These screen free activities for boys are the perfect way to entertain your kids when they’re bored at home and by themselves. Whether they’re tweens or lower elementary age they’ll love these fun activities to do without screens, plus they’ll reduce screen time and you’ll keep them off of technology (at least for a little while).
“Mom, I’m bored!”
If your child has ever said these words and you’re wondering how to keep him entertained with fun things to do that don’t require a screen then I have a ton of ideas on this list for you!
Whether he loves being outside, is a crafter, thrives with using his brain or you simply need some activities to have on hand for a rainy day, I’ve got you covered friend!
Take a look and see that it is possible to find fun things to do without screens!
Amazingly Fun Screen Free Activities for Boys
Outdoor Activities for Boys
Passback Football
Recommended Age: 9-13
He’ll be able to play football with himself by throwing the flat end of the football against a hard surface. This allows it to come right back to him without a rebounder.
Bow and Arrow Set
Recommended Age: 7-12
Get him started in archery with this bow and arrow set. The non-sharp arrows, finger saver attached to the bowstring and arm guards in the bow set will keep him safe while shooting.
Spider Swing
Whether it’s attached to a swingset or a tree, he’s sure to have a blast with this spider swing.
*My son absolutely loves his spider swing!
Light Up Basketball
Recommended Age: 5-12
Make playing basketball more fun with this LED light up basketball. It’s perfect for the evenings when he’s bored and wants something to do.
Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course
Recommended Age: 3-12
He’ll be able to get some exercise while training to become a ninja warrior. This 52 ft slackline has 11 accessories including a rope ladder, gymnastics bar, swing, climbing net and much more.
Baseball Practice Net
Whether he needs to practice pitching or throwing, this baseball practice net will be perfect. It has a sturdy frame and rubber feet on each leg for stability
Light Up Drone
He’ll be able to take his imagination to the next level with this drone. It’s perfect for a beginner and super easy to operate.
Hammock
This is hammock is perfect for relaxing while reading, solving a Rubix’s Cub, or much, much more!
*We have this Wise Owl Hammock and absolutely love it.
RC Monster Truck
Recommended Age: 8+
This RC monster truck has four wheel drive with both front and rear dual motors. He’ll have a blast driving it.
*We have an older version of this RC monster truck and my son loves driving it.
Soccer Goal
Recommended Age: 2+
Encourage him to get outside and get moving with this soccer goal.
*We have this soccer goal and it’s super easy to put together.
This is the soccer ball we have. The bright color makes it easy to spot when he’s practicing with other kids on the soccer field.
Zipline
Recommended Age: 5+
He’ll have a blast soaring through the air with this zipline, and mom and dad will love it for it’s safety features and how easy it is to put up.
Screen Free Brain Boosting Activities for Boys
He’ll be able to stimulate his brain and have fun while doing it with these activities. Below you’ll find hands-on S.T.E.M. and S.T.E.A.M. activities, fun educational resources to keep him up to par during the summer months, exciting workbooks and much more!
Galaxy Game Cube
Recommended Age: 6-12
This super fun cube is complete with buzzing, beeping, exciting music, voice-guided instructions and feedback from Mission Control. (If you’re like me you’l love the feature to adjust the volume or mute it altogether.)
Snap Circuits Electrical Kit
Recommended Age: 8+
Safely introduce him to electrical engineering with this kit. It comes with everything he’ll need to create and build over 100 different projects.
*I love seeing my son’s face light up after he builds something and makes it come to life!
Origami Puzzles
Recommended Age: 10+
He’ll be able to build his critical thinking and logical reasoning skills while having fun. There are 100 puzzles with 5 difficulty levels and no previous puzzle/origami experience is required.
Crystal Growing Experimental Kit
Recommended Age: 10+
He’ll have everything he needs to perform 7 different crystal growth experiments. Plus he’ll have a display case to show them off once they’ve finished growing.
Glow-In-The-Dark Marble Run
Recommended Age: 8+
This kit will provide him with everything he needs to make a story marble run. It’s also glow in the dark to add an extra dimension of fun!
Connectrix
Recommended Age: 6+
In this educational matching game he’ll find the matching answers and input it on his controller. He’ll learn geography, history, the human body, animals, and much more!
Note: This can be played solo or multi-player.
*My son loves his Connectrix. The controllers make him feel like he’s playing a video game but he’s actually working and stimulating his brain!
Detective Spy Kit
Recommended Age: 8+
He’ll be able to think like a true detective as he conducts 15 forensic experiments. As he investigates he’ll decode secret messages, analyze fingerprints, and much more!
Gravitrax
Recommended Age: 8+
He’ll have hours of fun as he puts together a track to run his marble(s) through it. He can build tracks with the instructions provided or work his imagination and create his own.
*I absolutely love watching my son’s face light when he puts everything together and his marble runs through the track.
Squishy Circuits
Recommended Age: 8-12
He’ll learn the basics of electricity in a fun hands-on way as his creations come to life. The kit uses conductive and insulating modeling dough that lights up with LED lights, spins with the motor, makes noises with buzzers and more.
Katamino Puzzle Game
Recommended Age: 6+
This wooden puzzle game has over 500 challenges. As he continues to solve the puzzles they’ll increase in difficulty.
Simon
Recommended Age: 8+
With this exciting hand held game of lights and sound he’ll repeat the patterns and advance to higher levels.
Amazing Reactions Chemistry Set
Recommended Age: 8+
Inspire science with 45 different easy science experiments. He’ll have a blast making bubbling, color-changing solutions, glowing test tubes, a colorful bouncy ball, glowing worms, and a much more.
Domino Maze
Recommended Age: 8+
As he builds over 60 mazes he’ll also be building his brain and logic skills. The challenges go from beginner to expert and get more difficult as he plays through them.
Kanoodle
Recommended Age: 7+
Use the 12 puzzle pieces to build 2D and 3D puzzles. He’ll be able to choose from 200 puzzle challenges that range from beginner to difficult.
* My son enjoys building these puzzles. It’s also small enough that we can take this with us when we’re out and about (car ride, restaurant, etc.)
BrainBolt
Recommended Age: 7+
He’ll be challenging his brain (while enhancing his memory ) as he remembers the light sequence and follows along for as long as he can without breaking the pattern.
Gravity Maze
Recommended Age: 8+
He’ll develop critical thinking skills as he builds marble runs. There are 60 challenges that become more difficult as he works his way through them.
LEGO Chain Reactions
Recommended Age: 8+
Your lego lover will be able to use his existing bricks plus the 30 LEGO pieces provided to build 10 amazing moving machines.
Rubik’s Cube
Recommended Age: 8+
He’ll be able to work both his hands and brain with this puzzle. To solve it, twist, turn, and rotate the Cube until each of the 6 sides has only 1 color.
*This is the best tutorial I’ve found for learning how to solve a Rubix’s Cube. (I watched it over and over until I learned how to solve it myself!)
STEM Wooden Car Building Kit
Recommended Age: 6+
What fun he’ll have building these six different vehicles while learning the structure and driving methods of various vehicles, how the motor works, and the principles of energy conversion.
Awesome Engineering Activities for Kids
Recommended Age: 5-10
Get him excited about as he learns how things work and creates his own experiments. He’ll be able to choose from 50 activities that have step-by-step instructions, colorful pictures, and simple explanations.
Chapter Books
Books are a fabulous way to stretch his imagination. Check out our favorite mystery books for kids and Christian fiction books for kids.
The Dead Sea Squirrels are one of my son’s favorite new book series. They’re written by the creator of VeggieTales.
Educational Activities & Resources
Math Shark
Recommended Age: 6-10
Math is turned into a learning game. He’ll be quizzed on 8 different skill levels in addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and percentages.
Summer Brain Quest Workbook
He’ll be able to learn all summer long with this personalized, interactive quest! The map guides him through a workbook jam-packed with activities based on reading, writing, math, earth science, geography and more.
Each workbook is based on your child’s upcoming grade – see all grades of Summer Brain Quest workbooks here.
Word Whiz
Recommended Age: 5-10
He’ll be challenged to build as many 3, 4, and 5 letter words as he can in 60 seconds.
*My son enjoys this and picks it up at the most random times…which I love!
Hot Dots
Make reading fun with this fun interactive pen and booklet. He’ll cover key reading and language arts skills, from reading comprehension and synonyms & antonyms to punctuation and grammar.
Hot Dots are available are available for both reading and math and for multiple grades. See all Hot Dots products here.
Summer Bridge Activities
In just 15 minutes a day he’ll prepared for the upcoming school year as he learns/reviews essential skills in reading, writing, math, and more.
See Summer Bridge Activities for all grades here.
*My son’s veteran teacher highly recommends these books.
My Second Grade Reading Workbook
He’ll be able to practice his reading with puzzles and games. There are 101 activities to choose from.
See My Workbooks for all grades here.
*My son did the phonics workbook a few summers ago and really enjoyed the activities.
Brain Stimulating Workbooks
Hidden Picture Books
Recommended Age: 6-9
He’ll develop concentration skills and attention to detail as he searches for 1,500+ hidden objects in the 200+ puzzle of this book.
*My son really enjoys searching for all the things in this book.
Coding & Logic Workbook
Recommended Age: 7-10
Not only does coding build math skills but creative thinking as well. This workbook has 101 offline coding activities and logic puzzles.
Coloring Books for Boys: Cool Cars & Vehicles
Recommended Age: 6-12
The coloring pages in this book were chosen by grade school age boys. Images include super cars, space ships, monster trucks, motorbikes, fighter jets, speed boats and more!
1007 Drawings to Sketch in 5 Minutes or Less
He’ll learn how to draw with this interactive workbook. Choose from over 1,000 designs and 3 levels of difficulty.
Don’t forget the pencils! Grab your sketch and drawing pencil kit here.
Ultimate Puzzle Challenge!
Recommended Age: 6-12
Build his concentration and reasoning skills while entertaining him at the same time. Choose from 125 puzzles, mazes, Sudoku, word searches, crisscrosses, logic puzzles and more.
Sticker By Letter: In The Wild
Recommended Age: 4-9
He’ll be able to create 10 full colored images with this sticker activity book. The designs are divided into spaces, each with a letter, that corresponds to a sticker. Simply find the sticker, peel it, and place it in the right space.
See all Sticker By Letter books here (robots, dinosaurs and many more)
The Ultimate Colouring Book: Dragons, Dinos, Robots & Ninjas
Recommended Age: 4-10
He’ll be transported into a world of fantasy and fantastic creatures with this coloring book.
Indoor Screen Free Activities for Boys
Over The Door Indoor Basketball Hoop
He’ll have a blast shooting basketballs indoors with this shatterproof hoop.
Note: My sister has tried multiple hoops with her boys and has found this one to be the sturdiest.
* We’ve had a ton of fun with this hoop that hangs on the closet door in my son’s room!
Magnetic Dart Board
Recommended Age: 4+
Darts are great for eye hand coordination and concentration! Plus, you won’t have to worry about him making holes in the walls or harming himself with sharp dart pieces because this set is magnetic.
Bulls-Eye Ball
Recommended Age: 8+
This action game will test his skills as he bounces balls into the target to score the most points. (It announces the high score the next time the game is turned on.) Choose from 5 different modes of play.
Air Fort
Recommended Age: 3+
Inflate this fort in 30 seconds by simply attaching it to a box fan. Cleanup is a cinch – simple fold it up and put it in its carrying case.
He could easily fit a bean bag (or two) inside to read his favorite books or just chill.
*This air fort has been a hit since the day that we got it. I’m amazed at how spacious it is inside. I love that my son can get it out (and put it up) by himself.
Punching Bag for Kids
Recommended Age: 3-10
Whether he needs get out some frustration or some pent up energy, this boxing set will be perfect!
Dual Racing Track
Recommended Age: 8+
He’ll have the coolest racing experience with this track. There are 2 DTM cars and 2 Formula cars that have built-in LEDs that glow at high speed. Play anywhere with the wireless track that doesn’t require to be near an outlet.
Crafting Activities Boys Will Love
Build and Paint Wooden Cars
Recommended Age: 6+
He’ll get his creative juices flowing as he builds his own wooden race cars with functioning wheels. The fun won’t stop there though because he can use paints and stickers to design an awesome paint job.
Little Monsters Craft Kit
Recommended Age: 7-13
Encourage his imagination and creativity while he learns how to sew. Each kit includes pre-cut monster felt shapes with pre-punched holes, embroidery floss, poly-stuffing, needles, easy-to-follow instructions and more.
Foil Fun Art & Craft Activity Set
Recommended Age: 4-9
Inspire creativity with this mess-free activity set. He’ll create unique foil pictures with dinosaurs, volcanoes, more.
Paint By Number Kit
Recommended Age: 8-12
He’ll be able to create his own artwork as he follows he numbers to paint each piece. The kit includes the supplies to paint 4 different canvases.
The Awesome Paper Airplane Book for Kids
Recommended Age: 6-9
This book is packed with 15 unique paper airplane designs for dart planes, wide-winged glider planes, and exciting stunt planes. Prepare for takeoff!
Rainbow Loom Loomi-Pals Kit
Recommended Age: 7+
He’ll be able to make bracelets, necklaces and more with this ginormous kit. You’ll have everything you need including 5,600 bands, 150 alpha and 150 pony beads, and more!
*Not only does my son make these for fun but he’s also gifted them to friends and sold them!
Dinosaur Painting Kit
Recommended Age: 5-8
He’ll be transporged back to prehistoric times as he paints dinosaurs. Choose from 10 different figurines and get as creative as
He’ll be transported back to prehistoric times while painting dinosaurs. Each kit comes with 10 figurines plus painting supplies.
Paper Craft Activity Book
Recommended Age: 4-8
He’ll get craft by using the ready-to-cut templates with easy-to-follow instructions to make fun paper crafts.
Puppy Sewing Kit
Recommended Age: 6-12
He’ll learn how to sew while making an adorable felt puppy plush. This kit includes pre-cut pieces of felt, thread, needles and everything he’ll need to create 12 different puppies.
Rock Painting Kit
Recommended Age: 6+
Encourage him to express his creative side with this rock painting kit. He’ll have everything he needs to paint 10 rocks including waterproof paint colors, a paint brush, and rock transfer designs.
If this list of screen free activities for boys was helpful, you might also enjoy:
- Help him chase away the boredom blues with these mystery chapter books for kids.
- He’ll get lost in the fabulous stories of these Christian fiction books for kids.
- Need more screen free ideas? Check out these tv free activities.
- A fun and easy way to encourage him to get in the Bible is with these short daily devotions for kids.
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