Let's face it - working in playtime to our busy schedules can be a challenge. I want to give parents and caregivers a go-to list of concrete, screen-free play ideas. Following are 20 of my favorite ideas on how to engage with your children in a way that inspires their imaginations and shows them the possibilities of screen-free fun!
20 Screen-Free Ways To Play & Connect With Kids
1. Reading
If your children will not read books to themselves, offer to read to them. Poetry, articles, books, or even old letters will do—especially if you dramatize the storytelling a bit and use different intonations and voices.
2. Storytelling
My children love hearing stories about my childhood and the childhood tales of their siblings or my friends. Truth be told, I long ran out of stories many years ago and sometimes retold stories I heard from others or even news stories. But hey, it’s a tradition that connects and bonds us.
3. Sing-Alongs
Every night for years, my daughter and I would sing family favorites like Yellow Submarine, She’ll be Coming Round the Mountain, I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, This Land is Your Land, Oh Susannah, You are My Sunshine, and so many more. For an added bit of creativity, encourage kids to make up their own, personalized lyrics to familiar tunes.
4. Dance Parties
A few minutes of dancing is a great way to unwind, de-stress, and get a little exercise. My kids have enjoyed hearing the classics from my childhood and have become huger fans of Queen, Cat Stevens, and the Beatles. But sometimes we just turn the radio volume up and crank the tunes, rocking out to the beat!
5. Tongue Twisters
These are so much fun to recite, perfect, and then make up your own!
6. Family Trivia
The kids love when I ask them trivia questions about the family (birthdays, middle names, favorite foods, favorite colors) or about sports, states, music, movies, etc. Give kids a chance to brainstorm a few questions to ask you as well! You’ll be surprised with what they come up with.
7. Twenty Questions
This kept us busy for months! One person comes up with a person, place, or thing, and then the guesser asks yes and no questions trying to get the answer in as few questions as possible!
8. Pop Quiz
Challenge kids by giving them words to spell and math problems to solve.
9. Sketch Art
We play a game where we have to draw an object without looking and see which person does a better job! Or one person comes up with a theme, and both need to draw a creative scene using that theme. Or we place an object (a lamp, a clock, a bowl of fruit) in front of us and try to draw an exact replica of it!
10. Pencil & Paper Games
We love scratch paper games, such as Dots, Hangman and Tic-Tac-Toe! Sometimes we play for hours!
11. Card Games
One deck of cards will be the best investment you will ever make. My favorite game of all time began in childhood and was taught to me by my grandmother— 500 Rummy. We also love to play Go Fish, Spit, War, Solitaire, Blackjack, and so many more.
12. Card Tricks
I spent innumerable hours learning how to shuffle cards and make a bridge, and also perform card tricks. There is no better way to teach mastery and performance skills to your children. Plus, you can always try to build a house of cards! These tasks are great for developing fine motor skills!
13. Joking Around
Telling and making up jokes helps kids develop a sense of humor and make connections. Knock-knock jokes were a favorite in our home for many years. Jokes and riddles often have simple structures and as kids try to make up their own they are developing important skills they will use for reading comprehension.
14. Cook Together
Even helping prepare simple meals or snacks can be so much fun. Allow your child to help gather ingredients, help measure, mix, and clean up!
15. Ball Games
We play catch indoors year round and keep a running tally of how many catches we can make without dropping the ball. We have made it to 10,000! Sometimes for an added challenge we do lefty or one-handed or one-foot catches. We will also play “basketball” where we throw the ball into trash cans, sinks, or any sort of baskets or containers.
16. Cat’s Cradle
Two long shoelaces tied together can provide a perfect string for cat’s cradle—a game great for fine motor skill development and one of the most engaging activities of all time!
17. Create a Dance or Handshake
Try coming up with a family dance or handshake with your child. It’s a great collaborative and creative project that also will become a favorite family tradition to break out now and then!
18. Stage a Play
Choose a simple fairy tale or movie and recreate it in a play! Make a program and tickets and put on a show!
19. Paper Airplanes
We have derived no greater joy than making and racing paper airplanes! Challenge kids to get creative with their folds. Measuring how far each plane can go, making improvements for further flight, decorating planes with designs – there’s so much learning (and fun) that comes with such a seemingly simple activity!
20. Clean-Up Time
One of my favorite activities as a child was actually to clean—wash dishes, dust, fold laundry and put it away, vacuum, clean windows with spray cleaner, dust the furniture and wash the car on warm days.
Injecting interactive activities into your everyday routine can be a challenge, but the benefits of playfully engaging with your child will last a lifetime! Enjoy!
