115 Screen- Free Activities to do Around the House

I've been laid up with a bum knee since our fishing trip the other day and the boys have been watching TV and playing video games the whole time.  It's beautiful and sunny out and I wanted to brainstorm (with them) ideas for some screen- free summer fun.  Since I'm laid up this list only includes things they can do around the house.  Here's a lit of what we've come up with so far:


  1. Try out a new recipe
  2. Paint a picture
  3. Play a board game
  4. Swim in the lake
  5. Read a book
  6. Play with sparklers 
  7. Make some sort of play dough or slime to play with
  8. Play with toys and shaving cream
  9. Use the slip and slide with or without shaving cream
  10. Run through the sprinklers
  11. Have a picnic
  12. Lay on a blanket, watch the clouds & tell a story
  13. Have a birthday party for a stuffed animal
  14. Build with Lego or blocks
  15. Make ice tunnels
  16. Play cards; war, Uno, pitch, go fish, etc.
  17. Do some simple science experiments
  18. Collect small treasures to look at under the microscope
  19. Make ice cream
  20. Tie dye a T-shirt
  21. Blow bubbles
  22. Have a water balloon fight
  23. Go kayaking or paddle boating
  24. Build a sand castle
  25. Use the hose and our climber to make a water slide
  26. Ride bikes and scooters
  27. Draw on or paint the driveway 
  28. Pick some flowers/ Plant some flowers
  29. Go fishing
  30. Feed the ducks
  31. Catch butterflies or bugs
  32. Sit quietly near the bird feeder and take pictures of the different birds you see
  33. Make your own floating raft with bubble wrap and duct tape
  34. Build a fort
  35. Make bracelets
  36. Put a model together
  37. Make your own movie using a video camera or stop motion video
  38. Design an obstacle course
  39. Write up/ go on a scavenger hunt
  40. Pain like Jackson Pollock 
  41. Fly a kite
  42. Climb a tree
  43. Wash mom's car
  44. Jump rope
  45. Play with stomp rockets or pop rockets 
  46. Play tag
  47. Practice wood burning with the wood burning kit
  48. Play air hockey
  49. Play Frisbee
  50. Play guitar or piano
  51. Have a Nerf gun war
  52. Use remote control cars; design a course for them outside
  53. Play hopscotch 
  54. Paint your face with watercolor crayons
  55. Make a sun dyed picture using the sun photo paper
  56. Color in coloring book
  57. Make a scratch art picture 
  58. Design and make your own sword and shield with cardboard & duct tape
  59. Do a page in the extreme dot to dot book 
  60. Have a sponge ball fight
  61. Scrapbook or make a card for a friend
  62. go roller skating
  63. put together a puzzle
  64. Use dry erase markers on the windows
  65. Clean or organize something
  66. Rearrange your room
  67. Host an egg drop in the backyard
  68. Make a sun catcher
  69. Make a garden decoration
  70. Have a silly string fight
  71. Have a pillow fight
  72. Make "magic milk" with milk, dish soap & food coloring
  73. Make a smoothie or slush drink
  74. Host a "car wash" and wash all the bikes or toy trucks
  75. Make an ice sculpture
  76. Sand art
  77. Make a target range and throw wet sponges
  78. Play egg toss or water balloon toss
  79. Have a bath & play with toys
  80. Use the bows and arrows
  81. Have an Alka Seltzer/ water gun fight (be the first one to dissolve your opponents Alka Seltzer tablet) 
  82. Play Foosball
  83. Play billiards
  84. Play with the darts and dart board
  85. Make balloon powered Lego cars and have a race
  86. Make Popsicle stick chain reactions
  87. Set up Dominoes for a chain reaction
  88. Play Dominoes
  89. Build a plastic or paper cup tower
  90. Paint a pet rock and make up a story about your pet
  91. Try some melted crayon art projects
  92. Play with snap circuits
  93. Make snake bubbles
  94. Make a marble maze
  95. Make a toothpick/ marshmallow sculpture
  96. Play with vinegar and baking soda; make a mini volcano in the sand
  97. Play with oil, water, food coloring and eye droppers
  98. Make a bird feeder from old bagels or toilet paper tubes
  99. Design your own city; use $1 store shower curtain liner and map out a whole city with markers
  100. Play with Geoboards and elastic bands
  101. Make a design using pattern blocks
  102. Play Ping Pong
  103. Lift weights or run on the treadmill
  104. Play twister
  105. Play charades
  106. Play Simon Says
  107. Make Spin art with salad spinner and paint
  108. Use the hula hoop and try to make it all the way around the driveway or time yourself to see how long you can keep it up
  109. Finger paint
  110. Play hide and go seek
  111. Set up the tent and pretend you are camping
  112. Make marshmallow shooters with a cup and balloon and have marshmallow wars
  113. Catch a turtle or frog
  114. Blow up a balloon and keep it in the air
  115. Use sunglasses & hammer to break open some rocks.  Use a magnifying glass to inspect them.


Comments

  1. Lisa EhrmanAugust 2, 2015 at 4:56 PM

    What an amazing list of things to do that doesn't involve screens! I love it :) Thanks so much for sharing at Together on Tuesdays! All moms need this list :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mother of 3August 2, 2015 at 9:06 PM

    Thank you!!! That's so encouraging.

    ReplyDelete

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