This adorable and empowering book with paired activity will invite your child to learn the power of boredom and how to clear their heads so they can just be!
The picture book, ‘There’s Nothing To Do’ by Dev Petty is a wonderful reminder of the good side of boredom, the power of breath and clearing our minds, and how we can focus more on presence.
Boredom is crucial for kids because it encourages creativity and problem-solving by pushing them to find their own ways to entertain themselves. It fosters resilience and independence, as they learn to handle unstructured time without constant stimulation. Additionally, boredom can help kids develop a sense of self and personal interests, as they explore various activities and hobbies on their own.
When kids experience boredom, they are more likely to engage in imaginative play, which can lead to innovative thinking and a deeper understanding of their own abilities. Furthermore, learning to cope with boredom helps build patience and emotional regulation, as they practice waiting and managing frustration without immediate gratification.
Learning to slow down and focus our thoughts is tremendously helpful for reducing stress and living a happier life. We can agree, the world needs a bit more of that!
How to Expand on the Book’s Message
This activity is super easy and low maintenance! All you need are the supplies below! Let’s get started!
Supplies:
- ‘There’s Nothing To Do’ book by Dev Petty (affiliate link)
- Brain Dump worksheet printed (provided)
- Something to write with
Instructions:
1. Read the book – Invite the child to read through the book with you. Make sure to keep it engaging and life-like, not monotone.
2. Complete the printable – Invite the child to use the provided “brain dump” printable to clear their minds and
3. Talk – Talk with the child about how helpful it can be to get all of our thoughts out of our heads to make room for anything from creativity to action!
Social Emotional Learning Behind Using Positive Words:
Our words matter and have a profound impact on our brains as well as those around us, and researchers are learning more about how significant this is more and more each day. Below are some of the ways using positive words helps strengthen our brains.
Using positive words changes the way your brain is wired and strengthens the neuropathways that lead to positive words, higher level executive functioning, positive choices, positive thinking, positive self-image, and even a positive reality.
When a neural pathway is strengthened by repetition, it gets stronger, it will then be the path an unconscious thought or behavior takes later on because the brain naturally chooses the strongest pathway when left to its method.
This is especially important when you consider that our primitive brains are legitimately hard-wired to worry. It used to be a very beneficial tool to help us survive. We no longer need that part in the same way, but it remains with us getting built up with no release.
So when we continue to go with, consciously or not, the worry and negative words or thinking patterns, only our fear center, the amygdala, is active causing stress hormones to be released which shut down or limit our logic and reasoning abilities.
On the contrary, when we choose positive words, we can move past hard things more easily thanks to our frontal lobe being engaged.
If the power of our words interests you, you can read more about the science of it and much more here.
