FAMILY

Screen-Free Activities to Keep Kids Entertained When School is Out

This post was supposed to be for Spring Break screen-free activities when you have no travel plans. I figured I’d change it up since school has officially been canceled due to COVID-19 and I know I’m not the only parent scrabbling to figure out how I’m going to entertain my children at home while I’m working!

The original post started:

Spring break is right around the corner, with all that’s going on in the world, ahem COVID-19…we’ll be staying home! The truth is we didn’t have plans to travel any way but now I’m 100% ok with that! No school means the kids are going to get antsy at home unless I put together some fun activities for them. My goal for Spring Break is very minimal screen time and lots of fun, without traveling.

Alright, so some of these involve you getting out there with them because this originated as a Spring Break post. I figured I’d leave them in since I think they are all good ideas and this list can be useful during any break from school!

Screen-Free Activities to Keep Kids Entertained When School is Out

Outdoor Activities

The coronavirus may be a concern but that doesn’t mean you can’t go outside! Here are some fun outdoor activities to choose from:

Go for a hike
Bike rides
A beach day
Sidewalk chalk
Plant flowers in the garden or in pots
Start a vegetable garden
Take a morning/evening walk around your neighborhood
Head to the park (once they open back up)
A backyard picnic
Water balloons
Sprinklers
Set up a scavenger hunt, not door to door but out in nature
Kick the soccer ball around
Play catch
Play tag
Paint Rocks
Bubbles

Indoor Activities

Build a fort
Play Board Games
Play Dress Up
Make clothes and crowns from paper

Bake & decorate cookies
Make a meal together
Play Go Fish
Have a mini spa day, paint nails and do fun hairstyles
Create an indoor scavenger hunt with clues or have your kids do it!
Write a story (thanks for the idea sis! Piper’s already written and illustrated a 20-page book!)
Read
Puzzles
Organize toys together and decide what to donate
Turn the house into an Indoor Race Track
Put on a puppet show
Fashion Show

shop games:

Craft Time!

Check out Pinterest for some great crafts you can do with your kids. When is the last time you tried to paint a picture? It could be fun! Join the kids and paint a picture, make a dream catcher, or make homemade bouncy balls. You’ll be your kid’s hero for the day! There are hundreds of ideas on Pinterest for crafts to do with or without your kids.

Make Bath Bombs – they have great kits at Urban Kangaroo
Make Slime or Playdough
Pull out some old magazines, it’s amazing what how a pair of scissors, some glue and paper can entertain them for hours. Let them get creative!
Make jewelry
Turn an old box into a spaceship, boat, dog house, or something entirely different! Let your kids use their imaginations.
Use small boxes to build a village! -My girls were inspired by our friend Crystal at http://mrskteaches.com/ They’ve been turning every empty cereal box into houses, castles, movie theaters, and candy shops. I’m sure there’ll be more!

My girls are happiest when they are crafting. If I set them up with a bunch of random craft stuff. Popsicle sticks, pipe cleaners, beads, markers, paper, glue, glitter…you get it, they’ll be entertained for HOURS on end.

shop crafts:

Bring on the Printables!

Check out Tot Schooling for 200+ free printables for preschool and Kindergarten.

Pull out those workbooks. We bought a few workbooks last summer we are still working our way through. Our favorites for Kenzie, who is 4 years old are; letter tracing, Big Book of Preschool, and Wipe off Numbers. Piper loves math so she’s been playing blackjack with her daddy and doing her Big Book of First Grade.

Highlights have a lot of great hidden picture books for all different ages. You don’t need a subscription, they sell books on Amazon. These work great on trips too!

Education.com has great worksheets for all preschool through 5th grade that you can print out at home! They do have a fee after printing 3 worksheets but all the worksheets are great to keep your child learning!

shop workbooks:

Sensory Play Time

I just ordered water beads and I’m sure they’ll provide hours of fun.

There are plenty of activities you can set your kids up that do involve screen time, but not just shows and movies. I’ve got a list started and will get it published asap for you!

We’re all in this together! Stay safe and enjoy all the extra family time.

Next, head to Pomegranate Mom for 15 Fun Activities for Preschoolers that are easy to do at home!