50 Fun, Screen-free Activities to Avoid Total Summer Veg-Out

It’s early June and already the kids are slushing on the sofa. Have no fear. I’ve gathered a list of 50 fun, screen-free activities to help them avoid a total summer veg-out. Most of the ideas are geared for older kids but many are easily adaptable for the younger ones.

Check out the list. Decide which activities to do together as a family, with friends, or as individual projects.

Sometimes, when people hear “screen-free,” it causes them stress. That’s not just kids stressing, it’s also parents, grandparents, and babysitters! Before we get to the list of fun ideas, let’s ponder about this for a short moment.

The Number of Summer Fun Hours

There are 92 days between June 1 and August 1. If you figure twelve hour days, that’s 1,104 summer fun hours.

How many hours a day do your family members spend in front of a screen, including T.V., cell phone, tablet, etc.?

In the summer, sometimes parents (okay, I’m guilty here) tend to relax our limits on the kids’ electronic gaming. Let’s say during the summer, someone spends five hours a day on some kind of device. That’s 460 hours per week. Five hours may sound excessive, but think about the total time spent on T.V., gaming, cell phone, social media. Screen time adds up.

I’m not against entertainment technology. I use it every day myself. That’s why I know how easy it is to lose track of time with it if I’m not careful. My weakness will never be electronic gaming. Mine is watching the History Channel, documentaries, and online reading.

Therefore, this is not an article aimed just at getting our kids off the sofa. This is to help us all find fun things to do together this summer. Build relationships. Make memories. Become healthier in mind, body, and spirit.

The Challenges of Decreasing Screen Time

Decreasing screen time may present a few challenges. The thing I think most parents/caregivers struggle with is they have work to do or they’re tired and need a break. The screens are babysitters. And they’re cheap.

Occasionally, caregivers are not physically able to do highly active things with the kids—sometimes because of unhealthy choices the caregivers have made, but also it may be due to physical disabilities out of their control.  

The third reason may simply be they can’t think of any ideas that are fun, yet frugal.

I’m hoping this list will help address some of these challenges. *And please, always use the utmost safety precautions when implementing ideas from this list.

50 Fun, Screen-Free Activities

1. Fill a balloon with water and tie it with a knot. Attach it to a tree limb outside using a string like a piñata. Blindfold a participant and swing away! You could tie more than one balloon overhead if you wish. Or go the easy route, and have a good old-fashioned water balloon fight.
2. Create an indoor or outdoor obstacle course and challenge the neighbors to participate. Call it the Neighborhood Ninja Warrior course. Perhaps each neighbor could add something to the course. Or instead of a “progressive dinner,” the neighbors create a progressive obstacle course!
3. Create a unique miniature golf course.
4. Host a New Chef in the House “Reality Show.” You may or may not want to video this–but no rehearsing allowed! Teach one new cooking skill, then allow the new chef to try it on their own. Or let someone figure out how to cook an item all on their own. Perhaps give them a food they’ve never seen before. Will they be allowed technology to look it up and how to cook it properly? Will people eat what they cook? Keep the focus more on the fun than the judging.
5. Teach the tweens and teens how to grill. Help them plan a simple menu, shop for ingredients, and plan a backyard BBQ. Originate a new spin on s’mores or develop a new homemade ice cream flavor. Let the kids invite a few friends to showcase their skills.
6. Create your own barbeque sauce.
7. Build your own regulation corn hole game board set.  And then, play of course! https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/outdoors/structures/how-to-build-a-regulation-cornhole-set
8. Build a bridge out of ropes, wooden pallets, or whatever you have on hand.
9. Craft twine garden lanterns. I found a tutorial at splashofsomething.com.
10. Make a hula hoop chandelier. Spray paint it white or wrap it with white ribbon. Intertwine it with white Christmas lights and hang it up.
11. Assemble a patriotic wreath using a hula hoop and painted clothespins. https://www.homecraftsbyali.com/2015/05/patriotic-wreath.html.
12. String a volleyball net with white Christmas lights going across the net before playing a night game outside.
13. Bake something from “scratch.” (No box mixes!) Allow the kids to cook dinner for the family. Consider preparing a meal for a new mom or a new family in town.
14. Floating in a chlorinated “lazy river” is relaxing, but also consider going old-school and tube down a real river.
15. Write a poem, a song, or a story.
16. Initiate a scripture memory challenge each week. Work together to help everyone learn it by the end of the week.
17. Complete a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle, then a 1,000-piece, then a 3-D puzzle.
18. Enjoy silent reading time and a family read-aloud time every day. Check out my book reviews, or contact me and I’ll share with you some of my family’s favorite read-aloud books
19. Set a goal to learn one new skill each month until school starts back.
20. Volunteer your services for those who are in need. Consider hospice and rehabilitative care centers, soup kitchens, thrift stores, summer camps, mission camps, and other ministries.
21. Is there a sick or disabled neighbor in need of lawn care, errands run, or child care?
22. Participate in a 5K race. Consider a Mud Run or a Color Run. Consider planning a race to raise money for a cause you support.
23. Go backpacking.
24. Sleep under the stars.
25. Even if you have to do this at home, wake everyone up before the sun rises. Go to a place you’ve never watched the sun rise before. Take a breakfast picnic.
26. Paint rocks with beautiful colors. Include scripture or encouraging words on the back. Hide these in places where people will find them.
27. Practice random acts of kindness—perhaps with a twist.
28. Play at least one different board game or card game each month.
29. Throw a surprise party.
30. Brainstorm together and create a game using glow-in-the-dark glow sticks.
31. Interview someone about a special time in his/her life. Later, type it out and present it to them as a gift.
32. Create a family faith album. Collect faith stories from your relatives and combine them into a booklet to share.
33. Draw something you’ve never drawn before. Now add color using a medium you’ve never used before.
34. Attend a festival.
35. Paint ceramic pots then plant flowers or herbs in them.
36. Teach the kids a dance you knew in high school. Then, let them teach you a dance.
37. Plan a scavenger hunt. This can be inside or outside. You can even devise one that takes them through your town. Include fun facts along the way.
38. Play Minute to Win It Games.
39. Help your child with a bedroom makeover. Set a budget, brainstorm, and work together.
40. Learn how to sew, or sew a new project.
41. Study a foreign language. This activity may not be totally screen-free. If possible, learn from a native speaker.
42. Go on a mission trip. There are some designed for families.
43. If you have stairs in your home, first pad the landing well. Then, place a layer of cardboard on top of the stairs to make a slide. Large boxes cut open such as refrigerator boxes work well. This requires adult supervision but is great fun. Helmets are a good idea.
44. Take a class through your local visual arts guild or community college.
45. Learn to play a new musical instrument.
46. Ponder over poetry.
47. Apply for a part-time job.
48. Try a new form of exercise. What is something the whole family would enjoy?
49. Make a time capsule, fill it with special mementos and letters, then bury it.
50. Select a “treasure.” Hide it. Create a treasure map. Will you give the map to someone or will you leave the map tucked between books in the local library? First, get permission.

Surely this list will spring forth plenty of ideas so your family won’t veg out the whole 1,104 hours this summer! Which reminds me of an item I left off the list.

51. Grow a vegetable garden.