It's the time of the year when boredom seems like a constant companion, and cries of "There's nothing to doooooooooooooooooooo!" ring out across the land. Whether you're stuck at home, in a car, at an airport, around a restaurant table, or in a back room of grandma's house where you've hidden with an overstimulated kiddo, having a deep bag of tricks to call on in case of unoccupied kids is essential. I provided a list of 101 Things to Do When There's Nothing to Do, and invited you to add your favorites. Reader Mary Jo answered the call this week with this game that requires little more than a piece of paper and a pencil. You can scrounge those things from the bottom of your purse, right? Mary Jo wrote:
Have everyone sit at a table together. Give each person a pencil or a pen to draw with. Start with a large blank sheet of paper, which is folded in thirds like a letter. Have the first person draw a head of any person or animal in the top section and then fold that down so the next person can't see it when you pass the paper to him. He will add the body the same way and fold it up before he passes it to the next player to add more to it. When everyone has drawn on the paper, open it up and show it to everyone. The laughs are as priceless as the masterpiece and it's a great leveler for those who think they aren't very artistic to see that no one else really is either, but together they can all create art anyway.
Read Mary Jo's extra tip for this game, see what other parents have recommended, and share your own emergency kid-distracters on the Readers Respond page.