Librarians become boredom busters

Harvey shire library staff have come up with a series of activities to combat boredom for families stuck at home, called Home Inside Play and Home Outside Play.

The worksheet is aimed at giving residents enough boredom-busters to last a month, mixing inside and outside play.

Harvey principal librarian Ruth Campbell-Hicks said the program was aimed at finding creative ways to fill the time for families forced to self-isolate.

“The activities are simple things families can do to interact creatively and safely in their home or backyard,” she said.

“These range from ‘plant a potato in a clear container and watch it grow’, to ‘making an obstacle course’ or ‘make an alka-seltzer rocket’,” she said.

Mrs Campbell-Hicks said it was important for people to keep their spirits up if they were unable to attend school or work.

“It’s so important for people to support each other in difficult times,” she said.

“And little ones need ways to release their tension in fun ways just as much as grown-ups do.

“These are just some simple ideas to get people started on how to have more fun at home, which they can hopefully add to themselves.”

To add to the creative solution, Mrs Campbell-Hicks has upped the ante.

“I will be awarding prizes for anyone who can send in photos to the library of family members completing at least 20 of these activities,” she said.