Grow Happiness to Kill Your Kid’s Boredom this Summer

A year into the pandemic, we are starting to hit a stride of staying at home. We went from organized activities just about every day of the week to being home most of the time. Now, if we go somewhere any given week, it’s a busy week! One small thing that has brought so much joy and killed my kid’s boredom during this transition of spring to summer is growing happiness in the form of flowers.

We Are All Bored

Let’s be honest, we are all sick of the same stuff we have been doing day in and day out. We have all fallen into a rut of being sick of being home, but too afraid to fully get out and get back to normal. I don’t know how much longer we’ll be living this life. But I do know that focusing on something else that we can control is helpful–like our own inner happiness, and the environment that we share with our children. Happiness is colors. Happiness is nurturing something outside of ourselves. Happiness is being present in the moment. These are all great qualities to teach our kids in this day and age of instant gratification.

It Doesn’t Matter What You Grow

I bought my son a planting set that had a “color” theme and included plants of every color of the rainbow. Fruits and vegetables are great ideas to get your kids to expand their horizons and teach the concept of eating things that you’ve grown with your own hands. This time of year is sunny and rainy, the perfect mix to produce a beautiful result with minimal effort.

Get Creative!

Friends of ours are growing caterpillars into butterflies this summer! That’s an activity that I remember loving as a kid and plan to do when my kids are older. Another idea is to theme your garden, like the kit we did. Other ideas for themes are growing all the ingredients to make salsa (tomatoes, cilantro, onion, etc.) or make a pizza (tomato, basil, oregano). You can also plant flowers that attract butterflies or hummingbirds!

Let Them Help

You can’t kill their boredom if you don’t let your kids help. Yes, it’s going to take four times as long and make 10 times the mess. Just take a deep breath and accept that going in. Prep as much as you can before the littles get involved. You don’t have to start big. We started in an egg carton and transplanted them into containers once they sprouted. My son really enjoyed when they sprouted and is excited every morning to see how much they have grown.

Changing Up Our Routine

Sometimes all we need is a change to our routine to get out of a rut. Maybe adding one thing to your day isn’t going to change much. But the act of nurturing and taking care of another living thing is something that always has value. You’d be surprised how excited your kids can get over something as small as seeing a tiny green sprout break through the soil, or a tiny hint of color, or enjoying eating something that they grew with their own hands.

So get outside, plant some happiness and kill some boredom this summer!

You can find more tips for planting with littles here.