Hearing the words whine “I’m bored…there’s nothing to do” is not really a new phenomena for kids either from my day or with todays ‘fix it now/immediate relief/rarely have to wait for anything’ generation. Now when I was young we certainly had less distractions at hand and so we had no choice but to go and make our own fun (Man I am sounding ridiculously older than I believe I am). These days it is no surprise our kids struggle more and we can’t really blame them when they can easily be entertained at the swipe of a finger or turn of joystick. Now I am in fact pre-empting these very cries of boredom when my kids indulge me in my Mothers Day gift of particpating in the DISconnect to REconnect challenge.
I imagine they may not outwardly relish the opportunity to switch off all forms of technology for a whole weekend. But I shall be ready. I will have this list close at hand to ensure there is no room or time for boredom protestations. We may do some of them, certainly not others…but here they are, my 30 things to do that do not require technology:
- Play a board game…..al la Chess/Monopoly/Yahtzee/Snap
- Go for a bike ride
- Kick the footy
- Organise a family cricket match
- Play Celebrity head/20 Questions
- Pack a picnic lunch and go to the park
- Bake a cake/decorate biscuits
- Make up a dance routine and perform to the family (one of my childhood favourites)
- Perform a play or act out a favourite book
- Do a big jigsaw puzzle together
- Go outside with a camera (the old fashioned ‘not on a phone’ one) and take some family photos
- Look through old family albums and talk about some family history
- Write a poem or a letter (something I would love but probably not so much my children unless it was required homework)
- Get a hammer, some wood and some nails and get to making something
- Make a kite or paper aeroplanes and see if they fly
- Plant some plants (I may not do that one as I am not very good at keeping them alive)
- Learn a new skill….sew,knit, play an instrument
- Build a bonfire and cook marshmellows (parental supervision required)
- Collect things and get creative with them…shells, leaves, acorns
- Make a billy-cart. Matt from DadDownunder proves you don’t need to have fancy materials to make a great cart! Check this one out
- Get the family singing along for a good ole jam session (this is more likely to happen if we are around the more musically gifted of my extend family)
- Bubble bath, wine and a good book…nice sentiment, but probably not going to happen!
- Go to a beach you have never been to before
- Go for a drive up the mountain, any mountain, just one higher than where you are currently situated
- Explore a country town you have never visited
- Take a bus, train or tram ride and get off at a new stop or station
- Find out where a friend/neighbour/cousin is playing junior sport and go along to cheer them on
- Visit new or old friends
- Get the kids to clean out their cupboards and fill bags with old clothes and toys for the op shop (yes, not likely to have them jumping out of their skin for this one)
If you are joining in to DISconnect to REconnect or if you are just sick of hearing the words “I’m bored”…feel free to print off this list and work your way through it!
And here is the link to my fundraising page to help disadvantaged kids get the one on one time they need.
What sorts of things do you do together as a family that doesn’t involve technology?
This Post Has 14 Comments
I’m definitely printing this list off and stealing some of these ideas! Mr Almost-5 is addicted to tv/phone/computer/wii (just like his parents!) and it is a habit all 3 of us desperately need to break. it shouldn’t be that hard, yet we can’t seem to do it, and it’s only going to get harder! Great list! -Aroha (#teamIBOT)
It is so easy to get into ‘habits’ isnt it? Thats why I want to keep having these times when we switch off so my kids (and us) get to realise that there is always something else beyond the technology. It think the earlier you start with these ‘times away’ from tech then the easier it is to become a habit to switch off as well.
We use to do Friday Night Boardgames.. Hubby and I discussed that we should start it up again!! So this post has prompted me to do it 🙂 Thanks!
Oh great idea Yvette, I hope you get back to it!
Great ideas – i love exploring new beaches with my daughter, playing board games and toasting marshmellows when we get the chance. We also like to make things using a science book. Last night my daughter built a solar system (a small one out of a box). it was really lovely watching her create something from nothing and also know she was wondering about that beautiful, mysterious universe of ours.
That is a great idea to make things from a science book. May have to add that one!
Great list! My kids are pretty good at amusing themselves. Probably because their parents are always glued to their respective devices!!
Ha ha! Well thats one way to do it!
Hello, lovely ideas and a great idea to print off… and deliver to each child! And before starting the children could make up their own list. My children always enjoy looking at old photo albums, they love that… and… a slideshow! Now there’s an idea for when we are home, I don’t think my little ones have ever seen our slide projector.
Gazing vacantly out of the window is very appealling to me!
Great list! And I love Seanna’s idea of having the kids make a list of their own. 🙂
Oh I so would love a weekend with no internet, no computers, no DVD’s and no Samsung Tablets! It would be good to reconnect and have fun the old fashioned way.
I remember saying I was bored when I was younger….to be given a list of things that needed doing around the house. Never said those words too many times!
Kids now days have too much distractions and too much technology.
Hi Martine! Cheers for this. Great post. I’m a new reader to your blog so I thought I’d just drop a quick thanks.
Thanks for stopping by!
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