One of the things about having my kids with me most of the time is that I have become a firm believer in the benefits of being bored.  Boredom has lead to sculptures being made from kitchen utensils, various and sundry stop motion films made using a variety of objects and materials, insects discovered under rocks.  Boredom gives the head space to process thoughts, situations, events, the universe.

To me, there seems to be a push to always be active: learning, doing, helping, bustling from one activity to the next.  Push, push, push.  Go, go, go.  When are we to stop and actually see what is around us?  What brought up this train of thought was that I came across an magazine article recently that appeared to agree with my point of view.  I learned that the pressure to constantly be “doing” appears to be causing children emotional and mental health issues.  Not surprising if you pause to think about it.  As I got further into the article, though, things fell apart.  Expounding the virtues of boredom morphed into scheduling for it and having materials on hand to enhance the experience.   I know my thought processes don’t always follow the common thread but I am pretty sure being bored is not something that can be scheduled.