Are you addicted to your device? Do your kids play too many video games or does your husband watch too much Netflix? Have you ever challenged your family to put screens away for a whole seven days? Have you ever done a screen free week?
Have you even heard of Screen Free Week?
Of course you don’t need to wait for the official Screen Free Week to turn off your technology. You can challenge your family to this any time of the year. But, sometimes an actual organized event can help motivate and provide supports for these types of family challenges.
Officially, Screen Free Week happens between May 3-9, in 2021.
What is Screen Free Week?
The official Screen Free Week is a nationally organized week-long event where you challenge yourself and your family to put all screens away and find enjoyment in life that doesn’t involve staring at a device!
For the entire week you and your family will be asked to fill your free time with screen-free fun.
Do you need to sign up?
That’s up to you. You can register with Screen Free week, you could make a family commitment, or challenge your family friends to join the challenge with you.
Also, if you’re wanting to use the screen-free week as an opportunity to bring more nature into your life, you might want to join this Nature Connections challenge. You’ll receive daily emails that will challenge you to bring more nature into your family’s life.
If you do join the challenge, you can use the daily emails as inspiration for that day’s screen-free activity. Many are outdoors, but not all. The goal of the Nature connections challenge is to help grow a greater appreciation for nature within your daily routine and family’s life and it pairs well with Screen Free Week.
111 Things to do during Screen Free Week:
- Take a book outside
- Visit a local museum
- Go for an ice cream cone
- Offer to rake your neighbor’s lawn or mow the grass
- Go on a nature scavenger hunt
- Take a walk around the neighborhood
- Bake cookies and gift them to a teacher or librarian
- Have a picnic
- Play a game of Frisbee baseball
- Pull out the board games
- Try finger knitting
- Go fly a kite
- Volunteer to walk dogs with the local animal shelter
- Find a new recipe, go grocery shopping, and make that new recipe
- Have a game of cards
- Use sidewalk chalk to write happy messages around the block
- Have a backyard camp out
- Blow bubbles
- Go for a scenic drive and sing show tunes together in the car
- Do a little gardening
- Pick up litter around the community
- Visit the local library
- Join a drop-in exercise class
- Turn the radio on
- Have a game of charades
- Wake up early and make waffles for breakfast
- Invite the Grandparents over for tea
- Hand make thank you cards
- Take a walk around the neighborhood and enjoy all the flowers
- Go to the pool or beach for a swim
- Try hula-hooping
- Bring a basketball to the local courts and shoot a few hoops
- Read bedtime stories cuddled up on the porch
- Make smoothies
- Attend a local concert
- Go bird watching
- Pull out the dress-up clothes and do a photo-shoot
- Play follow-the leader
- Make an obstacle course in the backyard
- Go for a bike ride
- Visit the zoo
- Organize your junk drawer
- Have a bubble bath
- Wash the dog
- Pick a bouquet of wild flowers
- Visit a farmer’s market
- Go for a coffee or treat and have a family conversation
- Pull out the coloring books and crayons
- Quiz each other with trivia questions from a game or book
- Do a puzzle
- Take a hike
- Wash the car
- De-clutter the garage
- Wash the windows
- Go through your closets and donate un-wanted clothing
- Brows a local bookstore or comic shop
- Make bread or cinnamon buns
- Get a haircut
- Make some fresh lemonade
- Go play at the playground
- Hang out at the beach
- Go frog hunting
- Stay up late for stargazing
- Paint your toenails
- Climb a tree
- Get up early and watch the sunrise
- Plan a camping trip
- Stop into your local information center and find new places to visit
- Read the newspaper at dinner
- Write a letter to a cousin
- Do origami
- Go for a bug hunt
- Pull out the paints and paint a picture or some rocks for the garden
- Press leaves or flowers
- Make bookmarks as gifts to friends
- Learn how to do fancy braided hair
- Make friendship bracelets
- Play with clay or playdough
- Make slime
- Listen to old records or CDs
- Organize your shoe closet
- Have a dance party or learn how to line dance
- Play twister
- Have a game of soccer or football
- Do a crossword puzzle
- Learn to use a compass and follow a map
- Go to the theater
- Make or play musical instruments
- Hide a treasure and make a map for your friends to follow
- Rent a paddle boat or canoe
- Put on a shadow puppet play
- Try horseback riding or feed the cows at a local farm
- Bring your bottles in for recycling
- Try roller-skating or ice skating
- Learn how to change a car tire or fill and check the air pressure
- Air out your home and change the linens
- Have a pillow fight
- Play dominoes
- Do yoga or stretching
- Make sock puppets from old socks
- Make popsicles and eat them outside
- Have a Lego competition
- Pull the weeds from your garden
- Give or go for a massage
- Take a nap
- Play hide and seek or tag
- Make a bird house or birdfeeder
- Use leaves to make collages and cards
- Gift a meaningful book to a friend
- Visit a local farm or botanical garden
- Get close and give your time to your loved ones
And there you have it! 111 screen free activities for your screen free week! I’m sure if you sit down and think about it you and your kids can come up with even more great ideas. You could even make a screen-free bucket list and tape it up on the wall. That way when any of you are feeling tempted to reach for a remote, you can take a look at your list instead.
So, go for it! Turn off that computer and enjoy life screen-free!
What should you do now?
- If you’re interested, join the nature connections challenge or the Wild Week Challenge to inspire and encourage you during your screen-free week.
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