Hi Reader,

Last weekend, I sent you an idea that sounded a little backwards:

Use AI to get kids off the couch.

Give AI a few details.

Let it suggest an adventure.

Then close the screen and go do it.

The more I thought about that idea, though, the more I realized there was a bigger question hiding underneath it.

What happened next?

That might be one of the most useful questions we can ask about kids and artificial intelligence.

AI made a picture.

Okay.

What happened next?

Did the child build it?

Draw something from it?

Change it?

Tell a story about it?

AI created a ridiculous song.

Great.

What happened next?

Did everybody grab wooden spoons, buckets, toy instruments, head outside and form the world's least-requested neighborhood band?

Now we're getting somewhere.

Because I don't think the goal should be keeping kids completely away from technology.

That would be a strange position for the guy who created something called GetMeCoding. 😄

But I also don't want the technology to become the entire experience.

That idea became this week's episode of Mr. Fred's Tech Talks:

S2 E24: AI Is the Launchpad. Your Kid Is the Rocket.

[LISTEN TO THE NEW EPISODE]

​https://www.getmecoding.com/ai-activities-for-kids-creative-play/​

In the episode, I share three simple examples:

AI makes the demo. Your child becomes the band.

AI creates the reference. Your child becomes the maker.

AI creates the list. Your family lives the adventure.

And here's the part I really want parents, grandparents, and teachers to take away:

AI doesn't always need to create the finished product. Sometimes it just needs to create the spark.

When I was growing up, I could spend time playing with early computers and electronic kits, then turn around and dig roads in the dirt for my trucks, build forts with friends, or try to make a science-fiction movie with my dad's Super 8 camera.

That movie has now been in post-production for about 45 years (stay tuned!!!!)

These things take time.

But that combination mattered.

Technology gave me things to explore. The real world gave me someplace to take those ideas. I think our kids still need both.

So here's a simple challenge for this weekend.

Ask your favorite AI tool:

"Create five funny family missions we can complete outside in 30 minutes. Use inexpensive items we probably already have. Each mission should require movement, imagination, or building something. Do not make the activity depend on using a screen."

Let your kid pick one.

Then...

close the device.

Go do it.

And if they change the rules, ignore half the AI instructions, invent a better game, or take the whole thing somewhere you never expected?

Perfect.

That probably means it worked.

👉 [Listen to S2 E24: AI Is the Launchpad. Your Kid Is the Rocket.]

​https://www.getmecoding.com/ai-activities-for-kids-creative-play/​

If you know a parent, grandparent, or teacher who has heard the words "I'm bored" sometime in the last seven days, send this one their way.

Statistically speaking, that should cover almost everyone. 😄

Keep learning.
Keep building.
Keep tinkering.

And every now and then, close the screen and go make a glorious mess.

Keep learning and keep tinkering, Mr. Fred

​

P.S. I'd actually love to hear what happens with this one. Hit reply and tell me the strangest, funniest, or most unexpected activity your kid turned an AI idea into. Bonus points if cardboard and excessive amounts of tape were involved.