It's the worst thing for a parent to hear: the whining "I'm bored!" At my house, this often happens after the kids have already asked for tv or video games and I tell them to turn off the electronics. In response to this, my older son and I put together a jar of suggestions for him when he says those fateful words, "I'm bored." Most of the ideas were his, but I threw in an idea or two.
For us, the idea was to motivate him to find his own ideas before coming to use demanding direction for his time.
The I'm Bored Jar Ideas:
-Play fetch with the dogs
-Run 100 laps around the kitchen
-Vacuum
-Draw a picture to send to Grandma
-Write "I am not bored" 50 times
-Dust one room
-Build a tower out of legos - see how high you can make it
-Pick up dog poop in the yard
-Wash the car
-Clean up the play room
-Do a sheet of math problems
-Pull weeds
-Put laundry away
-Do 20 pushups
-Clean the bathroom mirrors
-Practice spelling words