Free library
Screen free play ideas
Real, hands on things to do with what you already have in the house. Every idea is screen free, tied to one of our weekly themes, and written for children aged 4 to 11. Pick an age and the weather outside your window.
35 ideas for age 10 to 11
Pond dipping with a washing up bowl
Scoop a little pond life into a shallow bowl, watch it closely, then put every creature back exactly where it came from.
4 to 67 to 910 to 11OutdoorSunny day
Puddle depth survey
Measure the puddles on your street with a stick and a ruler, then predict which will vanish first.
7 to 910 to 11OutdoorRainy day
Make a rain gauge
Turn a plastic bottle into a rain gauge, then keep a week of readings on the kitchen wall.
7 to 910 to 11Rainy dayOutdoor
Cardboard box marble run
Cut, fold and tape a run that keeps a marble moving from the top of the box to the bottom.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Pasta skeleton
Lay out dried pasta shapes to build a human skeleton and name the bones as you go.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Rain in a jar
Make warm water, cold air and a plate work together until it rains inside a jar.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Stick and stone sundial
Plant a stick, mark the shadow every hour with a stone, and tell the time without a clock.
7 to 910 to 11OutdoorSunny day
Halve the recipe
Cook something simple, but halve every quantity first and check your working by eating it.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Newspaper tower challenge
Build the tallest tower that can hold a tin of beans, using only newspaper and a little tape.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Garden sound map
Sit still for five minutes, mark every sound on a map and discover how loud quiet really is.
4 to 67 to 910 to 11OutdoorSunny day
Design a board game about your street
Map your street, then turn it into a board game with rules, cards and a way to win.
10 to 11IndoorRainy day
Family time capsule
Fill a shoebox with today, seal it, and write the date you are allowed to open it.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Stone skimming and angles
Skim stones, count the bounces, then work out which angle and which stone wins.
10 to 11OutdoorSunny day
Map your walk from memory
Walk a familiar route, come home, and draw it from memory before checking against a real map.
7 to 910 to 11OutdoorIndoor
Measure a tree with a hug
Use arms, string and steps to work out which tree in your street is the oldest.
4 to 67 to 910 to 11Outdoor
Two loaf yeast test
Make two small doughs, leave the yeast out of one, and find out what yeast actually does.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Secret kindness envelopes
Fill seven envelopes with small kind acts and open one each morning.
4 to 67 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Paper chain story of the year
Write one good memory on each paper strip, then loop them into a chain across the room.
4 to 67 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Moon diary for a month
Draw the moon at the same time each evening and watch a pattern appear over four weeks.
7 to 910 to 11Outdoor
Frozen bubble hunt
On a freezing morning, blow bubbles outside and watch crystals grow across them before they pop.
4 to 67 to 910 to 11Outdoor
Red cabbage colour potions
Boil red cabbage to make a purple liquid, then turn it pink or green with things from the kitchen.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Patterns in the fruit bowl
Count petals, seed spirals and pine cone rows and find the same number pattern over and over.
10 to 11IndoorOutdoor
Timetable treasure trip
Plan a bus or train trip together using a real timetable, then follow the plan for the afternoon.
7 to 910 to 11OutdoorRainy day
Roman mosaic from paper squares
Snip magazine pages into small squares and lay a Roman style mosaic panel.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Tudor street from cereal boxes
Build a row of leaning timber framed houses and talk about why fire spread so fast.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Paper bridge load test
Fold one sheet of paper five different ways and find out which bridge holds the most coins.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Bee cafe and pollinator count
Plant or place a few flowering pots, then sit still for ten minutes and count every visitor.
4 to 67 to 910 to 11OutdoorSunny day
Bottle siphon water play
Use two bottles and a length of tube to move water uphill, then work out how it happens.
7 to 910 to 11OutdoorSunny day
Stick race and river map
Race sticks under a bridge, then draw a map of the stream showing where the water runs fastest.
4 to 67 to 910 to 11Outdoor
Tide line survey
Walk the strand line with two bags and sort what the sea brought in from what people left behind.
4 to 67 to 910 to 11OutdoorSunny day
Foil boat cargo challenge
Make three foil boats of different shapes and find out which carries the most coins before sinking.
4 to 67 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Paper plane fair test
Fold three plane designs, throw each one five times and work out an average distance.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorSunny day
Magnet hunt and the iron in cereal
Test the house for magnetic metals, then pull real iron out of a bowl of crushed cereal.
7 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
One week rubbish audit
Keep a tally of what your family throws away for a week, then choose one thing to change.
4 to 67 to 910 to 11IndoorRainy day
Blackberry ink and picking rules
Pick late summer blackberries, squash them into ink and write with a feather or a stick.
7 to 910 to 11OutdoorSunny day
Want the whole week planned?
Homeschool Club builds your weekly plan around ideas like these, keeps your records for you, and leaves room every day for the Wonder Hour.
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