"I'm bored!"

Now that we're more than halfway through summer, you may be hearing those two words together a bit more often. Believe it or not, boredom can be a positive thing, as much as grown-ups sometimes feel it's negative. Myriad parenting experts say boredom is essential for kids because it leads to increased creativity and helps your child to grow in important ways.

If your kids are bored, they're forced to come up with their own ways to entertain themselves. Boredom gives our children the opportunity to look inside themselves and think about and develop their own interests and passions!

It's important to remember that a child saying that they're bored doesn't mean that they have actually run out of things to do. 'Boredom' means that what your kids see in front of them isn't stimulating or interesting to them in that moment. When our children say they're bored, it can also be a sign that they're craving need adult attention.

Team BtB has developed a top 100 list of fun ideas for you to do as a family, or to suggest to your kids when they say they're bored. Some of these ideas come with links to items we carry right here at Beyond the Blackboard!

1. Grow a crystal
2. Create a LEGO movie
3. Have a LEGO building contest
4. Play "house"
5. Throw a unicorn party!
6. Learn a magic trick
7. Make milkshakes
8. Make homemade mini pizzas
9. Write a letter to a military or first responder hero
10. Make slime
11. Create an Empower Poster
12. Go for a scooter ride
13. Create a TV show
14. Decorate cookies
15. Paint stepping stones
16. Make a rice play table for your child
17. Throw a birthday party for your favorite stuffed animal
18. Build a couch cushion fort
19. Make a time capsule
20. Play "Hangman" or Tic Tac Toe
21. Create pipe cleaner creatures
22. Do a puzzle
23. Make a scrapbook
24. Paint with watercolors
25. Have a pillow fight
26. Cuddle on the couch and read a favorite book aloud
27. Play "Floor is Lava"
28. Have a tea party
29. Make your own popsicles
30. Play indoor "volleyball" or "soccer" with balloons
31. Practice origami
32. Have a geography Bingo tournament
33. Make candy
34. Make bracelets
35. Dress up in your fanciest clothes and have a "5-star" dinner
36. Make ice cream
37. Create and go on an indoor treasure hunt
38. Make a mancala game out of an egg carton
39. Try a new recipe
40. Have a bubblegum bubble-blowing contest
41. Play charades
42. Play chess
43. Perform an act of kindness for a neighbor
44. Take the dog for a walk
45. Build with toothpicks or popsicle sticks
46. Practice learning American Sign Language
47. Build a fort outside
48. Go for a family hike
49. Tell scary stories in the dark
50. Build an Airfort
51. Create a soapstone carving
52. Watch videos of your kids when they were younger
53. Look at wedding or family celebration pictures
54. Family game night
55. Play a card game
56. Learn a clapping game (like "The Cup Game")
57. Have a picnic on the living room floor
58. Play "I Spy"
59. Create a box city
60. Create a musical instrument out of recyclables
61. Make shaving cream and food coloring marble art
62. Domino trains
63. Make sock puppets
64. Play "Red Light, Green Light"
65. Play Hide and Seek
66. Play Freeze Tag
67. Create and play hopscotch
68. Have a paper airplane stunt show
69. Create a house of cards
70. Learn to juggle
71. Practice tongue twisters
72. Throw a family dance party!
73. Write a story
74. Perform a play
75. Look for shapes and animals in the clouds
76. Have a pajama party
77. Clean and rearrange your bedroom
78. Jump rope
79. Hula hoop
80. Bubbles!
81. Put on a fashion show
82. Make clay creations
83. Make a pasta necklace
84. Make your own play dough
85. Finger painting
86. Send postcards to faraway family and friends
87. Tie-dye an old t-shirt
88. Have a paper boat floating contest
89. Make a paper hat
90. Build a birdhouse or bird feeder
91. Camp out in the family room or backyard
92. Grow a butterfly garden
93. Play a good-natured prank (with adult supervision)
94. Stargaze
95. Give the dog a bath
96. Have 3-legged races
97. Create an obstacle course
98. Find and study a spider web
99. Collect bugs
100. Practice handwriting