
Learn About Food Chains
We have some fun food chain printables to share with you! Just click the name(s) of the one(s) you want. You’ll go to our article with more information and a link to get your download.
Australian Food Chain Coloring Book
Try Quilled Art
Don’t have the supplies you need to make these crafts? Get creative and see what you and your kiddos can come up with and give it a try anyway! Or you can order the supplies (even though they may take a little longer to come in) and look forward to making these beautiful crafts together once your supplies arrive.
Beautiful Quilled Cherry Blossoms
Make Up a Dance
You don’t need our help for this one! Just put on your favorite music and have some fun!
Make a Homemade Pizza
Yum! In many homes, pizza is a favorite dish for both kids and adults! We have several delicious pizza recipes to share with you!
Delicious Low Carb Breakfast Pizza
Fast and Filling Pizza Casserole
Easy, Kid-Friendly “Lion King” Pizza
Build a Fort
This is another one you can do without our help. 🙂 Just grab whatever you have on hand and start building!
Row 2:
Camp Indoors
Or maybe set up a tent indoors and pretend you’re going on a camping trip! Pop some popcorn to eat and read some books while you’re in your tent, and have fun!
Dress Up and Have a Photo Shoot
Yes please! And after your photo shoot, post some cute or funny photos online (as long as your kids don’t mind) for your friends to see and enjoy. We need some fun and happy things to look at on social media these days!
Learn Sign Language
Sign language is something you can enjoy learning right along with your children! My daughter is learning ASL (American Sign Language), and she’s teaching me a few signs so we can communicate with each other even if we can’t hear each other. It’s really fun learning together, and I’ve been surprised at how often ASL has come in handy already!
American Sign Language Flash Cards and Matching Game
American Sign Language Alphabet Coloring Book
Make Faux Stained Glass Art
Have you ever made faux stained glass art? It’s beautiful, and it’s not hard to do! The only item you probably don’t already have around the house is liquid leading, and you can still create some beautiful faux stained glass art without it.
How to Create Faux Stained Glass Art with Kids
Listen to a Podcast
I’ve been listening to some great podcasts lately! When I’m washing dishes or folding laundry or cooking dinner, the job is much more pleasant when I’m listening to a podcast I enjoy. Take a look at some of the podcasts below, and choose some you and your children might enjoy.
Adventures in Odyssey – These video podcasts are so much fun! They are by Focus on the Family, so they often include a Bible lesson or teach good morals and values.
The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd – There are hundreds of these 5- or 6-minute podcasts available, so you can binge listen if you love them! These podcasts share the adventures of the World’s Most Brilliant Scientist, Dr. Floyd, as he tries to thwart the plans of his evil arch nemesis, Dr. Steve. And, while listening to these podcasts, your children will learning about the people and events that have shaped the history of the Earth. Lots of fun!
The Cramazingly Incredifun Sugarcrash Kids Podcast – These podcasts include stories, educational information (fictional stories with factual information), interviews with fictional characters, and fun songs. They’re made for kids, but grown ups love them too!
Storytime – Looking for stories for your little ones to listen to before bedtime? These are perfect! Each one is 20 minutes long or less, and kids love them!
Or search for more podcasts that are kid- and family-friendly!
Row 3:
Make Papercrafts
Papercrafts can be so much fun to work on together! These two happen have to do with winter. Whether it’s winter in your area or not (It’s more like spring where I live.), we still think you’ll enjoy making these beautiful papercrafts with your kids!
3D Papercraft: Festive Winter Scene
3D Papercraft: Cozy Winter Scene
Try Paper Mache
Paper mache is another super fun activity for kids! I know it can be hard to allow our kids to make a mess–especially if you’re stuck inside–but this kind of activity truly creates some awesome memories with your kiddos! And if you don’t want to make paper mache hats, use the information from these articles to make whatever kind of paper mache you want to make. Many years ago, my kids and I used balloons to make paper mache creatures, and then we wrote poems or stories about them. It was super fun! And my kids were inspired to get creative with their writing because they had something fun and unusual to write about. Give it a try!
Studying Art with Papier-Mâché Mary Cassatt Art Lesson
Cut a Recipe in Half
Did you know that we have a recipe site called Love These Recipes? It’s pretty small, but we do have some great recipes to choose from! If you’d like to work on cutting a recipe in half, choose a recipe and start cooking. Or, if you have a large family and it wouldn’t make sense to cut a recipe in half, do that opposite and double it instead! (You have our permission to fill in the “cut a recipe in half” bingo space even if you double the recipe instead. We won’t judge you.)
Learn About Binary Code
Whether your kids love science or not, this activity is easy and fun! And the only supplies needed are graph paper (which you can download for free here using the code coronahelp), a pencil, and a partner.
An Introduction to Binary Code for Kids
Row 4:
Have a Pillow Fight
This is another one you can do without any instruction from us! Just grab some pillows and have a great time! I don’t think the world has enough pillow fights now days, so teach your kids that it’s ok to have some physical fun and work out some of that energy that may be storing up because of being stuck inside.
Try a New Recipe
If you don’t want (or need) to half a recipe or double a recipe, just cook or bake according to the recipe just like it is!
Frugal Recipes (for those who want to save money)
and more!
Have a Karaoke Contest
Turn on some of your favorite well-known songs and start singing!
Learn a Foreign Language
We have some free resources for teaching a few beginning Spanish vocabulary words to your young children, and you’ll find more suggestions for both younger and older children (or yourself!) in this article.
Pretend Play (Vet, Store, Etc.)
If you’re stuck at home and can’t go out, you can still pretend! Pretend to take a pet to the vet and give it a checkup. Pretend to go to the store to buy groceries or toys. (You can even put “prices” on the toys and let your kiddos “buy” their toys by completing tasks around the house.) Pretend to go to the library and read books together. Pretend to go to the moon and make a video of how you think you would look trying to walk without gravity. Use your imagination and have a great time pretending together!
Row 5:
Bury a Time Capsule
This one could be super fun! You’ll enjoy putting the time capsule information together, and years from now, you and your children will enjoy opening it up and reminiscing together. To make your time capsule, decide if you want to keep it indoors (in which case you could use a cardboard box, shoe box, or other simple container) or if you want to bury it outside somewhere (in which case you’ll want to make sure your container is waterproof and air-tight–like a stainless steel container).
Be very certain that you include the current date in your time capsule!
Here are some things to consider putting in your time capsule. (You’ll want to make a separate list for each child.)
- Your kids’ names, ages, heights, and weights
- Your kids’ favorite toys, games, books, songs/musicians, movies/TV shows, and foods
- The current date and prices of items such as milk, a loaf of bread, a haircut, a tank of gas, a car, a house, a pair of sneakers, etc.
- Your kids’ favorite activities (such as clubs, sports, and hobbies)
- Tracings of your kids’ hand or foot prints
- A current newspaper or magazine
- Some photos of each child, your house, your pets, your family, etc.
- A letter from each child to his/her future self or from you to your children in the future
- A note listing current fashion trends, popular books and movies, the types of technology that are currently available, popular songs, etc.
- A note with information about a typical day at your house
- Pictures drawn by your children
- Possibly a video or audio recording (if you plan to store your time capsule someplace where it will be well preserved)
Make a Sensory Bin
We have some fun sensory bin ideas! A couple of these are for fall, so you can either talk about the seasons and use these fall sensory bin ideas, or you can use the fall ideas to make a sensory bin for whatever season you want! You may also want to create sensory bags, so I’ve included an article about that here too.
Fall Sensory Bin for Preschoolers
Capturing Autumn: Sensory Bags
Make Funny Videos
Most kids love making and watching videos of themselves! And if you’re currently quarantined, you might want to share them with friends or relatives who can’t be with you right now. You could personalize the videos for particular people or even make a “here’s-what-we’ve-been-up-to” video (similar to a Christmas letter) to send to folks who’d like to know that you’re doing well. Whether you dress up, sing songs, act out a play, or even tell silly jokes, making a video is a great way to have fun and share the fun with others!
Draw, Color, or Paint
If you’re like my family, you may not always take enough time to enjoy creating art together. I’ve loved art my entire life, and my youngest child is the same way. She loves to paint, draw, sculpt, and create art in lots of ways! While we’ve been spending most of our time at home, we’ve taken some afternoons to get out our art supplies and paint. My daughter prefers modern and abstract art, and I like more realistic art, so we’ve created some of both!
No matter what kind of art you enjoy, go for it! If you’re not sure what kind of art you enjoy, try out different things and find out! If you have young children, make it simple and draw with crayons, play with Play Doh, or even make things with perler beads or Shrinky Dinks. (If you do Shrinky Dinks, be sure to get some Prismacolor pencils to go with them. They make a huge difference in a really good way! Also, I definitely like the frosted Shrinky Dink paper better than the clear. The frosted paper can be used with colored pencils, but the clear requires Sharpies in order to make it look nice. I don’t know about you, but I don’t love the idea of young kids having permanent markers!)
Build Something
Whether you use Legos, blocks, or even sticks from your yard, have a great time seeing what your kids can build! My children grew up loving to build with Legos! They made everything from kits with specific directions to their own creations. My son used to love building with blocks. He enjoyed making farms and zoos with his blocks, and he particularly enjoyed making enclosures for his little plastic animals. And of course most kids love to get outside and play with stick and leaves and whatever natural building materials they can find.
Or make up your own bingo cards with goals your family wants to accomplish during your time at home together!
How to Get Your Boredom Busting Bingo Game
To get your own Boredom Busting Bingo Game printable, click the link below. To get it for FREE, use the discount code: coronahelp.
Boredom Busting Bingo Game
