Screen free activities

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As a teenager all I wanted was screen time and didn’t understand parents who limited it

Now as a mom, I just want to throw our tv away. Don’t get me wrong my kids get a bit of screen time everyday.

After lunch my oldest daughter gets 1 movie or 5 episodes of something which ever she picks.

But for the majority of our day we don’t have any screens. I put my phone away and we shut off the tv.

Here are our favorite activities that are screen free!

1- Bake Something

My oh my do my girls love to bake something with me. Kids love to spend time with you and what is better than spending time with your little ones. Then at the end of the activity you have cookies! Oh man it is heaven.

Baking is something so wholesome you can do away with your littles away from any screens. We try every week to make a new fun treat. The kids and I pick it out while I meal plan for the week. Then later that week we make the treat and enjoy.

2: Make a fort:

What is more fun than making a fort and having your own lair to play and read in? This is Lucy’s new favorite activity.

The nice thing is you can pretty much make a fort anywhere and anyway. Our favorite right now is cardboard boxes and blankets to make a fun secret hideaway.

3: Paint Something:

Washable watercolors are a God send. Lucy is obsessed with painting. I think we do it everyday now. This one does need set up with getting the brushes, water, paper, and paint.

But it can provide hours of screen less enjoyment for your littles. Paint a picture for anyone in your life. Or make it a fun activity by painting a picture then putting it in the mail to send to someone!

4: Busy binder:

When we were younger we had a busy binder and I have such fond memories of this activity. I made one for the girls and while it took a couple hours spread out across some days, it was beyond worth it.

I have definitely seen the work I put into this activity pay off. The girls love it and keeps them busy (and learning) for a good chunk of time. Huge win!

You can buy pages for busy binders on Etsy, or you can look up ideas on Pinterest. I just made my pages and then printed them off and laminated them.

If you are unsure what a busy binder is I will link an example here.

5: Sing songs:

Kids LOVE to sing. Whether its songs from the radio or the itsy bitsy spider kids love to sing. Nursery songs can be very good for kids development.

Songs with finger play (like wheels on the bus and itsy bitsy spider) helps kids increase their vocabulary, learn different, sounds, and engage with you.

Singing with your kids is such a good time to bond and give your baby one on one attention. Without the screen, it’s a wonderful way to spend time with your kiddos.

6: Play outside:

There is something so magical about a childhood spent outside exploring the world we live in. Kids normally also love to be outside which is a huge plus.

Playing outside gives you so many options on what to do too Sardines, tag, red rover, red light green light and more.

If you don’t have a back yard that’s okay! Parks are always a good option. Or if your yard has 0 grass that’s okay. Ours is just dirt right now too.

We got some random kitchen items from the dollar store and the girls LOVE to just play in the dirt with the bowls, spoons and more.

The great outdoors gives you so many options. It is marvelous.

7: Read:

Reading to your kids not only gives you time without screens but it also so beneficial for their development.

It helps their vocabulary, think skills, concentration and more. How freaking amazing is that??

Reading is so good for bonding time as well. Nothing better then snuggling up with your babies, reading, helping their development, and being able to sit and bond with them.

Lucy could read forever, no joke she will sit at listen to chapter books at 3 yrs old. We spend at least an hour reading each day. It is always a great time.

I have a post with great books for kids that we read all the time. I’ll link it here.

8: The floor is lava:

Man oh man is this such a fun game. The floor is lava engages their imagination and can be quite an active game too.

Jumping and moving thing to thing so you don’t touch the ground is always a hit amongst kids. We have loved this game.

We try to get to certain places in the living room and find a fun prize on who can get there the fastest as well as see who can do it in the fewest moves. There is a million ways to change this game and have fun.

9: Sensory Bins:

Sensory bins are truly a God send. Not only do they help your kids explore the world, discover new textures, it also keeps kids entertained for more than 10 minutes.

There is SO many different sensory bins you can do with you kids so it’s never a bad activity. You can switch it up. I like to try a different sensory bun every week.

I have a post on how you can set up sensory bins. I’ll link it here.

Kids love sensory bins and playing around with different things. You can even do themed sensory bins for holidays! So what could be better??

10: Scavenger hunt:

Scavenger hunts are such a wonderful screen free activity. You can make them as simple and as complicated as you like!

This is such an easy activity to gear towards what ever age your kids are.

Pinterest is a wealth of ideas of different ideas for scavenger hunts. We love to do a scavenger hunts on walks and at parks.

11: Stickers:

Lucy is obsessed with stickers. We probably play with them everyday.

This is such a flexible activity. You can do 100+ things with stickers.

You can put them on paper, coloring pages, and anything else.

Another thing you can do is use for multiple activities. We’ve been using stickers like this (I’ll link them here) to work on our colors.

We often bring them to church as a quiet activity. The girls love a themed picture with stickers. For instance a picture of a farm yard and then farm animals as the stickers.

Amazon has plenty. Linked here is Lucy’s most recent favorites.

We hope you enjoy these activities and make wholesome screen free memories that will last a lifetime!!!!