Your Screen-Free Summer Survival Guide: Introducing Screen-Free Mondays
With schools across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland already broken up for summer, and England and Wales not far behind, we thought we’d help you tackle the long summer stretch with our round-up of the best screen-free ideas to help keep them occupied, and off their phones as much as possible! Nothing complicated, nothing you need to buy, just easy things to do with whatever’s already in the house or garden.
We know you won’t always be able to get out, and the weather doesn’t always play ball, so we’ve split our ideas into indoor and outdoor to get you going on a screen-free challenge whatever the summer has in store.
Head to our Instagram or Facebook page for new screen-free ideas every Monday and read on for our favourite ideas so far!
Indoor Ideas: Boredom Busters for Rainy Days
- Window Gallery
Draw some pictures of whatever you can see out the window. The garden, next door’s cat, a passing tractor… Then put the finished masterpieces up on the wall/fridge/cupboards and create an indoor exhibition.
- Reading Fort
Gather some blankets, sheets, pillows and cushions and drape them over chairs to create a covered den. Settle inside with a pile of your favourite books, a healthy snack and a torch to while away the hours in your exclusive reading fort. There’s something magical about reading in the dark that makes your books come to life!
- Family Newspaper
Become a journalist for the day! Interview family members, report the weather, track what the family pets get up to, and compile your own newspaper at the end of the day. It can be as many pages as you want – and don’t forget to come up with an engaging headline to draw your readers in!
- Sock Puppets
An oldie but a goodie – there’s a reason this indoor activity never goes out of style. Gather all the odd socks in the house and glue or draw on eyes, hair and a mouth. The crazier the better! Once you’re done, use the back of the sofa as a stage and hold your own dramatic performance or sock puppet fashion show.
- DIY Story Dice
Get a small cardboard box and wrap it in white paper. Draw a different picture on every face, for example the sun, a horse, a flower, an apple etc. When you’ve filled every face, each player rolls the die and makes up a piece of a story involving the image they’ve landed on. You can play with multiple dice to make it even more fun!
Outdoor Ideas: Make the Most of Your Garden
- Paper Plane Challenge
Everyone designs, folds and decorates their own paper plane. Then, head to the garden to measure whose flies furthest. Best of three wins!
- Sky Journal
Lay a picnic blanket in a shady part of the garden (and don’t forget your SPF!). Spend as long as you like looking up at the sky and drawing whatever cloud shapes or landscapes you see in a blank notebook or sketchpad. There’s a prize at the end of the day for the most interesting or creative shape!
- Chalk City
Use chalk to map out your very own city on the driveway or on a garden patio. Map out roads, roundabouts, houses, shopping centres, parks and more to create your ideal chalk city. Once the city is built, bring out toy cars and action figures to enjoy your work!
- Nature Scavenger Hunt
Make a list of things you’d like to find before you head out. A feather, a smooth stone, something yellow, something that smells nice. See who can find them all first! You don’t have to go far, scavenger hunting your own garden is great, or head out to your local park with an adult.
- Garden Olympics
Make up some events, make some medals from whatever you have to hand, and keep a scoreboard. Egg-and-spoon race, long jump over a puddle, or a cross-country (cross-garden) run.
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