There is a particular kind of boredom that seems to hit about five minutes after kids get home from school.
Backpack down.
Snack acquired.
And then:
“Can I have my tablet?”
Sometimes the answer is yes.
But sometimes you know they don’t really need a screen.
They just can’t think of anything else they want to do.
Try an Invitation Instead of an Activity
An invitation doesn’t tell kids exactly what to make.
It gives them something interesting to respond to.
You might leave a cardboard box, scissors, and tape on the coffee table with a note:
What could this become?
Or put a sheet of paper beside a stack of books:
How strong can you make one piece of paper?
Or leave three random objects on the kitchen table:
Can you invent something using all three?
And then comes the hard part.
Don’t tell them how to do it.
You don’t need an example. You don’t need to explain what you had in mind. And you definitely don’t need to make your own version first so they can copy it.
The question is the invitation.
What they do with it is up to them.
Or Give Them a Menu
If your kids tend to come to you asking what they can do, try making a simple menu they can choose from.
What do you feel like doing?
BUILD SOMETHING
MAKE SOMETHING
INVENT SOMETHING
FIGURE SOMETHING OUT
IMAGINE SOMETHING
Once they choose, give them a couple of challenges from that section below.
You don’t need to show them all 30.
In fact, I wouldn’t.
Three interesting choices are often much easier to act on than a giant list of possibilities.
And if you have absolutely no desire to set anything up?
Just say:
“Want a challenge?”
Then pick one.
BUILD SOMETHING
1. How tall can you make it?
Put out plastic cups, index cards, blocks, paper, or whatever is handy.
How tall can you build before it falls?
If it falls, don’t fix it. What could you change?
2. What could this box become?
Put an empty cardboard box somewhere they’ll find it.
Add tape, scissors, and markers if you want.
That’s it.
3. Can you build a bridge that holds 10 books?
Create a gap between two chairs, boxes, or stacks of books.
Use cardboard, paper, blocks, or other materials to bridge the gap.
Then start adding books.
4. Can you make a marble get from here to there?
Grab cardboard tubes, paper, cups, blocks, and tape.
Choose a starting point and ending point.
Now figure out the path.
5. Can you build something using only paper and tape?
No directions.
Just paper. Tape. And the challenge.
6. Can you make a hideout?
Blankets, pillows, chairs.
Kids usually don’t need much help from here.
MAKE SOMETHING
7. Make the world’s tiniest piece of art.
Give them a very small piece of paper.
How much can they fit on it?
8. Make art without a paintbrush.
Put out washable paint and ask kids to find something else they could paint with.
A fork? Sponge? Cotton swab? Cardboard? Toy car?
What happens when they try it?
9. Make a creature from five random things.
Let kids choose five things from the recycling bin or craft supplies.
Those five things have to become one creature.
10. Draw something without lifting your pencil.
Choose an object.
Try to draw the whole thing with one continuous line.
11. Turn today into a comic.
Fold a piece of paper into several boxes.
Choose one thing that happened today and turn it into a comic.
True story or wildly inaccurate retelling. Both work.
12. Make something useful out of something headed for recycling.
Hand over a box, container, cardboard tube, or plastic lid.
What else could it be used for?
And let your child decide what counts as “useful.”
INVENT SOMETHING
13. Invent a better backpack.
Ask your child what they don’t like about their backpack.
Now fix it.
They can draw the idea or make a model.
14. Invent something for a pet.
A toy. A bed. A treat dispenser. A pet elevator. A machine that throws tennis balls forever.
No pet? Invent one first.
15. Invent a new eating utensil.
Apparently a fork, knife, and spoon are the best humanity can do.
Can your kid improve the situation?
Try cardboard, foil, straws, craft sticks, paper, or whatever you have.
Then test the invention with a snack.
16. Invent a game using three random objects.
Put three things on the table.
A cup. A coin. A piece of paper.
Now invent a game.
How do you play?
What are the rules?
How do you win?
17. Fix something annoying.
Ask:
What’s one little thing around the house that annoys you?
Now invent something that would fix it.
It doesn’t have to be realistic.
18. Invent something that doesn’t exist yet.
That’s the whole challenge.
They can draw it, build it, or explain how it works.
FIGURE SOMETHING OUT
19. Which five things will float?
Find five small household objects.
Predict before testing them in a bowl of water.
Were you right?
20. Which paper airplane is best?
Make several different paper airplanes and test them.
But first decide what “best” means.
Farthest?
Longest time in the air?
Straightest?
Most spectacular crash?
21. How many drops of water fit on a penny?
Guess first.
Then test it.
Try again.
Did you get the same number?
22. Can you move something without touching it?
Put a lightweight object on a table.
The challenge is simple:
Make it move without touching it with your hands.
Don’t give away ideas.
Let them find one.
23. How strong can you make one piece of paper?
Give them one sheet of paper.
They can fold it, roll it, bend it, or change its shape however they want.
How much weight can they get it to hold?
24. Can you make one ice cube melt faster than another?
Start with two ice cubes.
What could you change?
Make a prediction and test it.
IMAGINE SOMETHING
25. Design the world’s best playground.
There is no budget.
There are no safety meetings.
Gravity is negotiable.
What would you put in it?
26. Invent a new holiday.
What’s it called?
What are you celebrating?
What does everyone eat?
What do people do?
Is there a special tradition?
27. Design your bedroom if there were absolutely no rules.
Money doesn’t matter.
The size of the room doesn’t matter.
Gravity doesn’t matter.
Parental approval definitely doesn’t matter.
What would you do?
28. Make up a story using three random words.
Pick three unrelated words.
Pickle. Moon. Backpack.
Now they all have to appear in the same story.
Tell it, write it, draw it, or make it into a comic.
29. Find 10 new uses for one ordinary thing.
Hand your child a paper cup, spoon, cardboard tube, or other simple object.
Ask:
What else could this be?
Try to get to ten.
Don’t stop when the obvious ideas run out. That’s when it gets interesting.
30. Ask your own “What would happen if…?” question.
This may be my favorite one.
Ask your child:
What’s something you’ve wondered about that we could actually try?
What would happen if we froze a balloon?
What if we made a giant paper airplane?
What if we tried to build a tower on a pillow?
What if we put something weird in the freezer?
Come up with a question.
Make a guess.
Then, before looking up the answer, try it.
A Few Basic Supplies Go a Long Way
You don’t need a special activity closet for any of this.
Keep a few basics around:
paper, cardboard, tape, scissors, markers, plastic cups, string, foil, recycled containers, LEGO or other building pieces, and a few basic art supplies.
Then add ordinary things from around the house when you need them.
The materials aren’t really the activity.
The question is.
And When They Ask, “How Do I Do It?”
This is where it gets tempting to jump in.
You know how you’d make the bridge.
You have a pretty good idea why their tower keeps falling.
And that paper airplane is clearly doomed.
But before you show them what to do, try:
“What have you tried?”
or:
“What do you think you could change?”
or simply:
“What do you think?”
Give them a chance to have the next idea.
Because the goal here isn’t really to keep kids off screens.
And it isn’t to fill every minute after school with something educational.
It’s to protect a little space in their day where nobody has already decided what they’re supposed to make, how they’re supposed to solve the problem, or what the answer should look like.
You give them an interesting starting point.
Then you get to see where they take it.
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