Sick of the amount of time your kids are spending on video games? When
boredom strikes, give your digitally-charmed youngsters a project that
enhances their technical skills while also fostering their creativity.
Write a digital storybook.
Introduce your young storyteller to storybird.com, which features
illustrations that kids can use for story inspiration. They can write and
design picture books or long form stories or write poetry.
Subscription-based monthly writing challenges can help boost a child’s
literacy skills. Young authors can choose to keep their work private,
publish it to Storybird’s public library, share it on social media, email
it to friends and family or print off the books for special keepsakes or
gifts. Other sites include InkSpire.org, which encourages youth between the
ages of 14 and 29 to share their stories, thoughts and ideas with others,
and BookCreator.com.
Draw comic strips.
The StripDesigner app enables kids to take pictures of their artwork or
upload photos to create their own comic strips using the site’s comic book
template. They can play with fonts and filters and write dialogue in speech
balloons. Also, check out the family-friendly website MakeBeliefsComix.com,
created by Bill Zimmerman. The free site provides writing prompts for kids,
comic strip templates and suggestions for family activities. Younger
children might like Superhero Comic Book Maker and Princess Fairy Tale
Maker, available at duckduckmoose.com, which are designed for kids who
aren’t writing yet. When they’re finished creating their story, they can
record it and play it back.
Create a digital photo book.
Ask your kids for help in putting together a photo memory book of a family
getaway or holiday get-together. Have them include captions of the places
you visited, the things they learned and short anecdotes. Walmart, Picaboo
and Shutterfly are a few sites that offer templates for photo books.
Play with music.
From Garage Band on Mac for older kids to CreatingMusic.com for younger
ones, turn kids on to playing around with pitch, tone and rhythm. Also,
check out Incredibox and Fun2Think.
Start a family newspaper.
My 13-year-old son likes to write up short “ripped from the headlines” news
briefs, family news and car advertisements. He also draws cartoons for a
“funnies” section. My son prefers to use GoogleDocs so that he can easily
email or print his paper, but Word or Pages (Mac) also offer templates for
newsletters.
Build a family webpage.
Many kids love to play with coding, design, photography and writing. Help
your child design a free family website using platforms like uKit,
Wordpress, Weebly, Wix or Squarespace. Some of these sites are more
user-friendly than others. Check around to see what would work best for
your youngster.
Direct a movie.
Kids love to play with video. Show them applications like iMovie (Mac),
which gives them an opportunity to choose templates, edit, add audio and
share their short films. Slo-mo and Time Lapse are also fun video features
on many smartphones. On Time Lapse, my kids like to record themselves
cleaning up their room. They get a kick out of going back and watching the
process in fast-forward. (That’s a win for parents, too!)
Record an interview.
Interview a grandparent, parent, sibling or other relative using the audio
record function on your phone, computer or iPad. Not sure what to ask?
Check out StoryCorps.org, which offers an app with suggested interview
questions.
Create a digital slide show.
On your next family field trip or vacation, provide your child with an
inexpensive digital camera if they don’t have access to a smartphone.
Afterwards they can upload their photos to your computer and create a
digital slideshow with music, transitions and creative fonts. Check out
smilebox.com, iPhoto, or Movavi.
Start a blog.
Help your budding artist, writer or photographer start a private family
blog where they can share their work with family and friends. If your child
likes to cook, suggest she take photos during each step of the cooking
process and post her recipes onto the blog. For a group of friends who love
to read, watch movies or play video games, suggest setting up a group blog
that they can use to take turns posting book, movie or video game reviews.
Snap a photo a day.
Using apps like “Photo 365” or “Everyday app,” have your children take a
photo a day. Choose a specific subject like a tree, a seed that they plant,
their puppy, kitten, a sibling or selfies. Then watch the subject in a
quick time lapse. How does the subject matter change over the course of
time?
Get curious.
Check out a list of sites for kids featuring links to art, science, music,
games, sports and more at KidSites.com.
As always, ensure that your kids are taking appropriate personal safety
precautions to protect their identity and location while online. Unsure
about an app or online platform? Check out CommonSenseMedia.org.
