Screen-Free Winter Break Missions: 8 printable AI activities for kids and grown-ups

Winter break is long. These eight printable mission cards turn it into time together, with no screens and no apps. Each mission takes 10–20 minutes and teaches one big idea about how AI works, the way Flappy AI Academy does. Made for ages 5–12 and the grown-ups who play along.

How it works

• Print the cards (8 missions, US Letter): download the Winter Break Missions PDF. Paper, crayons and things from around the house are all you need.
• A grown-up plays the robot. Kids are the teachers; grown-ups follow the rules and make silly mistakes.
• Talk about it. Every card ends with one big idea. Use the talk-about questions below.

The 8 missions

1. Teach a Family Robot

Draw or cut out 10 pictures: 5 snacks and 5 not-snacks. A grown-up plays the robot. Show each card and say “snack” or “not snack”, then hold up a new card. Did the robot guess right? Big idea: AI learns from examples.

2. The Tricky Card

Find something confusing, like a toy cookie or a fluffy white cat that looks like a snowball. Does the robot get it wrong? Show more examples and test again. Big idea: more examples make better guesses.

3. Pattern Detective

Make a row of shapes, stickers or snacks with a hidden pattern (circle, circle, square…). Take turns: one person builds, the other guesses what comes next. Big idea: AI spots patterns.

4. Check the Robot’s Work

The grown-up robot answers five easy questions and gets one wrong on purpose. Can the kid catch the mistake and explain the right answer? Big idea: AI can be wrong, so people check its work.

5. Helper, Not Boss

The robot suggests three plans for the afternoon. The kid picks one, or says no to all of them and invents a better plan. Big idea: AI is a helper. You make the choices.

6. Flappy’s Safety Rule Game

The grown-up reads out ten things. Kids give a thumbs-up for “OK to tell a robot” (a favorite color) or a thumbs-down for “keep it to yourself” (your full name, where you live, your secrets). Big idea: never tell an AI your private stuff.

7. Snowball Sorting Race

Crumple paper “snowballs” and label two buckets. Sort household things into groups, then invent a new rule and sort them again. Big idea: computers sort things into groups by rules.

8. Explain It at Home

The kid teaches today’s big idea to someone who wasn’t there: a grandparent, a sibling or a stuffed penguin. Big idea: if you can explain it, you know it.

Talk-about questions

• What did the robot get wrong, and how did you fix it?
• Where do you think you see AI at home or at school?
• What should we never tell a robot?

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