As children grow, their interests and entertainment choices naturally evolve – and for some, video games take center stage! Whether you allow video games in your home or not, we’re here to help expand their horizons.
Our own son has found his joy in activities far from the gaming console, which inspired us to put together this guide.
We’ve collected engaging activities that can show kids and teens just how much fun lies beyond the screen. These activities tap into similar skills and interests while offering new ways to play, create, and explore. Enjoy!
Younger Kids
Crunch Labs Build Box
If haven’t yet hear of Mark Rober, you have to go watch some of his YouTube videos! He has a lot of fun with science and engineering, and loves to spread the joy. We have a subscription to the Build Box that he sells through Crunch Labs, and our kids always tear into it any time a new box arrives. They love it!
GiiKER Super Slide
This hand held puzzle game has kept our kids entertained for hours. The play can be learned quickly, and the difficulty increases gradually as each level is completed. Yes, it’s electronic, but it’s more like 1980’s electronic. 😉
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Teens
Crunch Labs Hack Pack
Mark Rober’s Hack Pack is a next-level subscription box for teens and adults. It has all the fun of building a machine that you’ll find in the Build Box, with the addition of an electronic control system. With this box you’ll spend time building, wiring, and coding to make it all work together. We are subscribed to this for our son, but Tyler is having tons of fun with it, too!
Fun For All
Spintronics
This entertaining puzzle game uses small machines to teach you how electronics work. The game works through a fun series of challenges to accomplish electronic design tasks while following along the comic-book style instruction guide. It’s a lot of fun, and challenging enough that even mom and dad will enjoy it. BETTERSCREENTIME10 for 10% OFF any order!
Turing Tumble
Tyler and our son love experimenting together on Turing Tumble. This game is a basically a mechanical computer! It’s an entertaining introduction to the basic concept of computing, binary logic, and the fascinating realization that computing does not require electricity. 😉
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Birding
It turns out that birds are everywhere! Once you start paying attention, you’ll be surprised by how much fun it is to get out in nature and see what these other species are up to! Our son has become very enthusiastic about birding, and it’s spreading to everyone in the family.
eBird is a great resource for locating birds near you and tracking your sightings.
Our 2023 Screen-Free Gift Guide has some binoculars and books that can help you get started!
Robotics Competitions
Chances are good that somewhere near you a robotics group is working furiously to prepare for an upcoming competition. These competitions are a great way for kids and teens to enjoy team sports while relying more on brains than brawn. They are typically organized through schools and have difficulty levels for all grades from Pre-K+ to college.
Two big organizations you’re likely to find are VEX Robotics and First Robotics. Both have very large programs that operate from the local to the national level. Finding in one in your area can be the beginning of a new adventure for your kids!
Launchkey Mini
A small MIDI controller like the Launchkey Mini opens the doors to the world of creating electronic music at home. It requires a computer to work with it, but comes with a free copy of their audio editing software, Ableton Live Lite.
A keyboard like this is an instrument, so expect your kiddos to spend a lot of time practicing (i.e. creative screen time) before producing anything truly amazing. 🙂 The end result is lots of fun, improved music skills, and maybe even a jam session with your family.
Geocaching
Geocaching is a sort of real-world treasure hunt using GPS coordinates! Like gaming quests but outdoors. You use an app to select hidden caches in your neighborhood, local parks, or your next camp site, and then set out to find them in real life. It’s a great way to make camping and hiking a bit more exciting. Be sure to take something with you to leave as treasure for the next geocacher!
Phones are technically not required for this activity, but the combination of GPS, compass, and app features built into most phones make them the standard choice for finding your way to the cache. We like this free app for getting started: c:geo.