Get Screen Time Under Control

One of the hardest things for our families to get under control is screen time. We ask our families to limit screen time daily to about an hour. Screen time stimulates the left hemisphere, which we like to call the gas pedal of the brain. By stimulating the gas pedal we not only ramp kids up to the point of out of control behavior, but we also bring out negative emotions like anger. Kids today have so much access to screens, that we try to help our families as much as possible when they are trying to ween away the screens. If you are trying to limit screen time in your own household check out this awesome list that we found online! The link is below.

100 fun kids activities for Screen-Free Week

By Cathy James on April 29th, 2012

Just as a healthy diet can certainly include cake, so a balanced childhood can include screen time. Family movie nights, skyping with Grandma and typing stories on the laptop are all great fun. It’s just there are so many other fun thing to do if you step away from a screen.
This week is Screen-Free Week. It also happens to coincide with two birthdays in our household and an extra day off school for the girls. So, I’m not here. We’re embracing Screen-Free week, going offline and enjoying some fun family time. We’re probably baking birthday cake, visiting an art gallery or up to our knees in water beads as you read this. If you’d like to join in and spend a little more time with the kids and without a screen this week, whether for an hour, a day or the whole week, here are 100 fun kids activities you could try.

Click each idea to see the full details.

And you can print off the list at the bottom so you really can log off and go play.

Step away from the screen and play

1.With shadow puppets 2. In the jungle 3. With chickens 4. Under the sea 5. In space  6. With water beads 7. In a bath of jelly 8. On a building site 9. Camping 10. Yoga 11. Dressing up 12. Pirates 13. With potatoes 14. Dinosaurs 15. With homemade play dough 16. With toothpicks 17. Washing up 18. With salt dough 19. Mad hatters 20. With your feet

Step away from the screen and cook

21. Jam 22. Bunny rabbits 23. Lovehearts 24. Marshmallow lollipops 25. Child-made soup 26. Chop chop salad  27. A snowman 28. Homemade cornettos 29. Welsh cakes 30. Maths cocktails 31. Eggs 32. The alphabet 33. Snowflakes 34. Cookies 35. A rainbow 36. A gingerbread man 37.  A gingerbread house 38. Mini meringues 39. A car 40. Ice cream play dough

Step away from the screen and make

41. Caterpillars 42. Butterflies 43. A robot 44. A town 45. A playground 46. A marble run 47. An incy, wincy book 48. A superhero peg doll 49. Your own doll 50. A meadow 51. A horse riding stables 52. Chocolate play dough 53. A weather station 54. Beautiful candle holders 55. Rockets 56. A boat 57. A dinosaur land 58. A den 59. Story stones 60. A comic

Step away from the screen and be arty

61. Try blow art 62. Set up a painting station 63. Decorate flower pots 64. Explore symmetry 65. Reverse print 66. Make a roly poly painting 67. Try contact paper art 68. Use oil pastels 69. Print with flowers 70. Go big! 71. Paint with marbles 72. Create a self portrait 73. Make a marvellous hat 74. Thread an art bag 75. Try old materials new ways 76. Make a store cupboard collage 77. Spin! 78. Try waterpainting 79. Paint outside 80. With cotton buds

Step away from the screen and play outdoors

81. Make tree gargoyles 82. Make mud pies 83. Plant a tree 84. Create cement art 85. With worms 86. With bugs 87. Go on a treasure hunt 88. Play in a rock pool 89. Create a fairy garden 90. Make a miniature garden 91. Grow some seeds 92. Start a garden journal 93. Plant sunflowers 94. In a story tent 95. Build a sandcastle 96. Make a bird cafe 97. Wear woodland jewellery  98. Hand print a sunflower 99. Race snails 100. Hunt mini beasts

(http://nurturestore.co.uk/screen-free-week-kids-activities)