Summer! No school, sleeping in, warm weather, lots of free time. Ah!

After you finish your last subject of the year, you celebrate, looking forward to a glorious two months of summer! The next day, you sleep in and take your time waking up. You read, spend some time outside, and work on some projects that you haven’t done in a while.

Repeat this cycle for about seven to fourteen days; so far everything is going well. But then, things start slowing down: you finish your projects, you don’t have anything to read, it’s really too hot outside… And then the b-o-r-e-d word comes to your mind. You try to brush the thought aside, but you can’t shake it. Finally, you admit it. You are bored.

I think most students have experienced variations of this “summer boredom cycle!” During the school year a lot of time can be spent looking forward to summer, but then when you get there you wonder why you wanted it so much.

Well, here are 25 tips to fight boredom and have a useful, fun summer while you’re at it.

1. Go to daily Mass. Receiving Jesus every day is the best.
2. Start a subject for the upcoming year early. Perks to homeschooling, folks. Take advantage of ‘em.
3. Learn a new language. Elvish, anyone?
4. Pray a novena to one of your favorite saints. Here is a link to a bunch of awesome ones.
5. Learn to cook. Ladies, the men in your lives will love it. And guys, then you won’t have to bug the ladies to cook for you!
6. Get outside. Hiking, fishing, biking, walking, swimming, pretending you’re in Middle Earth….
7. Write a book. You could be the next Christopher Paolini, a famous homeschooling author!
8. Have a bake sale. You can donate proceeds to a pro-life organization or your youth group.
9. Learn an instrument. Rock that triangle!
10. Actually practice an instrument you can already play. Your teacher will be thrilled when you go back to lessons in September.
11. Do extra chores. Surprise your parents and family members! After all, they really are the best.
12. Learn how to swing dance. Seriously, this is the most fun thing to do with friends ever.
13. Join a summer reading club. Earning prizes for the reading that you might already be doing? YES!!
14. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or a seniors’ home. It is one of the most fulfilling things you can do.
15. Write a letter. It takes so long to type though…wait, by hand??
16. Read a spiritual book. Find one that is geared to youth specifically, they’re often more applicable to your life.
17. Keep a journal. They’re awesome to look back at later!
18. Pray for a celebrity. It’s way better than stalking people on the internet.
19. Make a movie. Frozen the Sequel…
20. Learn to knit. It is not just for elderly ladies!
21. Write a song. “And you can tell everybody, that this is your soooong.”
22. Clean, organize, or rearrange your room. Hmm, what would it look like as a treehouse….
23. Pray the rosary. It’s like facetiming with Jesus and Mary at the same time!!
24. Read a classic novel. Pride and Prejudice, David Copperfield, Little Women….
25. Make a rubber band ball. Welllll maybe this one is more of a last resort.

There you have it! Whether it’s through praying, learning new things, being creative, or volunteering, there are many, many ways to spend your time during the summer. Use some of these twenty-five tips and the b-o-r-e-d word won’t even cross your mind!

What are some ways you like to keep busy during the summer?