I’ll admit, I didn’t know about Screen-Free Week until a few weeks ago when the nice folks at ZebraPartners reached out and invited me to participate. My family of four is definitely a fan of screen time. Smartphones, tablets, video games, shows and movies are enjoyed for a good portion of the week – probably too much – so this was a welcome invitation to try and go screen-free.
Along with the invitation, they sent a selection of great family games and toys that we’ll be trying out each day of the week. Everything from board games, to puzzles, to customizable marble tracks!
Games We’ll Be Playing
Monday, April 29
Heads Talk, Tails Walk | ThinkFun
Tuesday, April 30
Thinking Putty Puzzzle | ThinkFun
Wednesday, May 1
Inch Worms | Ravensburger
Thursday, May 2
3D Porsche Puzzle | Ravensburger
Friday, May 3
Labyrinth: Harry Potter | Ravensburger
Saturday, May 4
Gravitrax | Ravensburger
Sunday, May 5
Gravitrax Expansions | Ravensburger
Go screen-free with us!
We’d love to extend the invitation to anyone reading this to go screen-free too from April 29 – May 5. There’s a whole website dedicated to Screen-Free Week:
Visit ScreenFree.org >
Feel free to share in the comments below what games you’ll be playing to stay screen-free!
I have been enjoying screen free week. Just having the TV off all week has been much more tranquil. As for other screens, I have limited my computer time (I don’t play games there), and I only have two games on my phone, a word puzzle (for my brain) and tetris, which also helps my brain while I have fun.
@Jim Gravitrax looks a little like Gravity Maze, which I love! There’s something so satisfying about solving the puzzle and hearing the marble click along the right path.
So far Inch Worms and Gravitrax have been a HUGE hit with my boys!
This is a great idea! However, this and that play 60 minutes a day campaign are a sad commentary on the state of our society. My family and I already take a minimalistic approach to screen time so we won’t be participating.
At an early age I became hooked on video games. Realized I was spending way too much time staring at a screen and missing out on the interactions of the people and events around me. This is one of the reasons I got into boardgaming. Today, I do not play video games, sparingly use my smart phone, watch very little TV(most of it is garbage anyway) and limit my web surfing time. My family is of the same mind on this and it’s no worry for us.
It’s great that this program encourages boardgaming. It really is a shame that there still is a stigma attached to boardgaming. Boardgames are fun, great for stimulating the mind and pound for pound you can’t beat the personal interactions. Hopefully this campaign is successful with lessoning screen time and gets more people into boardgaming too!
Excellent idea; I try and limit my screen time. I do enjoy my laptop for web surfing and shopping, but I try and keep it under 60-90 minutes per day. While I have a smart phone, I don’t “tend” it too often. On my days off work, I often leave my phone unattended for 6-8 hours at a time.
On the iPhone there is a Screen Time page. I just looked at mine and I averaged 4hrs per day for the last 7 days 🙁
I’ll still have to use it for business and family communication, but I’ll see how that average looks after the Screen-Free Week.
Great idea. I would love to give this a try. I have a feeling there will be mostly solo games for me during that time. But a lot of games around to choose from…. might even have to buy a new one just for solo fun.
This is an intriguing idea. My husband and I plan to participate, although with our two different work schedules recently, we haven’t been spending much time together at home. Which means this won’t lead to more two player game time. Maybe some solo games. For us that will mainly mean leaving the television off, although we’ll have to turn it on for the Kentucky Derby (May 5)
I am always screen-free. No smartphone for me.