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The Guardian - US

Lauren Gould

Pool noodles and DIY escape rooms: the best screen-free kids’ activities, recommended by teachers

Amazon Brandon Jenkins Walmart Epic Disney Elementary School Jenga UNO

Oodles of Noodles Deluxe Pool Noodles, Unifix Cubes, Piecework Dino Discotheque puzzle, Jenga, Guess Who. — “A lot of children who gravitate toward screens still crave creativity and imagination … ,” said Brandon Jenkins, a fourth-grade teacher. Photograph: Courtesy Photos

The “iPad kid” meme is popular for a reason: screens have become a near-permanent fixture in gen Alpha’s lives.

On average, kids five and older spend more than three hours a day on their devices. We know that too much screen time is linked to harmful health outcomes, but it is not easy to convince your child that reading a paperback novel is more exciting than playing Roblox or binge watching YouTube.

That doesn’t mean we should throw in the towel. “A lot of children who gravitate toward screens still crave creativity and imagination – they just need activities that feel immersive and engaging enough to compete with digital entertainment,” said Brandon Jenkins, a fourth-grade teacher based in Houston, Texas, in an email.

We interviewed five elementary school teachers across the country, who shared their tips and tricks. Here are six of their recommendations – including the classic board games their students love and creative ways to use sidewalk chalk.

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Introduce them to the classics

This year, Adrian Neibauer’s students are partial to the games you probably grew up playing: Battleship, Sorry!, Jenga and Uno.

“I would recommend these specific games to parents because they are classic games that are quick to learn, easy to play and require strategy,” the Denver-based elementary school teacher said. “I use Battleship when teaching coordinate plane geometry and students immediately make the connection to the game.”

His students also enjoy Ticket to Ride, a board game where you draw cards and build routes with miniature trains (we recommend the simpler version First Journey, as best for young kids).

Jenkins, the fourth-grade teacher in Houston, also recommended “strategy-based board games” such as Guess Who?.

Keep their hands busy

“I have learned how much joy students find in hands-on activities. My students especially love building with blocks, Unifix cubes and magnetic tiles,” said Chyna Delk-Bratcher, a kindergarten teacher and recipient of her former school’s 2024-2025 beginning teacher of the year award. Unifix cubes are Lego-like stackable pieces that students can use to learn counting, sorting and other basic math concepts. (Or simply build endless stacks of rainbow cubes to their hearts’ content.)

Connetix Magnetic Tiles 28 Piece Light Star Pack

Noemi Hernandez, a first-grade dual language teacher and recipient of her county’s educator of the year award recommends Operation: it “helps with hand grip and control” and “with writing as they work on how to hold the tweezers”.

For an option a tad quieter than the emergency room-simulating Operation, puzzles come in handy. We’ve shared kid-friendly 100-piece jigsaw puzzles, including eeBoo’s “Octopus and Friends” and this dinosaur disco-themed puzzle from Piecework (which we can confirm is also fun for adults).

Piecework Dino Discotecque game product photo

eeBoo Octopus and Friends 100 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle

Recreate their favorite video games

If you have a free afternoon, try designing an escape room-style game.

“You can create simple versions at home using clues, hidden objects or riddles. It gives children that same sense of ‘leveling up’ they enjoy in video games while still being fully interactive and social,” suggests Jenkins. If this sounds complicated, mom blogs such as this one are resources for getting started.

Or, if “free afternoon” isn’t currently in your vocabulary, you can purchase escape room board games, such as Thames & Kosmo’s Exit, which comes with two stories for you and your child to solve.

... or try a ‘world-building’ game

“Students who tend to only play video games love playing Ticket to Ride and Settlers of Catan because it mimics the world-building they enjoy so much online,” Neibauer told us.

Make it a (friendly) competition

“Framing activities as challenges, competitions, missions or adventures can completely change a child’s level of engagement,” Jenkins said.

The 25 best family board games in the US for 2026, according to experts

He also designs ‘Stem challenges’ for his students with cups, index cards, and Lego bricks as tools to use: “I’ll give them prompts such as “build the tallest structure” or “create something that can protect an egg”.

Hernandez uses Disney’s Eye Found It in her classroom, which she said helps her students’ attention to detail. This cooperative game asks players to use an eagle eye to find the hidden pictures on the board.

‘The magic isn’t in the equipment’

“It’s in the ownership,” writes Reyes Andon, a physical education teacher and recipient of the 2025 Big Apple award PE teacher of the year award, granted by the New York City department of education. “One of the biggest lessons from my teaching is that the activities kids love most are often the ones they helped create.”

You can get a lot out of everyday items. For an outdoor activity, Andon suggested using inexpensive items such as a pool noodle as a hurdle or sidewalk chalk to create an obstacle course.

“Children who gravitate toward screens often do so because screens give them agency. The key is to bring that same energy to physical play,” he said.

Oodles of Noodles Deluxe Pool Noodles (pack of six)

Crayola Washable Sidewalk Chalk (pack of 24)

… and if they insist on a screen:

Delk-Bratcher, the kindergarten teacher in North Carolina, recommends Epic!, a digital reading platform that rewards your child with points for reaching reading goals. It “keeps them motivated and engaged”, she says.

Epic! Monthly Subscription game product photo

Meet the educators

Reyes Andon: A New York City based physical education teacher, and recipient of the the 2025 Big Apple award PE teacher of the year award.
Adrian Neibauer: A Denver based elementary school teacher who writes a Substack about education.
Chyna Delk-Bratcher: A second-grade teacher at North Carolina Virtual academy and recipient of the 2024-2025 beginning teacher of the year award, issued by her former school.
Brandon Jenkins: A fourth-grade Stem teacher based in Houston, Texas.
Noemi Hernandez: A first-grade dual language teacher based in Elgin, Illinois, and recipient of the 2026 Kane county educator of the year award