Oh, Go Play!

“Mom, there’s nothing to do. I’m SO bored!!!”

If you’re anything like me, you can easily think of a million fun things for your kids to do that don’t involve a screen. But when the endless plights of childhood boredom strike (compounded by a cloudy days and cabin fever), all those Pinterest-worthy ideas go right out the window. I’ve found that arming myself with a list of screen-free activities and placing it in a common place in the house are just what I need to be prepared for the next time my kids need some redirection. Perhaps you need a few tricks up your sleeve, too. Consider this your jumpstart into free play suggestions. For further ideas, check out screen-free play books (there are many of them) from your local library.

Did You Know?

The average American child spends 5-8 hours a day on screens. Consider using a filter such as Disney Circle for both internet protection and time restrictions on screen usage. Use that extra time together in fun and engaging ways, such as making themed dinners, enjoying read-alouds side by side, or going on nature walks together.

Ages 4-6

15-Minute Increments

• Play-dough (for extra fun, consider making your own and scent it with essential oils like peppermint, lavender, or lemon)
• Dollar Tree has a huge assortment of coloring books for just a buck, or you can opt to print off favorite themes online. Crayola.com is a comprehensive online resource for coloring sheets (and speaking of Crayola, consider investing in their Twistable line of crayons and colored pencils, the only art supplies guaranteed to last until the very end).
• Blow bubbles (or invest in a bubble machine!).
• Sensory Bins: Place dried pasta or beans in an under-the-bed storage container (something large and shallow). Add miniature toy animals for extra fun.
• Tape a racecourse onto hard surface floors and let your little racer have at it with his Hot Wheels.
• Write in shaving cream or whipped cream.
• Make macaroni necklaces.
• Bake cookies.
• Crank up the Kids Bop or Disney playlist and have a spontaneous in-house dance party.
• Jump on a mini-trampoline.

30-Minute Increments

• Play hide-and-seek or I spy.
• Make an alphabet book, one letter per setting, by cutting out pictures from old magazines and gluing them onto construction paper.
• Break out the Halloween costumes for year-round imaginative fun.
• String popcorn garland with a large plastic needle and craft string.
• Make an indoor zoo with stuffed animals and laundry baskets (cages).
• Draw pictures and mail them to a friend or grandparent.
• Enjoy playing rounds of simple games together like Candyland, Go Fish or Chutes & Ladders.

1-Hour Increments

• Go to the park.
• Schedule a playdate with a friend.
• Attend library story hour.
• Make birdseed ornaments and place them on a tree or shepherd’s hook where they can be viewed well from indoors.
• Get ice cream and play in a restaurant play place.
• Listen to well-told audiobook versions of classic fairy tales, fables and myths like Rabbit Ears Productions.

Ages 7-9

15-Minute Increments

• Create a memory game with a prompt such as “I went to the store and I bought…” Extra credit if you can get all the way through the alphabet!
• Play quick games such as tic tac toe, hangman, Connect 4, Sushi Go or sleeping queens.
• Make homemade slime.
• Cut out paper snowflakes and hang them from the ceiling.
• Make a homemade glow globe.
• Make a baking soda and vinegar volcano and watch it explode.
• Make homemade snow ice cream.
• Plant a potted herb garden.

30-Minute Increments

• Put on a fashion show (complete with streamers hanging from the doorway for the models to walk through).
• Build a race car out of a cardboard box.
• Make an epic blanket fort, complete with individual rooms.
• Read comics such as Calvin & Hobbes, Garfield or Family Circus. (If kids feel so inspired, encourage them to draw their own comic book!)
• Make homemade potpourri out of citrus rinds, cranberries, cloves, rosemary sprigs and cinnamon sticks and simmer it on the stovetop.

1-Hour Increments

• Make an in-house grocery store and take turns being the cashier or shopper. Toy food works well but you can also use cereal boxes and canned goods from the kitchen.
• Go sledding.
• Use a weaving loom and make a pot holder or winter cap.
• Research magic tricks, practice them and put on a magic show.
• Make a scrapbook or memory book with photos and journal entries.
• Create an in-home spa, complete with manicures, pedicures, infused water and spa-themed music.
• Choose a theme (such as knights and castles, superheroes or animals) and do a free build using Legos to create a structure.

Ages 10-12

15-Minute Increments

• Read a chapter of a favorite book.
• Make homemade hot chocolate out of melted chocolate chips and milk and dress it up with all the special extras, such as whipped cream, marshmallows, chocolate syrup, and crushed up candy cane sprinkles.
• Build an obstacle course and run through it.
• Make a masterpiece with a Spirograph.
• Mad Libs.

30-Minute Increments

• Draw a self-portrait while looking in a mirror.
• Build a snow fort or snowman.
• Start Nerf gun wars.
• Have an indoor snowball fight with felt balls or white socks.
• Play PIG or basketball indoors with an over-the-door basketball hoop.
• Write a letter to a friend or family member and mail it.
• Make a pressed plant bookmark.

1-Hour Increments

• Create your own board game. Design the board (or cards), establish your rules and try a few rounds to work out the kinks.
• Play a strategy game such as Risk, Settlers of Catan, or Carcassonne.
• Work your way through an advanced puzzle (leave it out on a card table and return to it throughout the day).
• Crochet a blanket (look into finger knitting or arm knitting with big chunky yarn) while listening to a favorite audiobook.
• Bake brownies.
• Rearrange bedroom furniture for a fresh, new look.

Lauren Greenlee is a freelance writer and Olathe boymom of three who finds read-alouds and handicrafts to be the best way to bond with her crew.