40 ways to keep the kids busy at home without screens this week!

40 ways to keep the kids busy at home without screens this week!

I’ve had a few requests for this lately, especially with the school holidays, so here we go – a big list of our fave screen-free activities, whether you want something to do together or an easy setup that might buy you 15 minutes to get something else done! I’ve also included some mini local adventures to get you out of the house without spending a fortune.

Save this one for the “Muuuum, I’m bored!” moments – and drop your own favourites in the comments!

At-home play ideas

Make a frozen toy rescue – freeze some small toys in a container of water and set them up with warm water, droppers, spoons or other tools to help rescue their toys from the ice.
Decorate balloons with stickers – blow up a few balloons, chuck some stickers on the floor and let them decorate their balloons. Then let them get their wiggles out with a game of Keepy Uppy.
Have a silly drawing competition – choose a theme, set a timer and draw together. Try portraits of each other, the weirdest animal, or a picture inspired by something you did that day. Then have a very serious “presentation” of your masterpieces.
Draw a chalk obstacle course – make lily pads to jump between, wiggly lines to follow, circles to spin in and prompts like “do a little dance” or “walk backwards to the tree”.
Set up spray bottle target practice – balance balls on top of recycled toilet rolls, give them a spray bottle filled with water and challenge them to knock the balls off. You can set up a whole row of targets!
Get the play dough out + use play dough mats – put out the dough with a few cutters, loose parts or kitchen tools and let them create. I also have some free printable play dough mats if you want a little more direction (just search for “play dough mats” in the Play & Seek app).
Cook something together – choose something simple, get the kids involved with measuring, pouring and mixing, and make a snack or meal together. We have a few kid-friendly recipes in the app too.
Make some DIY slime – a great one for little hands that like to mix, stretch and squish. We have a simple DIY slime recipe in the app if you want one ready to go.
Build a fairy garden – find a little spot in the garden or use a pot, then gather leaves, sticks, stones, flowers and other natural treasures to create a tiny fairy home. Add little doors, paths, beds or anything else their imagination comes up with.
Make nature soup – grab a bowl, bucket or old saucepan and head outside to collect leaves, petals, grass, sticks and anything else you’re happy for them to use. Add water and let them stir up their very important soup.
Play the tickly drawing game – take turns drawing pictures on each other’s backs with your finger while the other person tries to guess what you’re drawing. Start simple, then make the drawings trickier!
Play Toy Hide & Seek – hide a favourite toy somewhere in the house and let them hunt for it, or take turns hiding the toy for each other.
Get the LEGO out + use building prompts – instead of just saying “go build something”, give them a challenge like build a house for an animal or build something that can fly. I have free building prompt cards you print out which have been a hit for us at home and at parties. Just search for them under “building prompts”.
Make your own storybooks – staple a few sheets of paper together and put out pencils, textas, stickers and craft supplies. They can make their own story, comic, scrapbook or book about whatever they’re currently obsessed with.
Make some origami – fold paper into little creations and see what you can make. We have instructions for paper hearts, bookmarks and boats in the app if you need somewhere to start.
Have a paper nail salon – draw some large hands on paper and let them decorate the nails with textas, stickers, patterns and whatever else they can find. They can design different nail sets, choose colours and even give their creations names!
Do leaf rubbings – collect a few interesting leaves, place them underneath paper and gently rub over the top with the side of a pencil to reveal all the textures and shapes.
Build a toy zip line – make a little zip line using a toilet paper roll and some string, then line up their favourite figurines in a queue ready for their turn. A super simple invitation to play that can turn into all sorts of adventures.
Set up a sticky note alphabet hunt – scribble the alphabet on a piece of paper, and then on some post-its. Stick the letters around the room for them to find and match! Or give them a basket and challenge them to collect the whole alphabet.
Go shadow tracing – put toys or objects in the sunshine, trace their shadows onto paper, then colour them in or turn them into pictures.
Try magic magnetic walls – did you know the corners of your walls and door frames are magnetic? Give them a new vertical way to use their magnetic tiles, decorating the walls or building bridges across the doorway.
Make fake snow with 2 ingredients – a super simple sensory activity using ingredients you probably already have at home. Add scoops, containers and little toys for a mini snow-play setup.
Try bouncing bubbles – make a batch of our bouncing bubbles and see if you can catch and bounce them without popping them. A surprisingly satisfying little science experiment!
Do some fizzy science – bicarb + vinegar + a few drops of food colouring = instant kitchen-table excitement! Add little toys or containers to turn it into an experiment.
Do a kitchen mix lab – raid the pantry for a few safe ingredients and let them mix, pour, measure and experiment.
Build a fort or camp – blankets over furniture, cushions on the floor, sleeping bags, torches… yep, this never gets old. Let them turn it into a reading nook, campsite, cubby or secret hideout.
Have a pretend show – let them make tickets, choose the performers, set up the “stage” and put on a concert, puppet show, magic show or dance performance for you.
Giant artwork – grab a giant roll of paper (or stick some together) and chuck some craft supplies on their floor for an irresistible invitation to create.
Try watercolour on ice – freeze some water in a Tupperware for a few hours, then put out watercolours and let them paint straight onto the ice as it melts. A super calming activity you might enjoy too!
Cut out old-school paper snowflakes – another classic! Fold paper, snip away and unfold to reveal the pattern. You can also experiment with other symmetrical shapes and see what you create.
Give them tiny jobs while you do chores – sort the cutlery, match socks, put clothes in drawers, find the coat hangers while you fold washing, or give them a little basket of things to put away.
Have a living room dance party – put on your favourite playlist and have a living room dance party. Dress up or accessorise if you want!
Listen to an audiobook or podcast – put on an audiobook, kids’ podcast or story and let them draw, colour, build LEGO or just curl up and listen.
Have a karaoke session – okay, not screen-free, but definitely a better use of screen time! Put on your favourite songs and have a karaoke session.

Mini low-cost adventures

Catch a train to a nearby suburb – get off somewhere you don’t normally visit and pretend you’re tourists. Explore the streets, find somewhere new for a snack and see what you discover.
Turn the supermarket into a scavenger hunt – give them a written list of things to find and tick off, or find a recipe together and hunt down the ingredients you need to make it at home. (We have some kid-friendly recipes in the app!)
Have a picnic in the park – bring bubbles, chalk, a ball or some play scarves to fly in the wind. Find some sticks and build a little stick house or nest.
Go on a torch walk after dark – head out before or after dinner with your torches and see what you can spot. Shine them on trees and play a cheeky game of “chase & stomp on the torch light”.
Make nature bracelets on your walk – wrap sticky tape around your wrist with the sticky side facing out, then collect fallen flowers, leaves and little nature treasures to stick onto your bracelet as you explore.
Go on a hidden kindness rocks hunt – decorate some little rocks with cheerful messages or pictures, hide them somewhere for other people to find, then go exploring to see if you can spot any that someone else has left behind.

I hope these help you get through the hols in one piece – AND even enjoy them a bit!

You can find them all + plenty more ideas, including all the recipes and printables, over in my app, Play & Seek.

There are playlists you can browse through like “Arts & Crafts”, “Simple Science” and “Play For You Too”.

And you can search and filter by stuff like “independent play”, “connection”, “low mess” or “quick prep” (because mums who build apps for families just GET it! )

No downloads needed – just open the link in your browser and save it to your Home Screen to use it like an app! You can start a free trial anytime to unlock the full library.

Special for Inner West Mums: use code IWM40 for 40% off full access forever!

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