Screen-Free Saturdays began as a way to keep us all in balance during the pandemic almost a year ago and what a year it has been! We have all weathered this storm in a variety of ways, and we are looking for ways to stay afloat and to heal.
Let’s find some joy this month! We’re committing to making our Saturdays sillier, goofier, and all around gigglier! In this guide, we offer some activity ideas to break down the seriousness of day-to-day life and to just let our kids be kids. Grown-ups, get your silly on! After all, laughter is the best medicine.
Let the good times roll!
A hearty laugh or even a fleeting chuckle not only lightens the mood, but can physiologically change your emotional state. When you laugh, your organs are stimulated, stress hormones decrease, and oxygen spreads throughout your body. It’s a tried and true method of clearing the slate and resetting with an open mind.
Even in the toughest times, a little bit of silliness can go a long way. If it feels hard to manufacture silliness, here are some ideas to get you started.
Arbitrary Rules
Randomness is funny – and the longer a bit goes on, the more giggles it inspires. Set up some arbitrary rules for the day and see what happens.
- Eat every meal with only a soup spoon for a whole day. No fingers, no forks, no chopsticks, or knives allowed. Spoons only!
- Talk in third person all day, or switch names for an afternoon. Let the confusion turn to silliness.
- Choose a code word and come up with a move. Code words can be ordinary words like “thank you,” “snack,” “no,” or “what,” and EVERY time someone says the code word, everyone has to do the move. Maybe it’s a little dance, a spin, a wiggle, a clap, or a jump!
Contradictions
When opposite ideas come together in an unfamiliar way, you’ll have no choice but to giggle.
- Go on a Fancy Hike. Put on a bowtie, blouse, or skirt and a pair of hiking boots and head on outside. How does your attire change your relationship with nature?
- Host a DooDoo Soiree. Get out tea cups and saucers, stick those proper pinkie fingers out, but speak only of gross things – farts and burps included!
- Who’s who? Switch roles for an activity. The young child will act like a parent, while the adult or parent gets to act like a kid.
Costumes
You don’t need a store-bought character costume to bring out the giggles. A baseball hat, a jacket, and some socks can go a long way, especially if you put them on different parts of your body than you ordinarily might!
- Get on your costume and host a contest and award show. Each family member can pick someone to present an award to – like “makes the best voices,” “has the funniest silly face,” and “has the most ridiculous sounding laugh.”
- Make some scales and a long tongue – and explore your whole house from the perspective of a snake! Slither and crawl and see what you find.
- What if you put socks on your hands and pants on your head? What kind of creature can you become?
P.S. These activities were offered this week by our fabulous Program Coordinator, Naomi! Have more silly ideas? Share them with us by replying to this email!
Knock, knock! Who’s there?
As corny as they may be, jokes can be a great way to connect and inspire the giggles! Here’s a list of funny jokes for kids to print out ahead of your Screen-Free Saturday and keep the laughter rolling. Click here.
Grown-ups can be kids!
Remember hearing about the preschool program for adults? Folks were paying money to finger paint, take naps, play on the playground. The truth is, we don’t need to pay to do that with our kids. Grown ups, get some inspiration from this adult preschool to bring out the silliness in you.
Community Connections
National Day of Unplugging is this week!
This week is National Day of Unplugging! National Day of Unplugging (a Screen-Free Week Endorser) is an awareness campaign that promotes a 24-hour respite from technology annually observed the first weekend in March. For more than a decade, schools, religious institutions, and businesses have used their resources to inspire healthy life/tech balance for their communities by taking a day off from screens. Participation is open to anyone who wishes to elevate human connection over digital engagement. It’s a great trial run before Screen-Free Week in May!
Get in on the fun! We especially love their Little Free Library Scavenger Hunt.
Join National Day of Unplugging THIS WEEK from sundown-to-sundown March 5-6, 2021, which also happens to be Screen-Free Saturday! Learn more here.
As always, you can make sure to stay connected with all of our Screen-Free Saturdays ideas, resources, and fun by taking the pledge:
Happy unplugging,
Rachel (she/her)