Screen-Free Fun Learning Activities

We all love technology! But sometimes we all need a break from screen time, especially kids! That’s where Screen Free Learning Activities come in!

 

Technology plays a vital role in our daily lives. We use it for banking, communicating, learning, and even for our entertainment. It is a magical thing really that opens doors, enhances experiences, and makes almost anything possible with the right searches.

There is no denying that we all love technology, but if your family is anything like mine, you also love a break from all things tech sometimes, too!

I am sure you have seen the popular memes on Facebook about having a childhood before technology took over. No doubt, some of my best memories are devoid of phones, tablets, smart watches, and GPS systems.

As a parent, I want my kids to have that experience too! That is why I have compiled this super fun list of Screen-Free Fun Letter Learning Activities. This list is packed full of fun ways to learn without a trace of technology involved, although, you may want to capture the fun in a photo, with no judgments!

Screen-Free Learning Activities

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Life is An Adventure

With screen time being a very real part of our lives, it’s easy to take for granted the everyday, ordinary things. Head out into your neighborhood and explore nature. If the kids are learning to read, searching for letters on street signs is a fun way to have a scavenger hunt. As the kids master their letter recognition skills, challenge them to find letters in unconventional places. Or to navigate directions, such as east and west, without the use of Google Maps, by reading street signs. These are simple ways to have fun with letters!

Learning at Your Feet

Grab some sidewalk chalk and practice writing the ABC’s. Draw alphabet themed pictures to create a story packed with letter learning fun. An ABC hopscotch square is always a fun way to make learning an active affair!

Turn to Nature

A pile of rocks, or a handful of dandelions are fairly common sights to find outdoors. They can easily become an exciting tool for learning letters without a screen. Position a few pine cones or sticks to form a letter, then ask your child to identify it, and recreate it. Then, see how many letters of the alphabet you can create together with the things you find outdoors.

Make DIY Puzzles

You can simply glue a picture onto craft sticks, and carefully cut the sticks apart for an easy DIY puzzle. You could make one for each letter of the alphabet, to make learning the ABC’s a hands on, screen free experience. As your child learns to write the letters, work on making your puzzle doublesided. Have your child write each letter in an upper and lower case form, on the backside of the original puzzle for an additional challenge!

Have Fun with Letters

In Fun with Letters, you will find nearly 500 pages of printables, coloring pages, handwriting sheets, book recommendations, crafts, and activities to help your kids get ready for kindergarten, while having a ton of fun in the process. This is such a great resource for parents! Grab your copy and start exploring the alphabet without ever turning on a screen!

 

Write A Short Play, Then Act It Out! 

My brother and I used to do this all the time as children. He was a good sport, as I was usually the writer, director, and generally the star! Kids love creating things. It’s just natural to them. They are brimming with creativity and wild imaginations. Encourage kids to work together to write a short story or play, and then assign roles. They can use dress up clothes to create costumes, and make programs to distribute to the audience. Once they are ready to regale you with a performance, pop some popcorn, and enjoy!

Get Creative

With some very basic supplies and an idea, you can create amazing things with the kids! An invitation to create is a great way to learn! Kids can experiment with ideas and materials to create a work of art worthy of the displaying on the fridge. The Fun with Letters book is a great resource for finding letter themed crafts and activities to enhance your abc activities!

Open A Family Art Gallery

Set your little artist up at the table, or the easel, with all of the supplies they need: paper, paint, and paintbrushes.

Meanwhile, find a wall that you want to use, and then attach a Wall Mount Art Display to attach their dried artwork to. You can also recreate this art gallery look with fishing line, mini clothespins, and some wall tacks. Once their artwork is on display, crack open a bottle of sparkling cider with some fancy glasses, and admire their creations, while decorating your walls!

 

The Doctor Will See You Now

Help them set up a “doctor’s office and waiting room” with dolls, stuffed animals, and siblings or friends! All you really need for this is a doctor’s kit, but you can make do with some items from your first aid kit, or create what you need from paper or materials from your sewing kit. Kids can use old fabric scraps as bandages for their dolls, and they can make paper gowns for dolls from paper bags. Decorate a sign with the name of their doctor’s office, set some magazines in the waiting room, and start treating patients!

Create (And Use) An Acts of Kindness Jar

Kids are never too young to learn about the power behind acts of kindness. Create a kindness jar, containing different thoughtful acts that the entire family can perform for others. Starting with neighbors, have your kids each pick a thoughtful gesture, and have them go through with it. This can be anything from visiting with a neighbor, to helping them bring groceries in, or shoveling their walkway. 

Not only is creating a kindness jar a great craft and activity, it is an excellent opportunity to have a meaningful discussion with kids about how important it is to think of others, and to tread gently when interacting with people. This world can be a tough place. The good news is that good prevails, and every little bit of brightness helps. You never know when one small act of kindness will change the entire day for someone who might be secretly hanging by a thread.

Time For School

I used to love playing school with my brother (until he was over it, and then he “graduated” and I continued on to the next class of stuffed animals… Did I mention my brother was extra patient?).

Set up a chalkboard or a dry erase board, and then just let them go! As a Mom, I also loved playing school with my daughter when she was younger, observing her as the teacher. It was so funny and educational for me to watch her mimic what her teachers must have been saying to her at the time, because she parroted it off to her own students! As she has gotten older, I still “play school” with her. Whenever she has a difficult time with a homework topic, I ask her to be the teacher, and teach me. Sometimes, stepping back and looking at it from a teacher’s angle helps increase her level of understanding, as the student.

Create And Run a Grocery Store

As a kid, I used to raid our recycling bin for (clean) items, like empty cereal and cracker boxes, etc. I mixed them in with my play food items and a toy cash register, along with the paper bags and receipts my Mom gave me after she did the weekly shopping, and created my own grocery store. Hours of fun right there! My parents would “stop by my store” when they could, and when my friends came over, we would play nonstop.

You can also give older kids the task of creating a realistic grocery list and meal planning for a week. Give them an imaginary budget that they have to stay within, and allow them to clip coupons, and see how far they can make their money stretch. You never know… you might end up actually using sections of their list when you grocery shop! If they can shave a few bucks off your budget, award it them as a treat, after the fact.

 

More Screen Free Activities

Not only is reduced screen time a developmental win for your child, it is also a really fun way to connect with and talk to them. You might even learn something new! Enjoy your screen-free adventure, and check out these other ideas:

• 25+ Preschool Activities
• 100 TV Free Activities
• Preschool Activities That Are Quick To Set Up 
• Lego Balance Scale STEM Project

Don’t forget to grab Fun with Letters for your child! 

Comment below with any fun screen-free activities you would add to this list!

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