Education TRACKer: Summer's Approaching... Notes from the Boredom Queen

I have to admit that when I put on sunscreen for my runs on brutally cold days in January, the scent tricks me into thinking I’m doing something really exciting. That’s because I love summer. Chlorine, sunscreen, fresh-cut grass, ice cream, grilled burgers and juicy, fat tomatoes. There’s nothing better.
It also means my kids will be home from school. For their last full summer. I have mixed feelings about this: a new, year-round school next year means all those great things friends have mentioned, like traveling in the off-season, shorter breaks for me to manage while juggling part-time work and oh yes, less boredom.
But here’s the thing: I’ve come to believe that boredom is merely the gateway drug to innovation. Yes, temporarily it leads to sibling fighting, whining about playing more video games or lying listlessly on the floor. But a strange thing happens over the weeks my kids stay at home. They find things to do.
It’s amazing. They complain about the complete lack of toys and amusements, the fact that I don’t pay for a new museum trip each and every day, and then, wonder upon wonders, they dream up complex games with rules only they can understand.
One, lovingly called “Potions,” can involve as few or as many kids as necessary. It involves a large bucket, lots of dirt, grassy bits and even some dead bugs (a bonus). For a few bucks worth of water, hours of entertainment ensues. Kids, you can’t do that in February.
It may seem crazy, but I look forward to the approaching summer break as much as my children do. I plan to take advantage of the free summer movies, bowling, skating, museums, fireworks and the pool. I probably have as much fun as they do on our various local outings.
But there are just as many times when (I believe) kids need downtime. Not spent in front of the computer or TV screen, but running around the house or playing hide-and-seek outside or getting muddy. Their eyes sparkle just as much when they describe a game they’ve invented as when their butterfly emerges from a cocoon in their second-grade classroom. Maybe more.
My job, as I see it, is to let the boredom happen and let them push past it. Who knows what they’ll come up with? I can’t wait to find out.