Screen-Free Fun

80 Amazing activities from sock sliding to raindrop racing

by The School of Life
edited by Alain de Botton

A collection of 80 imaginative games and activities designed to engage and entertain without a screen.

Whether we’re big or small, it can be hard to get away from our screens. Most children spend between five and seven hours a day looking at some form of screen – and most grown-ups spend twice as much time. Screens promise endless entertainment, but the more time we spend with them, the more we lose sight of all that is strange, fascinating, and delightful in the world around us. Even when we’re stuck indoors, there are infinite possibilities for banishing boredom and having fun so long as we use our imagination. All we need are a few helpful suggestions….

Screen-Free Fun contains 80 of the weirdest and most wonderful activities children can do at home, all without using a screen. Rather than scrolling or tapping, you’ll be invited to draw, make, write, invent, dress up, hide, seek, and discover. You can paint like Picasso or meditate like Buddha; become an indoor entomologist or a home Olympian; make up a new language or a mythical creature; and even find the fun in some household chores.

Inventive and irreverent, this book is the perfect companion for humdrum days and wet weekends. It is a compendium of the world’s strangest, silliest and most stimulating activities.

• DISCONNECT from tech by connecting to children’s natural curiosity and creativity.
• 80 UNIQUE ACTIVITIES inspires creativity and curiosity.
• EASY you already have the materials around the house.
• ENTERTAINING inventive activities that keep kids entertained without a screen.
• EDUCATIONAL FUN encourages children’s natural curiosity through learning new facts and practicing new skills.
• GIFT eye-catching, colorful design.
• AGES 8 AND UP activities the whole family will enjoy.

Hardcover | 144 pages | The School of Life | 2021

The School of Life is a London-based organisation built to help us find calm, self-understanding, resilience and connection – especially during troubled times. The School of Life Press was established to condense their learning into a collection of wise and considered texts. The titles are designed to entertain, educate, console and transform.