25 Fun TV-Free Activities for Kids

Okay, I'm just going to put it out there. I have a love/hate relationship with our TV. It's really not the poor TV's fault, but if left to my own devices, I could easily become a classic couch potato, watching even the most ridiculous of reality shows (hello, all you Celebrity Cattle Drive fans.) So I choose to limit my TV viewing time, so as not to begin my tragic spiral downward into inertia. Living with my own little TV demon was bad enough, but then I went and had a few sweet babies who became curious little kids who love, love, love the TV, and now we've added a whole new dimension to our TV drama. Yikes! While I'm not from the school that says letting your kids watch TV is akin to feeding them poison, I still feel a bit twitchy when they are gazing a little too long and a little too lovingly at the glowing box in the living room instead of, say, drawing a picture or reading a book. We thoroughly enjoy many of the fun, educational offerings in children's TV programming these days, but the problem is that there are just so many shows now, and if we aren't careful, one hilarious show leads into the next great show, and so on. I closely monitor what my children view. I choose shows for them that are filled with either a whole bunch of silly fun or are introducing a learning concept, and more often than not shows that contain both. I know that we can happily keep TV as a fun "extra" in our day, but still come up with more creative things to do. So, with this in mind, I have created a list of 25 Fun TV-Free Activities for you and your kids (and me and mine) to do instead of watching TV. This list helps remind me that when I feel we've had enough of "Curious George," we can still remain curious ourselves and discover some fun activities to do together.

25 Fun TV-Free Activities for Kids:

1. Go Outside: Play; explore; go on a walk!

2. Play "Simon Says".

3. Play a Card Game: Memory, Uno, Go Fish, etc.

4. Read some Books.

5. Put together a Puzzle.

6. Play I-Spy.

7. Turn on the Music & Dance.

8. Make a Band: Grab some instruments and march through the house!

9. Play "Would You Rather?": For example, Would you rather be a fish or a dog? . . . be invisible or be able to fly? . . . go the moon or go to Hawaii? . . . eat a pickle or eat broccoli? The possibilities are endless.

10. Bake Something Together: chocolate chip cookies, bread, cupcakes, you name it!

11. Play out an Imagination Story: Make up some character, give them names, act out these character's stories.

12. Draw, Paint, Color, Glue: Get out a bunch of art supplies and let our imagination go wild!

13. Write a Letter Together To a Family Member or Friend.

14. Play "Find the Object": Hide a small toy somewhere in the house and use the old "Hot/Cold" method to guide the seeker to the toy!

15. Let Them Take a Playing Bath: Fill up the tub with some water and toys and let your kids get in and just play, play, play!

16. Play "Store": Let your kids go "shopping" in your house. Take turns being shoppers and store clerks.

17. Make up a Story: take turns adding to a story, going back and forth, sentence after sentence, creating a story together.

18. Make a "Dream" page: Grab some magazines, paper, scissors, and glue. Go through the magazines, finding pictures that show something you love or wish for and create your own little poster of your dreams.

19. Play "Restaurant": Grab the play food and set up a mini-restaurant. Take turns playing "server" and "customer".

20. Take some Photos: Do a wild and crazy photo shoot with your kids. Let your kids come up with some fun ideas. Dress up in play clothes, winter clothes, or set up a silly scene, and snap away!

21. Have a Tea Party.

22. Go to the Library: not only are you getting out of the house, and away from the lure of the TV, you are also getting some new reading material for the kids.

23. Spend time with a pet: Teach your old dog or cat a new trick, take your pet for a walk, observe your hamster on its wheel. If you don't have a pet, feed the birds, visit a pet store, etc.

24. Make Shadow Puppets: Dim the lights, grab a flashlight, and have a blast creating silly shadows on the wall.

25. Grow something together. Gather some seeds, potting soil, and some small containers and start some seedlings indoors. You and the kids can check your seeds' progress everyday until magically, you've grown a plant.

TV viewing can have a place in our kids' day, and when chosen thoughtfully, can provide them with a fun and entertaining learning experience. But the next time your daily viewing quota has been met, and the kids are begging for just . . . one… more …TV show, grab this list of fun activities and create some new TV- free memories together.