Thinkabara🫙 Screen-Free Activities for Kids: Boredom Jar & 30-Day Challenge
The fastest cure for “I’m bored” is a boredom jar: a jar of activity slips your child picks from instead of reaching for a screen. Tell the jar below your child’s age, how much time you have and who’s playing, then shake it. Want a real jar? Print the slips and the 30-day no-screen challenge further down.
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📅 Printable 30-day no-screen challenge
One screen-free activity a day for 30 days. Post it on the fridge and color in a box each day. Swap any day for a slip from the jar.
My 30-Day No-Screen Challenge
Name: ______________________ Start date: ____________
- Day 1Build a blanket fort and read inside it
- Day 2Have a 3-song dance party
- Day 3Write a letter to someone far away
- Day 4Go on a backyard bug hunt
- Day 5Make paper airplanes and hold a contest
- Day 6Bake something together
- Day 7Play a board game as a family
- Day 8Draw a comic strip
- Day 9Do a nature scavenger hunt
- Day 10Put on a sock puppet show
- Day 11Make a card for a neighbor
- Day 12Build the tallest block tower ever
- Day 13Have an indoor picnic
- Day 14Learn a new card or coin trick
- Day 15Make sidewalk chalk art
- Day 16Write and illustrate a tiny book
- Day 17Play charades
- Day 18Plant a seed
- Day 19Make an obstacle course
- Day 20Go cloud watching
- Day 21Cook dinner with a grown-up
- Day 22Make a family newspaper
- Day 23Try origami
- Day 24Have a family talent show
- Day 25Make a bird feeder
- Day 26Play 20 Questions on a walk
- Day 27Build a cardboard city
- Day 28Do a good deed in secret
- Day 29Look for the Big Dipper
- Day 30Make a time capsule letter
🏆 When I finish, my family will celebrate by: ______________________________________________
✂️ Printable boredom jar slips (100 ideas)
Print on regular US Letter paper (cardstock lasts longer), cut along the dashed lines, fold and drop into a jar. The colors match the categories, so kids can choose “a Move slip” or “a Create slip.”
🎨 Create (24)
- Draw a comic strip about your pet (or a pet you wish you had)In or out · 30 min · ages 6–14
- Write a letter to a grandparent and mail itInside · 15 min · ages 5–14
- Make paper airplanes and test which one flies farthestIn or out · 15 min · ages 5–14
- Draw a map of your house — then hide a treasure and mark it with an XInside · 30 min · ages 5–12
- Write and illustrate a 4-page bookInside · 1 hr+ · ages 6–14
- Build a city out of cardboard boxesInside · 1 hr+ · ages 4–12
- Make a nature collage with leaves, petals and glueIn or out · 30 min · ages 3–10
- Make a band with pots, pans and wooden spoonsInside · 15 min · ages 2–8
- Make your own board game on a sheet of cardboardInside · 1 hr+ · ages 6–14
- Make a time capsule letter to open next yearInside · 15 min · ages 6–14
- Make playdough (ask a grown-up) and sculpt your favorite animalInside · 30 min · ages 3–10
- Draw a self-portrait using a mirrorInside · 15 min · ages 5–14
- Write a silly poem where every line rhymesInside · 15 min · ages 6–14
- Draw with sidewalk chalk — make a muralOutside · 30 min · ages 3–12
- Make a paper chain counting down to something excitingInside · 15 min · ages 4–10
- Make a fort outside with sticks and a sheetOutside · 1 hr+ · ages 5–14
- Make origami — start with a paper cup or a fortune tellerInside · 15 min · ages 6–14
- Make friendship bracelets for two friendsInside · 30 min · ages 7–14
- Make a family newspaper with news, weather and a comicInside · 1 hr+ · ages 7–14
- Collect rocks and paint them as bugs or monstersIn or out · 30 min · ages 4–12
- Draw a bird’s-eye view of your bedroomInside · 15 min · ages 7–14
- Draw a monster, then write its name and what it eatsInside · 15 min · ages 4–12
- Make a fairy or gnome house out of sticks and leavesOutside · 30 min · ages 4–12
- Make a bookmark for every book you are readingInside · 15 min · ages 5–12
🏃 Move (17)
- Make an obstacle course with pillows, chairs and tapeInside · 30 min · ages 3–10
- Have a dance party — three songs, no stoppingInside · 15 min · ages 2–14
- Ride your bike or scooter around the block (with a grown-up)Outside · 30 min · ages 4–14
- Make a sidewalk chalk hopscotch and invent a new ruleOutside · 15 min · ages 4–10
- Play freeze dance with a family member running the musicInside · 15 min · ages 2–9
- Play Simon Says — take turns being SimonIn or out · 15 min · ages 3–9
- Have a water balloon or sponge toss outsideOutside · 30 min · ages 4–14
- Do 10 jumping jacks, 10 squats and 10 hops — then do it againIn or out · 5 min · ages 4–14
- Play catch and count how many in a row without droppingOutside · 15 min · ages 3–14
- Have a staring contest, then a no-laughing contestInside · 5 min · ages 4–12
- Practice cartwheels, somersaults or a handstand on the grassOutside · 15 min · ages 4–14
- Play balloon volleyball — don’t let it touch the floorInside · 15 min · ages 3–12
- Play “The Floor Is Lava”Inside · 15 min · ages 4–10
- Have a race: crab walk, bear crawl, then bunny hopIn or out · 5 min · ages 3–10
- Make an indoor bowling alley with plastic bottles and a ballInside · 15 min · ages 3–10
- Jump rope — how many in a row can you do?Outside · 15 min · ages 5–14
- Have a sock-ball snowball fightInside · 5 min · ages 3–12
🧩 Think (19)
- Play I Spy in one room until you run out of thingsInside · 5 min · ages 3–8
- Build the tallest tower you can with blocks or cupsInside · 15 min · ages 2–10
- Do a puzzle you haven’t finished in a whileInside · 30 min · ages 3–14
- Play a board game you haven’t played in a long timeInside · 30 min · ages 4–14
- Learn to tie a new knot (square knot, bow, or friendship bracelet)Inside · 15 min · ages 6–14
- Play hide-and-seek with a toy instead of a personInside · 15 min · ages 3–8
- Practice a card trick and perform it for the familyInside · 30 min · ages 7–14
- Play tic-tac-toe or dots and boxes on paperInside · 15 min · ages 4–14
- Build a marble run or ramp for toy cars with paper tubesInside · 30 min · ages 4–12
- Learn three new words from a dictionary and use them at dinnerInside · 15 min · ages 7–14
- Count the cars that drive by in 10 minutes and make a tally chartOutside · 15 min · ages 5–10
- Make a “Would You Rather?” list and ask your familyInside · 15 min · ages 6–14
- Build a bridge from paper and test how many pennies it holdsInside · 30 min · ages 6–14
- Create a secret code and write a message for someone to crackInside · 30 min · ages 7–14
- Make up a story together — each person adds one sentenceIn or out · 15 min · ages 4–14
- Learn a magic trick with a coinInside · 15 min · ages 6–14
- Measure everyone in the family and make a height chartInside · 15 min · ages 5–12
- Play 20 QuestionsIn or out · 15 min · ages 6–14
- Build a domino chain and knock it downInside · 30 min · ages 4–14
🎭 Pretend (12)
- Build a blanket fort and read a book inside itInside · 30 min · ages 3–12
- Put on a puppet show with socksInside · 30 min · ages 3–10
- Have a picnic — inside or outsideIn or out · 30 min · ages 2–12
- Make a restaurant menu and serve snacks to your familyInside · 30 min · ages 4–12
- Play “restaurant,” “store” or “doctor’s office”Inside · 30 min · ages 3–9
- Make shadow puppets with a flashlightInside · 15 min · ages 3–10
- Have a pillow-and-blanket “camping” night in the living roomInside · 1 hr+ · ages 3–12
- Play charades with animal namesInside · 15 min · ages 4–14
- Have a toy parade through the houseInside · 15 min · ages 2–7
- Make a museum of your favorite things with labelsInside · 30 min · ages 5–12
- Hold a family talent show — everyone does one thingInside · 30 min · ages 3–14
- Play school — you’re the teacher todayInside · 30 min · ages 4–10
🤝 Help out (11)
- Bake something with a grown-up and measure every ingredient yourselfInside · 1 hr+ · ages 4–14
- Help set the table and fold the napkins in a fancy wayInside · 5 min · ages 3–12
- Make a card for a neighbor and leave it at their doorInside · 15 min · ages 4–12
- Sort your crayons or markers and throw out the dried-up onesInside · 15 min · ages 4–10
- Tidy one drawer and donate toys you’ve outgrownInside · 30 min · ages 5–14
- Wash the toy cars, the bikes or the family carOutside · 30 min · ages 3–12
- Help water the plants and check if any need more sunIn or out · 5 min · ages 3–12
- Sort the laundry by color and match the socksInside · 15 min · ages 3–10
- Make a thank-you card for a teacher, mail carrier or coachInside · 15 min · ages 4–14
- Try a new recipe for a snack — fruit kabobs, trail mix or ants on a logInside · 15 min · ages 4–14
- Clean out the car and find all the lost crayonsOutside · 15 min · ages 5–14
🔎 Explore (7)
- Go on a backyard bug hunt and draw what you findOutside · 30 min · ages 3–12
- Plant a seed in a cup and put it in a sunny windowIn or out · 15 min · ages 3–12
- Make a bird feeder from a pinecone, peanut butter and seedsOutside · 30 min · ages 4–12
- Go on a color scavenger hunt — find something for every color of the rainbowIn or out · 15 min · ages 3–10
- Go on a listening walk — count how many different sounds you hearOutside · 15 min · ages 3–12
- Do a nature scavenger hunt: pinecone, feather, smooth rock, Y-shaped stickOutside · 30 min · ages 3–12
- Look at the stars and find the Big DipperOutside · 15 min · ages 5–14
🌙 Calm (10)
- Read to a stuffed animal (or a pet!)Inside · 15 min · ages 4–9
- Go cloud watching and name the shapes you seeOutside · 15 min · ages 3–12
- Write down 10 things you are thankful forInside · 5 min · ages 6–14
- Look at old family photos and ask for the story behind oneInside · 15 min · ages 4–14
- Stretch like an animal: cat, dog, cobra, frog, flamingoInside · 5 min · ages 3–10
- Listen to a song and draw what it makes you feelInside · 15 min · ages 4–14
- Read a chapter of a book in a cozy spotInside · 30 min · ages 6–14
- Lie on the floor and do a 5-minute body scan: toes to headInside · 5 min · ages 5–14
- Make a calm-down bottle with water, glitter glue and a tight lidInside · 15 min · ages 4–10
- Write a list of 20 things that make you happyInside · 15 min · ages 6–14
Blank slips for your own ideas:
💡 How to make screen-free time actually work
Decide the “when” first. Kids push back less when screen-free time is a routine instead of a punishment: the first hour after school, the drive to grandma’s, the hour before bed. Put it on the calendar and keep it the same every day.
Make the jar the default answer. When your child says “I’m bored,” don’t list ideas — point to the jar. Choosing a slip gives them control, and the slip does the convincing. If they don’t like it, allow one trade, then that’s the activity.
Match the activity to the moment. A great idea at the wrong time still flops. A 60-minute cardboard city won’t work in the 10 minutes before dinner, and a quiet calm-down bottle won’t help a kid with energy to burn. That’s why the jar above filters by time, age, place and who’s playing.
Lower the setup cost. Keep a “boredom bin” with paper, tape, crayons, string, a deck of cards and a few empty boxes where kids can reach it. Most ideas in the jar use only those things.
Model it. Put your own phone in a basket during screen-free time and join in for the first few minutes. Kids copy what we do far more than what we say.
Screen-free activities by age
Toddlers and preschoolers (2–5): short, physical and messy wins — dance parties, toy parades, pots-and-pans bands, I Spy and simple sensory bins. Expect 5–15 minutes of focus, and stay nearby.
Early elementary (5–8): pretend play really takes off: restaurants, stores, puppet shows and forts. Add simple challenges like the tallest tower, a paper-airplane contest or a scavenger hunt.
Big kids and tweens (9–14): give them projects with a finished product — a family newspaper, a board game they design, a magic trick to perform, friendship bracelets, a secret code. Let them teach a younger sibling: being the expert is motivating.
Questions parents and teachers ask
What can kids do instead of screens?
Build a blanket fort, put on a sock-puppet show, bake together, go on a bug hunt, make paper airplanes, play a board game, draw a comic, or try a nature scavenger hunt. The boredom jar on this page draws one of 100 ideas matched to your child’s age, the time you have and whether they’re playing alone or with siblings.
How do you make a boredom jar?
Print the color-coded slips on this page, cut them apart, fold them and drop them in any jar or box. Add a few blank slips for your kids’ own ideas. When someone says “I’m bored,” they pull a slip and do it — no arguing. Many families add a rule that you can trade a slip only once.
How much screen time is OK for kids?
The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests avoiding screens other than video chatting for babies under about 18 months and keeping it to about one hour a day of high-quality programming for children 2 to 5, watched together when possible. For older kids, it recommends a family media plan with consistent limits that protect sleep, physical activity and time together.
How does the 30-day no-screen challenge work?
Print the challenge sheet and post it on the fridge. Each day, do that day’s activity (or swap it for any slip from the jar) during the time you would usually spend on a screen, then color in the box. It doesn’t have to mean zero screens all month — many families aim for one screen-free hour a day.
What are good screen-free activities for kids who are home alone with a parent working?
Choose independent activities that need little setup: drawing a comic, building a block tower, a puzzle, reading to a stuffed animal, making a museum of favorite things, or a calm-down bottle. In the jar, set “Who’s playing?” to “Just me” and the time to match your next meeting.