Some days, the weather just doesn’t cooperate to get the kids outside. I like to have several easy and fun indoor screen-free activities for my kids to do on days we are stuck inside. If you are looking for a great guide for screen-free indoor fun activities for kids, read on!
I don’t know about your kids, but my kids tend to get antsy when they can’t get outside… and then they ask to watch TV. I don’t mind letting them watch a little TV, but I try to minimize it as much as possible.
I try to encourage them to use their imagination and have fun! Somedays, I am more successful than others at this.
I like to have a variety of different indoor activities they can do on days we can’t get outside to keep them busy. If they can stay busy, everyone is in a better mood! Plus then I don’t have to hear “Can we watch TV?” ALL. DAY. LONG.
My kids are often good at independent play, but sometimes they need some guidance and structure to help keep them busy.
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*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a percentage (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase through a link that I have shared. I am an Amazon Affiliate.
Here are my favorite technology free kids activities for days we are stuck at home:
- Games-
- We love to play games! The games you play will depend on the ages of your kids.
- Trouble, Sorry, Memory, Hungry Hippo, and Marble run are a few of the board games my kids like to play.
- They also like to play War, Go Fish, and Kings Corner card games.
2. Baking or Cooking-
- My kids love to bake and cook. Plus it’s a great skill for them to learn!
- Here are a couple of our favorite recipes:
- Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars– I LOVE sugar cookie bars and this is my favorite recipe! This is a great way for kids to decorate something without having to go through the work of making cutout sugar cookies. The website I got this recipe from is https://www.designeatrepeat.com/ and it has tons of great recipes and other craft ideas.
- These No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Bars are a nice recipe if you are looking for a no bake recipe.
- My kids also love to make homemade pizza. I loosely follow this recipe, except I usually by a packet of pizza dough mix that I just have to add water to. Make it quick, easy, and fun!
- Other times, I just have my kids help me make whatever meal I have on the menu for the day.
3. Color or write letters to mail to someone.
- This is a great way for older kids to work on their writing skills!
- This is also a great way to teach kids to think of others and give to others. Everyone loves receiving mail! We love to send mail to family, friends, and elderly people in our community.
- My youngest is 3 and he obviously can’t write a letter yet. So, I ask him what I should write and I write it down for him. Then he colors a picture and we put them in the envelope together.
4. Make an obstacle course or a fort.
- The kids can use their imagination and have some fun with this!
- I love doing this! We usually make a fort with some chairs and blankets. They bring flashlights and some toys to play with and they will play for hours in a fort.
5. Crafts
- This requires a little more guidance and assistance from me, but they are fun to work on together.
- Here are a few of the crafts that we like to do with stuff we have around our house:
6. Do some gross motor exercises.
- My kids love to do kids yoga and GoNoodle videos.
- YouTube has great options for this.
- Here are a few of my kids favorite gross motor activities:
7. Have a building contest.
- I usually give my kids legos, Magnatiles, plastic cups, and/or blocks and whoever gets the tallest tower wins a small prize or a treat.
8. Paper Airplane contest
- We have done this 2 ways.
- The first way, I make all the airplanes the same and we see who can get theirs the farthest.
- The second way, the kids make their own airplanes. This is a little try for my younger two, but they can with some help.
9. Dance party!
- Take turns picking songs and dance your hearts away!
- My kids love being silly and having fun dancing.
10. Play Doh
- You can use the store bought stuff or make your own.
- The only downfall to this is I HATE the clean up! But it is a great activity for kids.
11. Make a sensory bin.
12. Do some puzzles.
- My kids love puzzles.
- Here are a few of our favorite puzzles:
- My kids love this stuff and I think it’s pretty fun too!
- I buy our scratch paper on Amazon. A lot of them come with stencils as well.
14. Here are a few fun craft kits you can get on Amazon for pretty reasonable that kids love:
15. Indoor “Volleyball” with a balloon.
- Blow up a balloon and pass it, set it, hit it, etc. like a volleyball.
16. Scavenger hunt.
- You can make one up or you can find great printables online.
- Here is a post with 30 different printables.
I prefer to get my kids outside every day. There are so many great benefits to getting outside and getting fresh air. But there are still a bunch of great indoor activities to keep kids busy on days that we are not able to get outside.
Do you have other fun indoor screen free activities for kids? I would love to hear them!
If you enjoyed this post, check out my post on great snack ideas for kids and how busy moms can find time to exercise.