101 Non-electric things for kids to do when they’re bored

Ever wonder if your kids know about that alternate universe that doesn't run on “e” and “i”? If you hand them a book, do they try to figure out how to recharge it or where to plug it in? Do they look for the delete button when you hand them a plate of veggies? Do they reach for the fast forward when you are talking to them? Are they 'married' to several people on FB? It might be time to disconnect for a little while.

Here are 101 suggestions to encourage your children to disconnect and connect with the real world:

1. Bake cookies and deliver them to an elderly neighbor or relative
2. Learn to jump rope
3. Start a band
4. Work a jigsaw puzzle with a group of friends
5. Start a small business
6. Volunteer at an animal shelter
7. Become a clown and visit nursing homes
8. Start a poetry club
9. Find a pen pal
10. Collect stamps and find people to swap with
11. Make a mosaic
12. Carve soap into a figurine
13. Work with clay and a potter's wheel
14. Walk dogs for neighbors
15. Build a model
16. Get a group together and break a world record in something
17. Start a neighborhood newspaper
18. Lie in the grass and look at the clouds
19. Read an entire dictionary
20. Set up a scavenger hunt for your friends
21. Go on a photo safari
22. Paint a picture
23. Learn to play chess
24. Grow an herb garden
25. Make a movie with your friends
26. Knit a sweater
27. Embroider a bib for a baby
28. Do yoga
29. Learn a new language
30. Do a chore without being asked (and watch the magic happen)
31. Leave love notes all over the house
32. Direct a neighborhood talent show
33. Raise money for a charity
34. Raise a caterpillar into a butterfly and release
35. Wash the dog or clean the bird's or hamster's cage
36. Mold chocolate candy
37. Blow bubbles
38. Make a scrapbook of your life
39. Make a time capsule and bury it in your back yard to dig up when you are 20
40. Cook a 5-course meal and serve your family or a group of friends
41. Record a song
42. Start a book club
43. Spend an entire day in the library reading
44. Pick a bouquet of wildflowers for your mother
45. Make a rock collection
46. Play with the hose
47. Build a snow fort
48. Make a quilt
49. Go on a hike and camp out
50. Earn and save money for something big you have been wanting
51. Participate in a charity event
52. Write a fan letter to a celebrity you admire telling them why
53. Spend the day getting to know a younger sibling
54. Learn to belly dance
55. Make sandwiches and deliver to the homeless
56. Write out a plan for your future and see how close you come to it
57. Make candles
58. Dry or press flowers
59. Learn calligraphy
60. Lie in the grass and look at the stars and identify them
61. Create a superhero and write his story in a graphic novel
62. Wear a blindfold or earplugs all day to help you better comprehend how blind or deaf people live
63. Plan a family night with an activity and snacks
64. Spend an entire day praying and talking to God
65. Read a book series (Harry Potter, Series of Unfortunate Events, etc.) to a child
66. Listen to an opera
67. Try a new food
68. Sew a pillow
69. Tie-dye a tee shirt
70. Learn to batik
71. Collect coats and gloves for the needy
72. Make a loom and weave place mats
73. Paint your bedroom
74. Jump on a pogo stick
75. Try water skiing or tubing
76. Bake bread
77. Work a crossword puzzle
78. Read a newspaper front to back
79. Teach someone something you know how to do well
80. Tutor someone in a subject in which you are strong
81. Run for something (class president, most like to . . .) or run a campaign for a friend
82. Start a petition for a cause you believe in
83. Write a congressman about something that concerns you
84. Draw a floorplan for your idea of a perfect house
85. Run a day camp for neighborhood kids (summer, winter break, spring break)
86. Skip everywhere you go for one full day
87. Try to answer everyone who talks to you by singing a song
88. Play with toys in a bubble bath
89. Redecorate your room with a theme
90. Throw a surprise party for someone for no particular reason
91. Create a new holiday
92. Work at a soup kitchen
93. Make a budget
94. Play in the dirt or mud
95. Grow a frog from a tadpole
96. Go fishing
97. Make a rubber band ball as big as you can
98. Speak in pig-Latin for an entire day
99. Take a picture of yourself wearing the same thing in the same place everyday at the same time for a year and then make a movie of it
100. Go to school in formal wear with a few of your friends
101. Build a better mousetrap

There you have it. A list to hand your children when you ask them to unplug and they say they are bored. Make substitutions and either hand them the list, or cut into strips and put in a jar and let them draw one out each time they whine. They may discover hidden talents, untried passions, or a lifelong hobby. You may discover a little peace.

Becky Lyn is an author and a 35+ year (most of the time) single mom. Visit
Becky Lyn’s Website. or write her at beckytheauthor@gmail.com