What will we do today?
Every Friday afternoon, we have “grandparent duty”. We pickup our grandson at daycare around 4:00pm and entertain him for a few hours so his parents can go out by themselves. Guy William is almost 3 now, very verbal, and full of energy. The challenge for us each week is to figure out something interesting to do with him.
There’s the park behind our house, where he likes to run laps around the softball field. Or there’s the McDonald’s up the way that has an indoor playground where he can climb and slide. But we want some variety, and particularly some things to do that don’t involve sitting in front of the tv or a phone screen. But our imaginations are sometimes limited.
That’s why I was excited to learn about a new website created by a couple guys I know from the WordPress community. Keith and Mark run Highrise Digital, a web design agency in the UK. They recently launched offline.kids, a site filled with over 90 activities for kids aged 0 to 18 that don’t require a screen.
The contents of the site are organized in multiple ways:
- By Activity Type – Everything from Arts & Crafts to Cooking and Baking to Puzzles & Logic to STEM & Building.
- By Location Type – Indoor, Outdoor, and Traveling
- By Energy Level – Low, Medium, and High (This might be really useful for grandparents!)
- By Age
- By Time Duration – 0-15 minutes up to 30-60 minutes, and some activities are even longer
There’s even a category for Mess Factor, so you know how much of a mess you’ll be making.
Each activity includes an overview description, a list of materials and tools needed, and step-by-step directions.
An activity I’m looking forward to trying with Guy is making Oobleck.
It’s going to be very messy, so maybe we’ll do it in the back yard, with the garden hose ready.
And maybe I’ll have to bring a copy of one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books – Bartholomew and the Oobleck.1
Try it with your kids
The site is very new and Keith and Mark are constantly improving it. They are actively seeking feedback. I hope you’ll have a look at offline.kids, try out a few of the activities, and give them a shout about your experiences.
Questions? Suggestions?
Leave a comment below with any questions or suggestions. I always appreciate feedback.
Mike
P.S. I have not solicited, nor would I accept, any compensation from offline.kids or the creators for this post. I just want them to be successful!
White Rabbit photo by Victor Larracuente on Unsplash
1 This is a direct link to bookshop.org. If you buy a book from them, you can designate that a portion of the sale price be given to an independent bookstore of your choice. Yes, you’ll pay a bit more than buying at Amazon, but the difference benefits independent bookstores, not a billionaire. We do not receive any affiliate payment if you buy a copy. If that changes in the future, we’ll let you know.
