100 Fun Activities for Kids That Get Them Off Their Screens

Key Takeaways:

Screen-free activities can improve your child’s focus, motor skills, emotional regulation, and communication.
Outdoor activities such as going on a bug safari, stargazing, and making art with nature can deepen a child’s connection with their environment.
You can insert opportunities to learn by visiting the zoo, introducing new skills, experimenting with crafts, and letting your child’s interests lead.

Nowadays, most children turn to their tablet or laptop when they get bored. It’s instantly gratifying, but it takes them away from real-world magic. Planning screen-free activities for kids can spark their creativity and ignite their curiosity in ways that a screen can’t.

Below, we list 100 fun screen-free activities you can try indoors, outdoors, and together as a family.

Outdoor Screen-Free Activities

Connecting with nature is an excellent way to get children to appreciate their environment away from screens. Here are a few easy activities to try in your backyard or local park.

Nature walk: Spend time in nature and appreciate what you see, hear, and smell. Notice what kinds of flora and wildlife you can find in your area.
Gardening: Teach your child the importance of responsibility and care by assigning simple gardening tasks, such as planting seeds, pulling weeds, or watering plants.
Rock painting: Collect rocks of different shapes from your garden or around the neighborhood and paint them together.
Bug safari: Use a magnifying glass to observe bugs in your backyard or local park. Look up fun facts about these bugs to get your child interested in learning more about them.
Family picnic: Take lunch outside every now and then. Appreciating nature can instantly turn a basic lunch into a simple adventure.
Build a birdhouse: This DIY building project can improve your child’s motor skills while encouraging them to appreciate wildlife.
Water balloon target practice: Draw chalk targets on the pavement or use rocks as placeholders and try to hit them with water balloons. This fun activity also improves your child’s hand-eye coordination.
Constellation and stargazing: Lay out a blanket in the yard. Observe and identify any constellations you see in the night sky.
Mud kitchen: Let kids be kids by getting a little messy in the garden making mud cakes! Set up an outdoor station with pots, cups, and bowls to make “meals” out of what they can find in nature.
Glow-in-the-dark ring toss: Take the classic ring toss game to the next level by making glow stick rings and setting up a tossing station in the yard at dusk.
Nature mandalas: Make mandalas out of found objects in parks or your backyard. Collect flower petals, small stones, branches, and pinecones.
Chalk agility track: In your driveway, draw an agility course featuring zigzags and spirals kids have to spin in or balance on.
Sun-print art: Purchase cyanotype or sun-print paper, then collect fallen leaves to create unique sun-exposure keepsakes.
Binoculars I-Spy: Play a different version of I Spy using binoculars. Try to spot faraway objects in your area like tall buildings, landmarks, or things in the sky.
Scents of nature: Go on a scavenger hunt for nature’s aromatics. Enjoy the scents of flower petals, damp cedar, mint leaves, and other types of flora.
Ice block excavation: Freeze toys inside a large Tupperware with water, then “excavate” them together using safe tools.
Fill the bucket: Children race to see who can fill their bucket with water first using only sponges. They’ll first absorb as much water as they can with their sponge, run across the yard, and fill an empty bucket with water from that sponge.
Life-sized checkers: Make your game of checkers larger than life by building a life-sized board with black and white cardboard pieces in your backyard! Your kids can stand in as the pieces themselves or use stuffed animals to act as other pieces.
Slingshot cans: Use slingshots to knock down empty cans in a relay against family members.
Nature photography: Provide your child with a disposable camera and ask them to snap pictures of things they find in nature. Develop the photos together and build a scrapbook.

Indoor Screen-Free Activities

You’ll be surprised what activities you can enjoy with things you already have at home. Below, we list some indoor screen-free activities your child can enjoy on weekends or after school.

Chef for a day: Choose a simple recipe your child has always wanted to try making and let them lead in the kitchen.
Treasure hunt: Keep it simple, and leave some things up to interpretation so your child can get creative. For example, you can ask them to find “things you can use for more than one purpose” or “ten blue things.”
Build a LEGO kit: Introduce a fun way to improve your child’s motor skills by building a LEGO kit.
Build a fort: Engage your child in the classic pastime of fort-building. Get creative with chairs, blankets, pillows, and tables.
Sensory bins: Kids love to discover new things. Create sensory bins with different textures: soft, hard, textured, crinkled, and whatever your child can use safely.
Sponge boat race: Cut up sponges into boat shapes and use other materials to add sails if you want to get really creative! Float them in a bathtub or in the sink.
Character fashion show: Ask your child to pick their favorite storybook or TV show character and try to dress up like them with clothes and materials they have in their closet.
DIY comic book: Staple blank paper into small booklets and let your child’s imagination run wild! Ask them to create a comic book based on a superhero they made up or an entirely original character.
Blindfolded architect: Blindfold your child and give them instructions for building a tower out of LEGO pieces or blocks.
Blind taste test: Gather safe ingredients in the kitchen and blindfold your child. Have them guess what ingredient or snack they’re eating.
Alphabet “bring me” game: Ask your child to find items throughout the house corresponding to each letter of the alphabet.
Mystery box: Cut two holes on opposite sides of a box and put a “mystery item” inside. Your child has to put their hands into both holes to feel the item and guess what it is.
Indoor escape room: Create your own escape room using simple ciphers, such as writing riddles that match items you’ve hidden around the room or writing codes in invisible ink for your child to discover with a UV flashlight.
Bedsheet shadow theatre: Hang a white bedsheet across a doorway and place a bright lamp behind it. Use your hands to make interesting shapes or figure out how to put your fingers together to mimic certain animals.
ASMR: Create your own ASMR recording with household items, such as marbles inside a jar, crinkled paper, or water in the sink.
Letter to future self: Give your child an opportunity to reflect on their recent experiences and hopes for the future by asking them to write a letter to their future selves.
Air-dry clay: Learn how to sculpt using non-toxic air-dry clay. Paint your masterpieces with acrylics and display them in a DIY exhibit.
Chores as games: Turn chores into something fun by putting a spin on them. For example, if it’s your child’s turn to load the dishwasher, you can assign them the role of “restaurant health inspector.”
Creative outlets: Experiment with different creative outlets, such as visual arts, writing, or music, to help your child express their emotions and provide them with a sense of accomplishment.
Sewing: Teach your child the basics of sewing. As their skills improve, they can even learn to repair toys and clothes.

Screen-Free Activities for Active Kids

Does your child feel like they’re always bouncing off the walls? Here are some ways active children can release their energy.

Yoga for kids: Yoga for children can help release pent-up energy and teach your child to be more body-confident.
Zumba: Zumba is a high-energy dance exercise that helps children build physical fitness and improves overall coordination [*].
Balloon volleyball: Try to keep a balloon in the air as long as possible. This delicate yet fun game exercises a child’s visual tracking and hand-eye coordination.
Animal walk racing: Have your child race with their siblings or friends in the way that certain animals walk. For example, they might do a “side run” like a crab or hop like a rabbit.
Supersized bowling: Set up a DIY bowling lane with household materials like plastic cups and use a bigger ball to knock them down.
Exercise games: Combine fun and exercise by gamifying physical activity. You can race each other to 10 jumping jacks or pretend you’re turning into a superhero by completing an exercise set.
Dance party: Teach your child to release their energy in rhythm! You can play different genres of music and encourage your child to move however they like.
Bike, scooter, or roller blade: Let your child choose whatever they gravitate towards most—as long as they get moving!
Stair slide: Turn your stairs into a safe slide for kids by covering them with blankets and pillows. Don’t forget cushioning at the bottom.
Bubble wrap popping race: See who can pop all the bubbles on a sheet of bubble wrap in this simple yet fast-paced game.
The floor is lava: Spread out pillows and cushions in your living area. Your child must traverse from end to end without touching the floor—it’s lava!
Silent ninja training: This unique game teaches active kids to slow down and focus. Give them fun ninja-like tasks, such as carrying a tray of metal spoons without making a noise or balancing a pillow on their head without letting it fall.
Progressive muscle relaxation: Sometimes, active kids have a hard time calming down. Teaching them progressive muscle relaxation can help them transition into quiet rest.
Pillow sumo wrestling: Stuff oversized T-shirts with bedroom or throw pillows and tape a circle down on the floor. The goal is to get one child to push the other out of the circle.
Pool noodle joust: Give active kids a competitive outlet by hosting a pool noodle or styrofoam sword joust.
Human remote control: One person acts as the “remote,” asking your child to “fast-forward,” “rewind,” or “pause” as they dance to a routine.
Feather and fan race: Kids use a handheld fan to blow a single feather through an agility course without letting the feather fall.
Fun run: Join a community fun run with your child. These fun runs usually partner with charitable organizations to benefit specific groups.
Dog walking: If your child loves dogs, you can visit the local animal shelter and sign up to become a dog walker. It’s a fun and healthy way to get exercise and release active energy.
Gymnastics: Consider enrolling your child in a gymnastics class. Gymnastics can improve your child’s motor control, concentration, and body awareness [*].

Screen-Free Learning Activities

Play offers a unique opportunity for children to learn at the same time. Try these fun learning activities to get your child’s imagination going.

Active reading: Bedtime stories are sacred family rituals that can nurture a child’s imagination and vocabulary. When engaging in active reading, pause to ask your child to guess what happens next.
Imaginative play: Imaginative play gets children curious about how the world works. Role-playing as a doctor, firefighter, or flower shop owner can help them understand the responsibilities of different types of people.
Shadow drawing: Place objects or toys in the sun and ask your child to trace them on paper to make creative designs.
DIY puppet show: Provide materials for your child to create puppets out of socks. This activity challenges their creativity and storytelling skills.
Homemade play-doh: Teach your child how to make play-doh with household materials. Through this activity, you can insert a little bit of science.
Recycled crafts: Bring trash back to life and create animals, buildings, or entire worlds with recyclable materials, such as cardboard, boxes, cans, and more. This activity teaches kids the importance of recycling and reusing.
Visit the zoo: Instead of spending a day in front of the TV, visit a zoo and get to know the animals of the world.
Mindful coloring: Introduce important coping skills using our color by coping skills worksheets. These worksheets get your child’s creative juices flowing while suggesting helpful coping tips, such as ignoring negative thoughts, thinking of things they are grateful for, and using positive self-talk.
Worry jar: If you have an anxious child, encourage them to write their thoughts inside a worry jar. This simple activity helps them release negative energy and clear their mind of worrying thoughts.
Origami: Older kids can learn the Japanese art of paper folding, also known as origami. They can improve their skills as they become more accustomed to complex designs.
DIY instruments: Brainstorm ways you can make DIY instruments, such as putting beans inside a jar or turning different types of boxes into a drum set. This offers a good opportunity to teach your child how instruments work.
Copycat mirror game: Sit or stand face-to-face with your child and have them mirror your movements. This activity is particularly helpful for non-verbal children learning to express themselves with their bodies.
Color hunt: It’s just like a scavenger hunt, but you’ll ask your child to find 5 things for each color of the rainbow from within your household.
Use a telescope: Teach your child about the stars and planets by taking a telescope outside and looking up at the night sky. Keep track of what you see in a notebook.
Puzzles: Choose the number and size of the pieces according to your child’s learning stage and interests.
Museum visit: Visit the local museum and follow where your child’s interests lead. Together, you can learn new things and fall in love with learning.
Pass-the-story circle: In a group, start a story with one sentence. Go back and forth, each adding to the story. This brain exercise trains your child to be imaginative and good with their words.
Rube Goldberg machine: Use household materials like dominoes, tape, kitchen utensils, books, and toys to build a continuous chain-reaction track. This fun activity can improve a child’s motor and building skills.
Miniature terrarium: Build a miniature terrarium or “nature world” with materials you can find in your backyard or local park. Ask your child why they gravitated towards certain items and research fun facts together.
Emotional first aid kit: Teach your child to manage their emotions in tough situations by putting together an emotional first aid kit. Include items and tools that help them calm down, such as a fidget toy or stuffed animal.

Screen-Free Activities for Kids and Parents to Do Together

Engaging in play with your child is a great way to bond. Try these parent-child activities and discover new, exciting ways to spend time together.

Family Olympics: Split up into teams and design Olympic games as part of a fun indoor-outdoor rally. You’ll unlock your child’s competitive spirit while teaching them to be graceful when they lose.
Game night: Choose a selection of family-centric board games or put together a large puzzle.
Family time capsule: Together, write letters to your future selves and place meaningful items into a time capsule that you can open in 5, 10, or even 15 years.
Memory books: Create a scrapbook with your child featuring photos of them as infants. Reflect on those moments together and see how your child has grown since.
Teach-a-parent: Instead of teaching your child how to do something, ask them to teach you. Encourage them to share what they’re passionate about, whether it be their favorite thing about a certain topic, how to draw a dragon, or how to sing their favorite song.
Family afternoons: Set aside time each week to share what you love about each family member. You can give each other compliments or talk about something they’ve said or done that makes you feel grateful.
Music swap: Share your favorite songs or artists from each other’s respective generations.
Volunteer: Choose a cause to volunteer for and go together. You can participate at soup kitchens or animal shelters.
Family history storytelling: Share stories about yourself in your childhood and explain to your child how much the world has changed since then. Answer any questions they might have about your generation.
Family vision board: Put together a vision board of your goals as a family. Use printouts or magazines to picture what you see in your future. Maybe you’ll find photos of houses, vacation spots, future careers, or pets.
Family trivia: Hosted like a game show, this fun activity involves asking trivia questions, such as “Whose favorite meal is spaghetti and meatballs?” and guessing which family member it applies to.
Family tree: Learn about genetics and appreciate your family history by making a big family tree on a large sheet of poster paper.
Secret language: Come up with a secret code or language for fun and for safety! You can use family-only code words for pickups, drop-offs, and when traveling.
Match baby photos: Match the baby photo to the corresponding family member. You’ll certainly get lots of laughs out of this one!
Recreate old photos: Find photos of yourself from when you were your child’s age and try to recreate the photos for new memories.
Parent-child book club: Each pick a book that suits your child’s reading level. Read them together, then discuss your favorite parts afterward.
Co-journaling: Spend silent time together after work and school to journal together. You don’t need to share your entries—the act of writing together can already be enriching.
This-or-that day: Plan an entire day together in which your child can blindly pick between two options. Write each option on a piece of paper and have them pick one with their eyes closed. For example, you might write “ice cream” or “pizza, and “park” or “pool.”
Songwriting: If your child is musically inclined, write and compose a song together! Write about what inspires you or makes you happy.
Day-in-the-life photography: For one day, take photos of your activities and share them with each other afterward. You can see your child’s day from their perspective, and they can see yours.

The Bottom Line

Breaking free from screens shouldn’t feel like you’re taking something away from your child. When you find ways to make learning and exploration fun and exciting, you’ll be surprised to see the creative connections your child can make with their environment. Explore other screen-free activities you can enjoy with your child in our collection of worksheets.