35 Screen Free Activities for Kids
Tired of seeing your child illuminated by the glow of a tablet? Check out this list of screen free activities for kids, each focused on engaging their imagination and tickling their curiosity.
Source: Annie Spratt
By some stroke of luck, I discovered that my youngest thrives on unstructured play and screen free activities. She will set up at the table in her room and spend hours crafting magic potions, filling plastic vials with all manner of pompoms and glitter. Once, I caught her quietly stalking the cat, only to pluck a hair from his backside and retreat triumphantly back to her bedroom laboratory.
When I checked in on her later, she proudly showed off a miniature bottle—a tuft of pet fur swirling inside sparkly water. “This is a cat transformation potion,” she said conspiratorially, just as the family cat trotted in. My daughter looked wide-eyed from potion to pet and cried out, “That’s Dad! Oh, no. What have I done?”
This silly moment—and all the playfulness and imagination this potion-making stirred up—inspires all my greatest hopes and dreams for cutting back on screen time for our family. It reminds me of what’s possible when I let my little ones’ curiosities run wild. Of course, I’m not here to judge anyone for their decision to hand over a tablet in a time of need. There are plenty of instances in which Netflix has served as an impromptu babysitter in our home. But I know from experience that a meltdown is coming each and every time my children have unfettered access to tech.
So, in order to keep the peace around here, and give my kids plenty of opportunities to let their imaginations soar, I’m keeping a running list of fun, engaging screen free activities. All of these crafts and play ideas are either totally free or low-cost, and each emphasizes a simple set-up and minimal involvement from parents.
If like mine, your family needs a tech break, try one of these ideas for planning creative, playful, and imaginative time at home—no charging cables in sight.
35 Screen Free Activities for Kids
1. Get outside for a backyard scavenger hunt in all kinds of weather, bonus points if you seize the opportunity to sit by idly as your littles explore their natural surroundings. For pre-readers, a list of pictures is paramount. Outfit them with a clipboard and pencil and have them spend their time ticking off things they find—an acorn here, a small twig there, etc.
2. Two words that will send a thrill through any kid: Bubble foam. Too cold to be outside? Bring it to the bathtub!
3. Spread out a blanket in the grass and search the sky for clouds that resemble your favorite animals. If you’d like, you can even make it educational by doing a little cloud research beforehand.
4. Set kids loose outside. That’s it, that’s the activity! Head to a nature preserve or your own backyard for unstructured time wandering the great outdoors. It may sound simple, but spending time in nature—while on the decline for kids—has huge benefits for their growth and development, improving language, communication, and social skills.¹
5. Make giant bubbles. Who wouldn’t be mesmerized by a huge wand that produces the most magical bubbles—some as big as a toddler? Here’s an easy recipe for bubble solution and a DIY tutorial for creating the wand you’ll need.
6. Grab some sidewalk chalk and have your kids create a walkable maze for you to solve. Award extra points if it’s well-decorated (read: they spend more time on it).
Who wouldn’t be mesmerized by a huge wand that produces the most magical bubbles—some as big as a toddler?
7. Have your littles use sidewalk chalk to create a doodle road for their bikes and scooters.
8. Head out for a nature walk together, spotting pinecones, birds, and trees that tickle your child’s curiosity.
9. While this is a perfect outdoor activity, it can also be done inside near a sink for easy clean-up. Hand over a bunch of supplies—water, soap, flour, leaves, sequins, etc—and set your littles up to craft magic potions. They’ll need to describe what each one does too, of course!
10. Create fairy wands by collecting supplies from outside, including sticks, leaves, flowers, petals, and more. While the littles can decorate to their hearts content, you may need to step in with a hot glue gun so that everything holds tight.
11. Open a lemonade stand.
12. Level up their outside play with DIY chalk paint.
13. Arm kids with these reusable water balloons for endless warm-weather play.
14. Make popsicles using the materials you have on hand, such as yogurt, fruit, and juice. Freeze your creation in popsicle molds and wait a couple hours to reap the delicious fruits of your labor.
Source: RDNE Stock Project
15. Build a fort. Perfect for rainy days, a fort requires only a little imagination and a few blankets to put together a sweet escape.
16. Plant a fairy garden. A terrarium or big jar works perfectly as a base. Next, raid your little’s toys for a quirky piece or two that will hint that this is a place for the fae.
17. Craft shadow puppets using heavy paper and a dash of creativity. Here’s an easy DIY for kids.
18. Marble runs provide so. many. hours. of. fun.
19. Let them decorate your windows with easy-wipe dry erase markers. The novelty alone is worth the (temporary!) mess.
20. This simple cork sailboat craft is easy as pie—and it actually floats in water!
21. Speaking of pie, why not do some simple baking together?
22. This table top easel kit has kept our kids enthralled for months and months.
23. A few paper napkins, markers, and a water dropper or spray bottle are all you need for kids to whip up tie dye napkins. Decorate a napkin, sprinkle it with water, and watch the colors spread in the most mesmerizing way.
Decorate a napkin, sprinkle it with water, and watch the colors spread in the most mesmerizing way.
24. Set up stairway skeeball with magnetic tiles (or honestly, any unbreakable container).
25. Play scientist with this super-easy, rainbow-colored experiment with vinegar and baking soda.
26. Host a book swap. Let kids pull together a pile of books they recommend, and play lending library with their friends. Note: Keep a list of which books you borrow and lend out so that it’s easy to swap back when the time comes.
27. Make play dough stamps from materials that might otherwise crowd your recycling bin.
28. Make flower bouquets for friends and family with everything nature supplies in your own backyard.
29. Hand over a stack of paper and have children of all ages whip up their own comic books. Even pre-readers can tell a story through evolving pictures!
30. Grab your broken crayons and have your kids make recycled crayons. It’s even more fun if you use a silicone baking pan in a fun shape!
31. Inspire a bit of mystery by having your kids make their own spy decoder wheel—and start leaving one another secret messages to crack.
32. Craft your own lava lamp by mixing oil, water, and an Alka Seltzer tab in a bottle. Find the full directions here.
33. Have kids engineer their own marble runs, using toilet paper and paper towel rolls. Masking tape works perfectly to hold their creations together.
34. No child can resist the allure of the stomp rocket.
35. And when all else fails, it’s time for a dance party. Turn down the lights, bring on the glowsticks, and let everyone shake off their extra wiggles and energy.
Source: Алексей Гвоздев
Why Screen Free Time Is Important for Kids
Study after study focused on kids of all ages shows that carving out time for creative play (e.g. not screens) is not only fun, but often translates into stronger problem-solving, critical-thinking, improved academic performance, and self-expression skills.² And while it’s still up for debate whether creativity can be taught, what we can do is prompt our children to flex their imaginations regularly—giving them ample opportunity to discover what makes their creative sparks fly.
… what we can do is prompt our children to flex their imaginations regularly—giving them ample opportunity to discover what makes their creative sparks fly.
While no one is advising that parents shuck screens altogether, making time for crafting, experimenting, and general unstructured play can make a big difference in how your family feels throughout the day. Of course, this list of screen free activities isn’t exhaustive in the least, and there’s no right way to kids to play. Take a beat, if you need it, and observe what truly excites your child—and what feels doable and enjoyable for you. From there, you’ll know how to make the most of playtime in a way that works for you.
References
1. Scott S, Gray T, Charlton J, Millard S. The Impact of Time Spent in Natural Outdoor Spaces on Children's Language, Communication and Social Skills: A Systematic Review Protocol. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(19):12038.
2. Yang J, Zhao X. The effect of creative thinking on academic performance: Mechanisms, heterogeneity, and implication. Thinking Skills and Creativity. 2021;(40).
