Screen-Free Ways to Have Fun
- Learning Resources Posted On Feb 12, 2021 | Family Time
Take a break from screens and learning these holidays! Celebrate play with our ideas for screen-free ways to have fun. Join the Learning Resources Festival of Fun and find lots of easy ideas to enjoy the mid-term break at home.
10 screen-free ways to have fun these holidays
Children have been learning at home via screens for weeks, and everyone could do with a break. That’s why we’ve put together some fun, engaging activities families can do at home.
Make something yummy
Cooking and baking is a great way to unplug and spend time together. Even young children can help in the kitchen with activities such as mixing and stirring and baking is an ideal activity to introduce maths learning about planning, weighing, measuring, and counting. And the result is something delicious to eat and share.
Live backwards for a day
Switch around everyone’s routine for a day and show your child how change can be fun. Start the day with a movie. Close the curtains, make some popcorn, and snuggle on the sofa. End the day by serving breakfast foods for dinner. Bacon and eggs before bed? Yes please!
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Tell a joke
Get everyone laughing and learning with a good joke. Not only does telling jokes give everyone a lift, but it helps boost your child’s vocabulary and language skills. Find 60 jokes to make kids laugh.
Play something fun
Assemble the whole family for a game. Family games are great because they’re a screen-free way to reconnect everyone. And, if it’s an educational game, your child will be learning without realising! Find ideas by reading 10 family games for the whole family to enjoy.
Do experiments
Turn your kitchen into a home science laboratory with these easy science experiments for kids. Make ice cream, mystery goo and more. Try making bubbles! You’ll find a recipe for the ultimate bubble mixture and a fun STEM rainbow bubble snake experiment you can do in your outdoor space.
Image: Getty Images
Camp indoors
Transform your living room into a comfy campsite. Set up your best indoor camping area and pretend you’re enjoying the outdoors. You’ll need camp food of course, and that means hotdogs and hot chocolate. Find more screen-free ideas by reading the best holiday activity ideas to do at home.
Write a letter
Writing a letter and posting it to a friend or loved one is a fun (cheap) way for your child to practise handwriting, develop their language and their story-telling skills, and get your child’s creative juices flowing. Your child could add in stickers, a drawing, or a picture they’ve found, and invite the receiver to write back. It's fun for a child to receive a letter personally addressed to them and is a great way to keep everyone feeling connected while we’re all apart.
Paint a rock
Rock painting is a fun idea to keep your child occupied for an afternoon and you’ll have a crafty work of art show afterwards. Check out Craft with Cartwright’s guide on how to make pet rocks featuring the Coding Critters (please note the competition is closed).
Make puppets and tell a story
Storytelling is a fun activity for the whole family, and you can make puppets from all sorts of items you have at home. In fact, making puppets is an ideal way to recycle that single sock or glove, and you’ll find your recycling is a puppet-making treasure trove. Find out how to make puppets at home using easy-to-find supplies.
Download and do
Looking for more screen-free ways to have fun at home these holidays? Here are four fun ideas to try at home, from how to make the best paper aeroplanes, to making a yummy bouquet using fresh fruit.
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