Busting Summer Boredom - KHGI-TV/KWNB-TV/KHGI-CD-Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings

When summer vacation rolls around, kids love it and moms dread it. Especially if you're a work-from-home or a stay-at-home mom.

If you're always looking for something to keep them busy and to create fun summer memories, check out this list of things to do at home and places to visit in Kearney.

If you're from out of town, you can take some of these ideas and apply them to what's happening in your home town. So PRINT this list out and stick it to your fridge!

1. Play-Doh. Create your own Play-Doh by visiting the site -- it has tons of different recipes -- or purchase your own. It's a great way to keep them busy and bring out the creative side in each of your kids.
2. Visit your local children's museum. The KidZone offers family passes or you can purchase a day pass for $5 per person. Visit www.kearneykidzone.com/.
3. Paddle boat at Cottonmill Park. Visit http://cityofkearney.org.
4. Visit a farm. Feed the chickens, hold the chicks, pet the lambs. Here in Kearney, there is a nature barn in Cottonmill Park.
   
5. Skype with a loved one who is far away.
6. Feed the fish at Cabelas. They generally have scheduled times, so call ahead and ask.
   
7. Take flowers to a floor of the hospital. They can be fresh from the garden.
8. Random Act of Kindness Day. Leave money in a pop machine for the next person, buy the grocery checker her favorite candy bar, leave a diaper and wipes with a ribbon wrapped around at a changing table, pay for the next ice cream order in the drive- thru.
9. Fingerpaint. Fingerpainting is a great way to pass an afternoon. You can create your own by searching for ideas on Pinterest too. Visit http://herviewfromhome.com/her-pinspiration-finger-paint/.
   
10. Blow bubbles.
11. Make an oversized wall mural. Get large paper and tape it to the walls. Let the kids color up a storm of mountains, faces, or whatever comes to mind. You can get large spools from the UPS store.
    
12. Get the neighborhood kids together for a parade.
13. Play outside.
14. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. Oftentimes, kids can do some of the jobs. You just have to call ahead and find out what your kids can do.
15. Build a fort.
16. Walk some animals. Besides walking your own dog, call the Humane Society and see if your kids can walk their dogs or pet the cats.
    
17. Put a smile on someone's face. Draw pictures and deliver to a local elderly home (any craft project will do).
18. Have a staycation. Make an airplane, tickets and passports, complete with construction paper for the tickets, and use your dining room chairs as the airplane seats.
19. Have a dance party. Throw in a CD by "The Go Fish Guys" and have a dance-off. Great way to burn energy and encourage fun around the home. Visit www.gofishguys.com, or if you don't want to buy a CD, visit YouTube and search "Go Fish Guys."
20. Have some quiet time. Make them play with their toys in their rooms.
21. Visit the library. The Kearney Library offers summer reading programs as well as story times and movie days -- it's all free and it creates a moment where you can just breath
22. Write a story. Grab your scrapbook supplies and help your kids write a story.
23. Act. Act out a story, invite friends or the grandparents, throw in some popcorn and enjoy the debut. If you kids really enjoy acting, the Kearney Community Theater offers workshops and classes for all ages, all summer long. Visit www.kearneycommunitytheatre.com.
24. Go to a matinee. The Kearney Cinema 8 and Hilltop Mall offer matinees at half the price all summer long.
25. Bake. Cookies and muffins are fun to make. Let your oldest kids have the run of the kitchen while the younger ones help mix the ingredients. Leave out eggs so they can have fun eating the batter.
    
26. Make cards. Have your children make birthday cards, get well cards, etc., then when someone is having a birthday, they already have a fun, decked out card ready to go.
27. Dress up. Goodwill and, of course, all the major department stores have sales after Halloween. You can grab costumes for as little as 50 cents.
28. Schedule a play date with your child's favorite friend.
29. Play hospital.
30. Plan a kid swap. Invite their friends over for an afternoon and then switch -- your friend watches your kids for an afternoon. New friends, toys and a new environment does wonders for your sanity and kills the boredom. Plus, it enhances social skills needed for school.
31. Take them to lunch. Each summer, Kearney Public Schools offers free lunches for kids, and adults pay $3 per meal. The kids love getting in line, getting a tray and sitting in the school cafeteria. Plus, you don't have to make lunch. This year, free lunches are offered at Bryant Elementary School.
32. Visit the Classic Cars Museum that just opened up next to Cabela's. Visit www.ccckearney.com.
33. Be firemen for the day and head to the Nebraska Firefighters Museum. Visit www.nebraskafirefightersmuseum.com.
34. Visit the Kearney Archway. Visit www.archway.org.
    
35. Do a science project. Make volcanoes or a tornado in a bottle. Hop on Pinterest or your local library website for ideas.
    
36. Go swimming. Visit Cottonmill Park for a fun, outdoor sandy beach experience or purchase a pass for Centennial and Harmon Park.
37. Swim lessons. Visit with Becky O Connell -- the lessons are $7.50 each or $40 for unlimited swimming every month. 
38. Ride bikes.
39. Walk the dog.
40. Go for a nature walk in your neighborhood or visit the Kearney trails that connect Yanney Park with Cottonmill Park.
41. Plant an herb garden.
42. Weed the garden. Believe it or not, kids love to play in the dirt and will uproot all the dangerous weeds.
43. Dig for worms. Yuck, but so much better than video games, right?
44. Go fishing. Grab those worms and take them to a local lake to catch bluegill. These friendly fish will bite at anything and your kids can see them just under the water's surface.
45. Go to the park.
46. Create a scavenger hunt -- complete with a fun reward, like 99 cent Frosties from Wendy's.
47. Create the Olympic games in your backyard. Invite your neighborhood kids and create some fun, healthy completion with horseshoe toss, volleyball and more.
48. Make puppets. Turn those old socks into puppets and move on to number 47.
    
49. Have a puppet show.
50. Puzzles.
51. Take pictures and create a scrapbook. This one will take all day. Take pictures in the morning, print out the ones you like on paper and create a photo album of their day to show family members.
    
52. Window shop. Go the mall and tell them to use their eyes of what they would buy and why.
53. People watch. Buy a pretzel at the mall and grab a bench. Kids love comparing all the different people and outfits they see.
54. Decorate your nails and theirs with nail stickers. You can purchase 25 stickers at Walgreens for $3.99.
55. Have a spa day. Throw marbles and your favorite foot soak into a kiddie pool. Make some lemonade and all you soak your feet while rubbing your heels over those marbles.
56. Paint your toes.
57. Be a chef. Have your kids help you in the kitchen with their favorite food. Check Pinterest for some fun ideas, like fruit ice cream cones.
58. Make pizza. Purchase biscuits and all the toppings they like on their pizza. Flatten each biscuit and have your kids make their own mini pizzas.
59. Play freeze tag. The "it" person gets an popsicle when he freezes everyone.
60. Make jewelry. Hobby Lobby frequently has beads of all kinds on sale. You can purchase the larger wooden ones for your toddlers and lace them on shoestrings. My 12-year-old makes all of her own funky jewelry.
61. Create a care package. Either purchase items for agency's like the S.A.F.E Center or invite them to make one for someone who is ill. Then have them take the package to them. This creates compassion and helps them think about other people.
62. Play cards. Go Fish, Crazy Eights, Old Maid, War and Slap Jack are classic favorites.
    
63. Tag pens and books. Another fun way to get them to learn to read and pass the time.
64. Do chores. Chores are a great way to build character and help them entertain themselves when you are busy getting your domestic dailies out of the way.
65. Play office. Pay them a $1 for the hour you have to check e-mails, make phone calls, etc. Set up a little desk like yours, complete with papers, pencils and an old cell phone.
66. Wash the dog and the car. Just don't use the same soap for both.
67. Sprinkler time. Who said just a plain old hose can't be fun.
68. Water the flowers.
69. Fly a kite.
70. Crafty and handy kids. Go to Home Builders once a month for their kid projects, like planting flowers.
71. Take a road trip. Have them pick the destination, pack a lunch and head out for the morning or the whole day.
72. Make popsicles out of juice.
73. Make a bird house for the backyard.
74. Chalk. Have them decorate the sidewalks and porch.
75. Play school. Let them be the teacher and you be the student.
    
76. Chalkboard paint. Create an area in the kitchen or their room to color with chalk. You can purchase chalkboard paint at your local hardware store.
77. Watch the stars. Camp out on our trampoline with a snack tray and watch the stars come out.
78. Make tye-shirts or have them design their own with puff paint. This is an all day event. Lots of fun.
    
79. Make wind catchers.