Activity Idea: Summer Bingo!
By Amanda Watson (LMHCA)
Summer is finally here, and while it can be a time of exciting trips, activities, and social opportunities, it can also bring with it hours of unstructured down time and disrupted routines. For kids and teens it can be easy to get into a cycle of “I don’t know what to do” when asked to fill their time with something other than the easily accessible and highly desirable screens. For our kids who struggle with remembering what is available to them, and feel paralyzed with indecision over what to do with their non-screen time, Summer Bingo can offer a fun, creative, structured, and collaborative idea for helping our kids find activities to fill their free summer hours.
Steps and Considerations for Summer Bingo:
Check in with how engaged your kids want to be in the process of planning activities to go on the card. Ideally this would be a collaborative endeavor to increase interest and buy in.
Activities can be anything! They can include exercise, reading, writing, arts and crafts, music, etc.
Think of fun “prizes” or activities they can earn for completing different Bingos (standard, four corners, blackout, etc.).
Incorporate favorite colors, characters, or special interests into your Bingo card design!
Each square on the Bingo card can be different, or you can have certain activities featured more than once if you would like a higher likelihood of engagement .
Provide detailed information and descriptions of specific activities. This is especially important if you aren’t available to answer questions, provide help or guidance if needed.
Ensure resources and materials are easily accessible and available (you can also include the location on your information page).
You can create your Bingo cards by hand, or use a free website.
Create new Bingo cards for each week to keep it fresh, or use the same one for familiarity.
Make sure you include a “FREE” space!
“Tip! They may choose not to engage in a specific activity ever or multiple times. Adding “extra points” to specific tasks can work for some, but not for all. As long as they are engaging with other activities try not to get too focused on the ones they skip.”
Creating Bingo Cards
Overview:
My Free Bingo Cards website has customizable Bingo cards that you can print, or they even have a virtual bingo card option!
Use a laminator and re-use your cards using Sharpie and dry erase markers
Word documents, CANVA, etc., can be used to add pictures of special interest related characters or items.
If you have a whiteboard handy, that could also work!
Make your own cards by hand with the materials you have readily available.
Activity Ideas:
Exercise
Go for a walk
Bike ride
Do ___ jumping jacks
Take the dog for a walk
Ride a skateboard for ___
Jog to ___ and back
Make up a dance routine
Play frisbee golf
Practice a sport
Yoga
Puzzles
Standard puzzles
Sudoku
Murdle
IQ Smart Games
Word search
Snap circuit
Writing
Journaling with prompts
Write a poem
Write a short story
Write a letter to someone
Complete a page in a workbook
Mental Health
Practice a mindfulness activity
Practice a new grounding technique
Use a guided meditation video
Miscellaneous
Find a recipe you would like to try
Practice a language
Text a friend
Practice an instrument
Read a chapter of a book
Listen to an audio book
Crafts and Building
Lego
Magna tiles
Papercrafts
Origami
Drawing
Diamond art
Perler Beads
Bracelet making
STEM activity
Fiber arts
Painting
“For more resources, ideas, printable bingo cards, and more examples of how to create your own Summer Bingo, head on over to the Additional Resources page of our website under “Neurodivergent Resources”!”
