Are you looking for ways to keep your tween busy in the summer months? Or maybe you need some boredom busters for kids at home while you are practicing social distancing? Either way, these unique & fun Activities for Bored Tweens will help keep them unplugged while still learning & having fun too.
The thing about tweens, kids ages 8-12, is that they aren’t exactly little kids anymore, but they also aren’t teenagers just yet. So they fall into this category where they aren’t as interested in toys, but still need some guidance on discovering what to do with their day.
Especially when there is no school like during summer break, during a pandemic, or even a simple rainy-day. In an effort to keep my tweens busy with screen-free activities, I’ve always kept a list of fun activities on-going in the notes section of my phone.
With the influx of parents now at home all day with their kids, I thought I’d share my list with you all!
It’s full of indoor activities that range from quirky to cleaning to life lessons. Plus outdoor activities that will easily work in your backyard.
You can keep this post by saving it to Pinterest and refer back to it when you need fun activities for tweens. Or you can have your child create a Bucket List of the items they think would be fun to tackle.
Either way, you’ll have a resource of fun activities for tweens to keep them busy & keep you sane!
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Boredom Buster Activities for Tweens
There are tons of ways these activities could be organized. For simplicity, they are in two categories. First, there are indoor activities. Then, near the bottom of the article, are all of the fun outdoor activities.
You’ll find some of these activities for bored tweens might require a few supplies. For example, when attempting to solve a Rubik’s cube you will obviously need the toy.
However, a lot of the activities don’t require much more than your child’s imagination & perhaps some skill-coaching from you to get them started.
Indoor Activities for Bored Tweens at Home
We will start with indoor activities for kids ages 8-12 since most kids are currently stuck staying at home.
1. Play Balloon Volleyball
Blow up some balloons and create a home-made net. For example, we line up barstools or use the kitchen island. Then let the fun begin without destroying your home.
2. Learn How To Do a Yo-Yo
Once they have mastered the up & down of a yo-yo, challenge them to learn a few tricks too. Who doesn’t love a good cat’s cradle?
3. Research the Day They Were Born
This is actually a really interesting activity for tweens because they are old enough to notice the differences in things like prices and fashion.
Have them search for politics, current events, as well as things from pop culture like popular movies, stars & songs.
4. Create a Board Game
There are several ways to create a board game. First, they could use a board from an old game you have and adapt it to their new rules. They can even create and glue on new things as needed.
They could also use a large piece of foam board or poster board and create their own game from scratch.
5. Sharpen all Pencils & Colored Pencils
Yes. This is legitimately on the list of activities for bored tweens! You’d be surprised how giving an 8 to 12-year-old a challenge like this can work out well. Especially if you have an electric pencil sharpener and you make the task timed.
6. Turn the Living Room or Bedroom into a Fort
Sacrifice all the clean sheets & blankets you can find and let the kids build the most epic living room fort. Or think outside of the box a little and make your fort in the pantry, hallway or even garage.
7. Learn to Make Scrambled or Fried Eggs
Take some time and begin teaching your child how to scramble or fry an egg. You could even have them make breakfast for the family to show off their new skills.
8. Sort your LEGOS by color
Have a brick lover in your house? Challenge your kids while stuck at home to sort all of their LEGO’s. You could order clear containers online to keep them organized post-sort.
They can sort them by colors, by set or maybe even a way they have come up with!
When thinking about storage and containers, think of where and how your child will use their bricks in the future. Do you want containers with lids? Or perhaps a craft rolling cart you can pull around?
9. Watch Home Movies
Pull out those home movies, grab the blankets & popcorn, and your child can watch themself grow up through videos. This is my tween boys’ favorite activity on rainy days!
10. Fill out a Premade-Journal for Tweens
These are journals that guide tweens with writing prompts or fill in the blank type questions. There are some really neat journals for tweens. This Time Capsule: A Seriously Awesome Journal was a favorite of my 10-year-old.
11. Start a Daily Journal
Whether it’s a typical summer at home, or your child is home because of school closings, keeping their thoughts in a journal is a great way to process emotions & daily struggles.
It’s also a great way to have them do a little self-discovery. Use notebook paper or surprise them with a fun journal.
12. Make Birthday Cards for the Year
Gather crafting supplies like cardstock, stickers, washi tape & colorful sharpies and have your tween make all of the cards you will need for the coming month or year.
This idea not only creates a personalized card but saves you money & keeps your tween from being bored.
13. Learn How to Fold a Fitted Sheet Correctly
Ok, this one is simply because I need someone in my house who knows how to fold a fitted sheet. But this would be a great life skill so have them watch Youtube fitted sheets tutorials. Then challenge them to not only figure it out but to teach you as well.
14. Read a Book in the Bath… During the Middle of the Day
Sometimes doing ordinary things, at unique times, makes them a little extra special. Our kids shower at night, so reading a book in the bathtub with sunshine flooding the bathroom is something out of the normal routine.
15. Start a Scrapbook of Friends, Sports, etc.
Have your tween pick an interest, sport or even just random photos of family & friends and begin making a scrapbook of memories. They can use a set scrapbooking kit like this Just My Style one, or they can collect the supplies and make their own.
16. Have Them Make your Family Scrapbooks
If you really trust their creative side, let your tween begin making your family scrapbooks. This could be done as photo books on a site, like Shutterfly, where you could go behind and tweak as needed.
17. Research your Town’s History
Have your child search for mysterious or unique things about your town. Is it known for anything special? Are there any famous people from your town?
If they don’t find anything too exciting, have them search in a town you visit often or the nearest big city.
18. Get a Slinky All the Way Down the Stairs
Start at the top and attempt to make the slinky flip its’ way down the stairs! Check out this larger metal slinky for even more fun.
19. Learn How to Draw Something
There are tons of Learning How to Draw Books that can help your tween navigate the process of drawing. YouTube also has videos with step by step instructions for drawing specific things.
We have the Learn How to Draw Cute Stuff & The Drawing Book for Kids and both are used often.
20. Learn How to Correctly Floss
Use the less hectic summer months, or even your time at home during a pandemic, to teach the hygiene lessons that tweens need to be using.
Flossing, deodorant, and washing one’s face are simple places to start. If you need some assistance, there are puberty books out there for tweens. We have Guy Stuff: The Body Book for Boys and it has been helpful.
21. Set up a Grocery Store
If your pantry is in need of good organizing anyway, let the kids pull out whatever they want to make a grocery store. Bonus points if you scrounge up real money and change for them to use too.
22. Read Their Baby Book
Hopefully, you have it filled out. My third child’s baby book needs a bit of work… oops!
23. Fill out a Map of Past Travels
Print out a fun United States Map and have them color in or make designs on the states where they have visited. They could also write in the cities they have visited in each state.
24. Research & Plan a Dream Family Vacation
Let your child brainstorm and plan a Dream Vacation either for themself or for your family. They can plan everything from where you’d stay to what your daily activities would be on the trip.
This is also a good lesson in economics. Perhaps after they plan their dream vacation you can give them a realistic budget to plan a less extravagant trip.
25. Create a Daily Schedule for Themself
Give your child the freedom to create a daily schedule for themself. List the items they need to include in the schedule and let them design when those events happen during their day.
26. Make a Bucket List of Fun
This bucket list could be for the summer, while school is out, or even a life bucket list! We have a free printable Watermelon Themed Summer Bucket List if you want a premade one.
27. Write & Illustrate Funny Stories or Plays about their Family
Does your tween love comics? Have them create a comic series starring your family. These blank comic books for kids are perfect for getting their feet wet with making comics.
Or maybe they can write a play for all your family members to act out.
28. Do Themed Photo Shoots with Siblings
Put your tween in charge of clothing, setting, hair, and make-up for a sibling or family photoshoot. They can decide if everyone wears pajamas or business suits or a mix of both.
29. Parent Interview about their Birthday
Tweens will create questions about the day they were born and ask their parents or other family members in an interview style.
30. Do a “My Favorite Things” Worksheet
These worksheets are tons of fun and can be found all over Pinterest! It’s always fun to look back on these years later and see their answers.
31. Learn a Magic Trick
Let your child pick a magic trick and then practice it for your family. You can use Google or YouTube to find beginner’s magic tricks. Or use a set like the Ideal My First Magic Show.
32. Check Change for Special Coins
We have a huge water jug of change in our house. Over the years it has collected coins from Jamaica, Mexico, and a few European countries too. Have your child sort the change looking for unique coins like these.
You could also do a search for “rare US coins in circulation” and have them look for special coins like these too.
33. Learn to Put on a Pillowcase
When my boys were younger and smaller, pillowcases were like their nemesis when it came to changing beds. They had small arms & long pillows. Somehow we just skipped learning the tricks to effectively do this.
It’s another life skill, but teaching them this skill can make changing sheets go much faster in your home.
34. Master the Rubik’s Cube
There are tons of YouTube videos to help kids learn the tricks behind mastering a Rubik’s Cube.
35. Use Chopsticks to Eat All Day… & Document It
Your tween can take photos & notes on their successes or failures throughout the day. Don’t have chopsticks? Maybe they eat everything with toothpicks, a spatula, or a measuring spoon.
36. Write Real Letters to Friends & Family
This means real letters using paper and an envelope with a stamp. This would make any grandma or grandpa’s day to receive a handwritten letter in the mail.
37. Sort & Wrap all Change in the House
If your child is going to search your change jar for special coins, they might as well wrap up all your money so you can cash it in at the bank. These Coin Sorter Tubes would make the job more fun.
Be prepared to negotiate their percentage of the payment for wrapping all of them!
38. Organize Marker Stash
Grab the marker. Take off the Cap. Test it. Keep it or if it’s dried out then get rid of it.
Some schools and libraries accept dried-out markers for recycling so check with yours before they go in the trash.
39. Create a Home Inventory Challenge
Have your child record everything in their bedroom by simply writing it all down. This is something we now do for insurance purposes, thanks to a tornado experience. But kids love to feel needed and helpful. Having them record what’s in their room will also help them purge unnecessary items.
40. Make a Home Library List
Another inventory idea, but this one is for books. Have your child create a list of all their books. They could even type it up and learn how to alphabetize it on Word or a similar program.
Anytime we do this it also has my boys rereading old books they had forgotten about.
41. All PS4/ Ebox / Switch Games Recorded
Same as above. Make the list for your records. This is a great time to pick out old games they no longer play and trade them in.
42. List of Board Games in your Home
Another fun list and another opportunity to purge some games if they are no longer used. Once the list is done, have a game night!
43. Shred Old Bills & Receipts
Teach your child how to safely use your shredder. Do not do this one if you know your child and this isn’t something they should do.
44. Make a Family Tree
They can keep the family tree simple and do only the immediate family. Or you could branch out and try online research too.
45. Attach Return Address Labels to all Envelopes
Yes, we are reaching the bottom of the barrel as they say, but if you are stuck at home you might as well have your kids busy and productive. Have them attach all those return address label stickers onto envelopes for future use.
46. Learn How to Make Spaghetti
Another fun and easy meal idea would be to teach your child how to make spaghetti. Have them make a complete meal with bread and a salad. Then let them set the table & be in charge of dinner for the evening.
47. Learn a Card Trick
Just like the magic tricks, your child can learn a card trick and then practice it on your family.
48. Do a Mega Domino Run
If you have a bunch of dominos or wooden blocks, your tween can create a huge domino run. Challenge them to be creative with it and try to make it as intricate as possible.
49. Master Suduko
Sudoku is something my 11-year-old just began to work on. It’s a great boredom buster for when traveling. This Fun & Colorful Sudoku for Kids has 75 puzzles for ages 8-12 years.
50. Read up on Survival Skills
Find some great sites that offer survival skill training for kids. Have them pick one skill at a time and read up about it.
Or you can use this National Geographic How to Survive Anything Book for Kids. It covers everything from shark attacks to embarrassing parents.
It’s officially Back to School Time!
Granted this school year is going to be different than years past, but that doesn’t mean we can forget those classic First Day of School Pictures.
Check out our free printable First Day of School Signs to help you capture those Back to School moments.
Outdoor Activities for Tweens
Anytime you discuss outside activities for kids there is always the element of seasons, where you live geographically, and the type of dwelling you call home.
First, seasons can drastically change your outside plans if, for example, you live in Minnesota and it’s the dead of winter. It’s not going to be fun drawing with chalk during a snowstorm.
Also, the location of your home in the context of rural or urban can play a large part in deciding which activities work for your family.
Kids who live in the country might be able to fly a kite in their backyard, while those in a city apartment would need to head to a park to do so.
As I write this, it’s springtime in the Midwest, so we have lots of options of heading outside in between spring showers.
1. Work on Survival Skills
Now it’s time for them to use those survival skills they read about. Did your tween choose to learn how to make shelter? Send them outside with instructions to find or make a non-manmade structure. Or maybe they wanted to know better first aid? They can attempt a splint from tree branches.
2. Read a Book Outside
There is nothing better than a cool breeze and a good book. Let them get comfy on the porch, playset or anywhere they can dive into their story.
3. Go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt
You don’t have to go to a park or live in the woods to have a nature scavenger hunt. Have your child search for birds, grass, dandelions, bugs, clouds, sprouting flowers, sticks, rocks, etc.
4. Do Chalk Art on Sidewalks
Create bubble letter names, stained glass concrete, or an entire city, but it must all be done with chalk on the sidewalk or driveway.
If you do make a city, make sure you make roads to ride your bikes or scooters around!
5. Ride Bikes, Scooters, Hoverboards
Bike riding is simply traditional outside fun for kids! Spice it up with scooters, rollerblades, or hoverboards. You can also make signs or chalk roads.
6. Take a Nature Walk
Simply enjoy a walk outside your home. No pressure like a Nature Scavenger Hunt to search for items; it’s just a time to relax and use those muscles.
7. Make a Sprinkler Obstacle Course
Set up your sprinkler or two and come up with fun games to make it into an obstacle course. For example, you could balance a plastic egg on a spoon while walking around lawn chairs or cones all while trying to avoid the sprinklers’ spray.
Or maybe you use water balloons and have to toss a water balloon back and forth through the sprinkler counting how many passes before you drop it.
We have an entire post of Fun Outdoor Water Toys for Kids! Check it out to stay cool this summer.
8. Have a Picnic Outside
Whether you sit on a blanket in the yard for a true picnic or simply eat on your patio, enjoy a meal outdoors in the sunshine.
9. Work on Sports Skills
If you have a sports-loving kid now is the time they can work on some of those fun skills they’ve been wanting to learn. They could up how many times they can juggle a soccer ball or work on catching balls off the roof.
10. Make a Creek or River
If you have anywhere that is slightly inclined and some foil your tween will be able to make an easy creek or river. A little STEM fun by simply folding the foil up on the sides. Add water and try to float items down too.
11. Fly a Kite
Are you having a windy day? Then head outside and attempt to fly a kite.
12. Do Shadow Art
This is done by simply using an object, a toy dinosaur for example, and setting it up so that its shadow falls on white paper. Then you can easily trace the dinosaur.
13. Have a Water Balloon Fight
They make water balloons so much easier to fill now than when we were kids! Set up a throwing challenge or simply have a classic water balloon fight.
Or, you could try the newest trend for 2023 and use reusable water balloons. Check out a ton of options on Amazon!
14. Create an Ultimate Hopscotch Challenge
Use your entire sidewalk to make a huge hopscotch challenge. Spice it up by adding things like “Say your ABCs” or “do a jumping jack” when you land on certain squares. Or they could jump backward!
15. Play Horse
If you have a basketball hoop, a fun game of Horse will get them moving and having fun. If you only have one child, they can play against themself.
16. Race Cars Down a Sloped Driveway
Grab old matchboxes or any other cars & trucks you have laying around and have a race down the driveway.
17. Flashlight Tag
Kids can start at dusk and play the classic game of flashlight tag. All you need are flashlights and a yard big enough for a few hiding spaces.
18. Plant Flowers or a Garden
Your tween can plant flowers around your home or even a small garden. If you don’t have a space for this, try container gardening or even growing herbs or succulents in your home.
19. Search for Bugs
Have a bug search and document the types of bugs your child finds. They can take or draw a picture and then research them later in books or online.
20. Make your own Slip ‘n Slide
All you need is a large tarp, a little bit of soap, and water to make your own slip ‘n slide at home.
21. Make a Dandelion Necklace
Kids can search the yard for yellow dandelions and then knot them together to make bracelets or necklaces.
22. Wash the Car
Put your tween to work washing your car. Bonus points if they vacuum and detail the inside too.
23. Learn to Hula Hoop
Another fun activity that gets tweens moving is learning to hula hoop. Turn on some music and wiggle those hips!
24. Draw a Chalk City
Plan out and create a Chalk City over your entire driveway or sidewalk. Take it to the next level by adding small details like people, trees, cars & animals.
25. Fly Paper Airplanes
This fun activity for bored tweens has two parts. First, they need to learn how to make a paper airplane. Then the can see how far they can get the various types to fly.
26. Play Hide ‘n Go Seek
Yes, this might seem like a game for younger children, but tweens still love playing this game too.
27. Learn Archery
You don’t have to use an actual bow to learn archery at home. You can find sets made specifically for kids learning archery.
We have the Dude Perfect Nerf Bow & it’s a huge hit among the tween crowd.
28. Play Frisbee
If you have more than one child then a classic game of frisbee is perfect on a beautiful day outside. If your tween is flying solo, then have them set up a container or box and try to throw the frisbee in it from different distances.
29. Learn Spikeball
Have your tweens discovered the game of Spikeball? It’s a fun game with a trampoline net and a lot of excitement!
30. Have a Nerf Gun War or Contest
You can give your kids’ free rein to have an ultimate Nerf Gun War in the yard. Or use large paper and make a target for them to work on their aim.
31. Try Out Star Gazing
We typically think about daytime outside activities for bored tweens, but there are some fun night ones too. Star Gazing is a fun night time activity. If you have a trampoline, it’s perfect for laying flat and staring at the stars.
32. Have a Photo Nature Scavenger Hunt
It’s a known fact that tweens love technology, so let them go on a Nature Scavenger Hunt and take photos for evidence.
You could challenge them to find 20 colorful items in nature. Or they could search for items for every letter of the alphabet.
33. Start a Photo of the Day Journal
Another fun photography idea is to have your child start a Photo of the Day Journal. If your tween doesn’t enjoy writing, this is a way for them to document their days with fewer words.
34. Build a Fort or Tepee
Think outside the box and look for places your tween could build a hideaway of sorts. They could hang a sheet over a low-hanging branch, place a large blanket over your patio furniture, or even use sticks to attempt to make a true teepee.
35. Cloud Watching
This is another boredom buster for tweens that involves slowing down & relaxing. They can take their cloud watching to the next level if they draw what they see in the clouds.
36. Search for Letters in Nature
This is by far my favorite nature activity for kids. Some of the easier ones to get you started are the letter V from trees & T in sticks.
A few more things for Tween Parents
Before you go, make sure you check out a few of our other fun posts! We have a Spring Jelly Bean STEM Activity that requires only two supplies & keeps kids busy.
Then, we also have a fun printable Summer Bucket List. Kids will love filling in their plans & wishes for the summer months with this watermelon theme.
After a lot of social distancing, I’m sure kids have big plans on what they’d like to do this summer!
Like the free printable? We have all kinds of activities for kids & printables on the blog. Sign up below for our newsletter & you’ll be the first to know about them!
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