My Top 7 Indoor and Independent Screen-Free Activities for 3-6 Year-Olds
One of the hardest times to be screen free is when you have something to do – dishes, laundry, work – or just want a free moment to yourself. To help in these moments, you can’t go to a park or take your kids for a walk around the neighborhood. You need indoor activities that your kids can do independently, ideally for an extended period of time.
The following is a list of our favorite indoor and independently screen-free activities, targeted towards 3-6 year-olds.
1. ART
I allow our children free access to simple art supplies like crayons, markers, colored pencils, glue sticks, scissors, construction paper, pipe cleaners, etc. (I keep some of the “messier” supplies separate and only bring them out when I can set the girls up appropriately.) I only use washable materials so that I can clean up messes, wash off writing on the table, walls, furniture… Our art supplies live in our kitchen so the older children can get started by themselves in the morning while I get the younger children ready for the day. This “activity” alone has been a HUGE game changer for us.
2. SENSORY BOXES
I make my own sensory boxes with materials from nature (stones, pine cones, sticks, flowers, and seeds) and little toys/trinkets from the Dollar Store. I also add a little Play Doh so that the kids can make landscapes. I also add little containers inside of the boxes so that they can sort the items. They have a blast!
3. AUDIO PLAYERS
The Tonie Box (under 5) and Yoto (5+) have been extremely helpful. Our children can play the stories and/or songs that they want (which we can control) without interacting with screens. For a less expensive alternative, you might be able to check out audiobooks at the local library, and enable your children to play/pause and change tracks with a simple wireless speaker.
4. BUILDING TOYS
Our children love to work together to build structures and cities and tear them down, of course. Some of our favorite toys are Magnatiles, Legos, Lincoln Logs, and wooden trains.
5. MAKE BELIEVE
I buy a lot of secondhand toys from Facebook Marketplace to inspire creative play. My favorites are kitchens, diners, doctors’ offices. I also like simpler toys, like foam blocks (great for building forts!) and pikler triangles. These investments have been so helpful for us and so worth it! I rotate the different play stations from the playroom to storage in the garage every few weeks to keep interest high. When we have too much, I resell them on Facebook Marketplace.
6. PERFORMANCES
Inspire your child to make up a dance, put on a puppet show, play dress up, or put on a concert with simple instruments (they could even make them!). (Pro tip: A great time to get dress up costumes is right after Halloween!)
7. BOOK HAULS
We love to check out books from the library and then take them home to read or look through (for the non-readers). We also found a cheap second hand book store near us where the kids can fill up an entire bag of books for $10. We get everything from children’s books to big, glossy art books.