Through all that stress and instability, my three parents all did something I really valued–they spent time with us, out and about, doing things. Not only that, they spent time with us in the house doing things together. We made a lot of memories and those family activities helped shape who I am today.
When my husband and I married, it was important to me that we continue making memories with our family. We’ve worked hard to connect with our kids through screen free activities. Now that two of our children have grown, and the other two are looking decidedly like men (and shaving!), I am so grateful we’ve spent time together free from technology for at least a little while.
These screen free activities for families are all tested and approved by my four kids, or by another family. You’ll find links to both resources on Amazon and to helpful articles and instructions.
Screen Free Activities for Your Family
1) Read aloud as a family. Start with a fun book about Martin Luther, the Father of the Reformation.
2) Go on a rafting or canoe trip together. Be sure all the kids are wearing life vests!
3) Make a midnight snack and find a lawn under the stars. See if you can identify any constellations.
4) Play a card game together.
5) Give your kids the gift of learning the doctrine of Creation with a fun, 272-page puzzle-based Bible study they’ll love doing!
6) Build a tree house or play house.
7) Watch a sunset.
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8) Learn to cook a new meal as a family.
9) Host a We Love Our Family Valentine’s Day celebration.
10) Visit a nearby National Park or National Forest.
11) Make a pie.
12) Play catch.
13) Go ice skating.
14) Go spelunking. You’ll want to take warm clothes (Caves can be around 40 degrees inside.), water (no food or sugary drinks), sturdy hiking boots, headlamps for everyone, and maybe a rope. I recommend starting with gentler cave hikes for young children.
15) Do a fun, hands-on Bible study with a lapbook!
16) Go to the fair and check out the animals.
17) Have a water balloon fight.
18) Visit a zoo.
19) Feed the ducks.
20) Pick your own fruit at a farm.
21) Have a skit night.
22) Play a board game together.
23) Go bowling.
24) Go through old family photo albums together and tell stories.
25) Spend 7 days learning about the 5 Solas as a family.
26) Toss a Frisbee. Try Frisbee golf it’s available in your area.
27) Visit a waterpark.
28) Make a bird house and decorate it.
29) Visit a farm.
30) Create some fun Bible verse bookmarks!
31) Set up a bocce ball game outside.
32) Find a new ice cream shop.
33) Have another family over for a pizza night or taco bar.
34) Wake up early to witness the sunrise together.
35) Head out on a nature scavenger hunt as a family.
36) Go hiking.
37) Volunteer to help another family.
38) Go to the park.
39) Go retro! Make a can and string telephone. See if you can understand each other.
40) Begin a new family tradition with the daily devotions Bible verse calendar.
41) Listen to an audiobook together. Start with Focus on the Family Radio Theatre!
42) Hold a LEGO Family Fun Night.
43) Throw a football around.
44) Visit a fishery.
45) Build an igloo.
46) Drive around to look at Christmas lights.
47) Paint rocks and hide them for people to find.
48) Head to the beach for the day (river, lake, or ocean).
49) Go on an Amtrak train trip.
50) Make s’mores over a fire pit.
51) Visit a holiday bazaar.
52) Drive over a long bridge.
53) Build a campfire or bonfire.
54) Visit a special garden, like a rose, Japanese, or Chinese garden.
55) Play Bingo.
56) Begin a spiritual disciplines family habit.
57) Check out a science museum.
58) Visit a fire station.
59) Make cookies together.
60) Go swimming.
61) Turn out the lights and make shadow puppets with a flashlight.
62) Start a family scrapbook and work on it together.
63) Have a banana split bar.
64) Go to a fireworks show.
65) Play 20 Questions.
66) Play percussion instruments together and have a family jam session.
67) Visit a theme park.
68) Go inline skating.
69) Shoot some hoops.
70) Decorate sugar cookies.
71) Play croquet in your yard.
72) Play a game of pool.
73) Take a snow day with your kids. (Make sure you’re prepared in advance!)
74) Do a Bible craft together.
75) Practice sharing the gospel with each other every day until every knows it–with verses!
76) Visit an aquarium.
77) Go for a drive and look at architectural styles, scenery, or people.
78) Head to a sporting event. Make it an event by color-coding your clothing with your team’s uniforms.
79) Go creeking.
80) Ride bikes together–pull the littles in a trailer.
81) Read the Bible together and keep track of your journey, book-by-book.
82) Visit an art museum. children’s, or science museum.
83) Catch crawdads.
84) Fly a kite.
85) Head out for a hike.
86) Visit a historical site.
87) Decorate a gingerbread house or make a gingerbread Nativity scene.
88) Grow a garden together. Allow your children to choose some of the vegetables and to help tend them.
89) Plan and go on a long road trip.
90) Travel to some native peoples’ ruins. Talk about what it must have been like to live in the castle, adobe, cliff dwelling, or…
91) Paint pumpkins together.
92) Learn the books of the Bible together.
93) Write something you like about someone in your family on a piece of paper. Put it on a poster. Repeat with a new person each week.
94) Paint a mural in your child’s room.
95) Scooter around your neighborhood.
96) Make some creative markers for your vegetable garden.
97) Play ping pong.
98) Visit a bookstore together. Give your children a small budget to choose their own book.
99) Go fishing.
100) Declare it to be family adventure night.
101) Take a short road trip. Allow your kids to choose the destination or the route for fun.
102) Go out for hot chocolate and let your kids share their hearts with you.
103) Take the kids to a concert. We’ve been to some that were free or that offered $10 tickets.
104) Try a new kind of food (Lebanese, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese…).
105) Work on a family handprint project.
106) Play charades.
107) Go camping as a family.
108) Play in the sprinkler.
Now that you have some ideas, go make some memories!
Favorite Family Games
Bible Resources for Your Kids
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Puzzle-Based Independent Bible Study for Kids!
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” – Romans 12:2, ESV
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- Observe: They pay attention to what they’re reading.
- Interpret: They figure out what the Bible means in that section.
- Apply: They decide how the truth of God’s Word impacts their life today.
There are a great many truths in life to be found—some interesting, some boring, and some that really matter. You can be the kind of investigator who spends time puzzling out important truth so that you can know all the knowable knowledge that God has given us. That’s right. God, the Creator of the Universe, gave you a great big letter from him to explore and study so that you can discover the truths that really matter to your life!”
Bible Investigators: Creation, (The Good Book Company, 2024), page 7
The Bible Investigators: Creation Bible study for kids, written by Danika Cooley and published by The Good Book Company, is 272-pages of learning, puzzles, and fun activities designed to help your kids become amazing independent Bible investigators–observing, interpreting, and applying God’s Word as they learn what the Bible teaches on a particular subject.
Bible Puzzles for Kids
Middle grade kids, aged 8-12, love puzzles. After all, their brains are just built for figuring things out and memorizing facts. Puzzles are a wonderful way to help kids develop logic skills and retain important information. And, the book is written in a fun, conversational tone your children are sure to love!
What types of puzzles and activities will you find in Bible Investigators?
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- Word Searches
- Crosswords
- Rebus Puzzles
- Dot-to-Dots
- Logic Puzzles
- Missing Letter Puzzles
- Cryptograms
- Word Sudoku
- Mazes
- How-to-Draw Pages
- Matching Pairs
- Word Scrambles
- Journal Pages
Every child is sure to find activities they’ll love!
Elementary-aged kids need hands-on middle grade resources that engage them and equip them to process important truths.
Bible Investigators is the perfect resource to teach your kids about an important biblical doctrine, while helping them apply God’s Word to their lives today.
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