50+ Awesome Staycation Ideas for Kids: Screen Free Fun at Home!

Inside: Be prepared for fun at-home with these 50 staycation ideas for kids when you’re home on holidays. Great for school age kids.

We are on countdown to school finishing, the change of pace will be sooooooo welcome when it arrives!

Whilst I love my children to have lots of free time to just play and make their own fun when we are home on holiday, I also like to be prepared with a few activity suggestions anytime the ‘I’m boreds’ hit! And I find that having some planned activities ready to go reduces the likelihood that we’ll revert to screen based activities!

The following 50 activities include ideas perfect for preschool and school aged kids, are most definitely screen free, and use items commonly found around the home so you’ll never be stuck for things to do and you’ll easily be the coolest parent on the block!

If you’re looking for ideas for older children, click through to our collections of crafts for tweens and tween boredom busters!

50+ Awesome, Screen Free Staycation Ideas for Kids

In Your Backyard

1. Perform a rescue mission with an ice excavation!

2. Set up a target range for some water pistol or water balloon fun. Via Inner Child Fun.

3. Paint while blowing bubbles!

4. Make and float paper boats (perfect for random rainy days!). Via Fireflies and Mud Pies

5. Take a bug hunt and get a closer look with your very own homemade microscope.

RELATED: 40+ Brilliant Backyard Science Experiments

6. Set up a GIANT outdoor canvas for painting. From Learn With Play At Home.

7. Make a Worm Farm.

8. Or a Bug Hotel (via NurtureStore).

9. Grow something! You could try planting this playful garden or grow your own herbs.

10. See how many of these 101 Fun Outdoor Play Ideas you can check off your list.

Experiment & Explore

11. Who wouldn’t love to experiment with JELLY BEANS! Try this fun taste test.

12. Experiment with electric playdough. From Lemon Lime Adventures.

13. Explore the power of the sun by making sun prints. Via Creative Family Fun.

14. Or melt yourself some cool, colourful rainbow crayons.

15. Little Bins for Little Hands shows you how to make ice Cream in a bag. That’s tasty science for sure!

16. This magic milk science experiment is science dressed up as magic! You’ll be fascinated by the colourful dancing patterns.

17. Set up your own crime lab with our fingerprint forensics fun.

18. Build and test your very own Lego boats in this floating and sinking experiment.

For even more fun science learning, click through to see our cool collection of 25 color activities in a handy printable, ebook format.

Craft & Creativity

19. Printing your own t-shirts has never been so simple! Via NurtureStore.

20. Or decorate a pair of white tennis shoes with fabric markers and bling!

21. Set yourself an origami challenge with these folded paper bracelets. Via Picklebums.

22. Make a canvas to hang at home with some fun and colourful Drip Painting.

23. Get behind the camera and make a  stop motion animation. From Picklebums.

24. Give paper mache a whirl with these simple Magazine Paper Mache Pots.

25. Create your own drawing journal with these printable drawing prompts.

26. Create your very own jewellry with homemade air dry clay pendants.

27. Or with these gorgeous Mixed Up Beads from Mama Miss.

28. Make Paper Pinwheels.

29. Paint the house or the fence with this simple DIY Chalk Paint.

30. When it’s hot outside this frosty snow slime is super fun to make and play with.

BUILD IT!

31. Try building with jellybeans. Via Lemon Lime Adventures.

32. Make a giant car track with Adventures of Adam.

33. Set a construction challenge with one of these 5 ideas.

34. Or try a challenge with a mystery bag twist!

35. Never again wonder what to build next with these printable Lego challenge cards.

36. Make a paper plane and host an air show! Whose plane will fly the furthest? Highest? Straightest? Via Tinkerlab.

37. Have fun making straw rockets. From The Pleasantest Thing.

38. Or hit the hardware store and construct a STOMP! rocket.

39. Try your hand at making Lego Mosaics. The printable Lego Mosaic World is our favourite.

40. Build a lego pinball machine with Frugal Fun 4 Boys.

In the Kitchen

41. Make lemonade.

42. Or smoothies – check out our recipes for Kiwi Kapow!, Coco-Mango Bongo and Choc Banana Blitz.

43. Cook lunch or afternoon tea outdoors with a pizza box solar oven from I Can Teach My Child.

44. Put the kids in charge of afternoon tea with these 18 simple snack ideas.

45. Bake jam drops because…YUM!

Keep Them Reading

46. The coolest place to read has to be a bubble tent! Check it out over at Handmade Kids Art.

47. Challenge yourself with this printable Book Bingo.

48. Channel your brain power with one of these word games for kids.

49. Find a new-to-you classic to read from our Classic Chapter Books booklist

50. Sharpen your pencil and get writing with these fun kids writing prompts.

FUN for the Whole Family!

51. Host a family pyjama party. Include some fun sleepover games.

52. Surprise the kids with a water fight with sponges. From Adventures in Mommydom.

53. Laugh our loud with a game of charades! We have over 250 free, printable charades ideas cards in family friendly, themed sets for you to choose from.

54. Play table top air hockey with this tutorial from Little Bins for Little Hands (straws would be fun too!)

55. Make your own DIY Milk Jug Catcher and try all three of the included play suggestions.

MAKE THE MOST OF TIME AT HOME WITH OUR PRINTABLE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING JOURNAL

MORE SCREEN FREE STAYCATION FUN FOR YOUR FAMILY

There’s no end to the fun you can have with these resources:

• 101 Summer Learning Activities
• Best Family Game Night Ideas
• 15 Fun Family Card Games
• The 50 Best Outdoor Play Toys

What are your favourite staycation ideas for kids?

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