To sidestep your question…these are the best ideas I have seen to get kids OFFline and more engaged:
Walking scavenger hunt. Make up a list of things for kids to spot, (longer and more challenging for older kids) and walk in the neighborhood (at appropriate distances of course). Items can be things like a black garage door, sold sign, car for sale, open garage door, portable basketball hoop, bicycle in a yard, iron railing, porch with two flower pots, a goose, trampoline, pool, a multicolored bird house, etc. Kids point out what they see…the adult checks it off in the list.
Journal. For little kids an adult can video their daily thoughts. For older kids, writing what they have done each day, how their plans are being impacted, etc. This will be very interesting to them when they are older.
School related contests…history questions, spelling bee, etc. Get an answer right, get a small prize (like a couple m&Ms). Get one wrong and have to do an exercise…five push ups, jumping jacks, a lap jogged around the outside of the house, etc)
Cooking. Have them find and make a recipe from a cook book, limited to groceries on hand in the house. Supervise/help as needed.
Board games or inventing a board game.
Neglected chores…organize a linen closet. Collect all odd socks in the entire house, pair what you can and toss the rest. Wipe base boards and vacuum HVAC vents.
Teach them to knit, sew doll clothes, do embroidery or other creative skills Mom and Dad like to do and have scraps/supplies on hand for learning.
Toy wash…washable toys get washed and dried in the bathtub.
Nursing home cards. Make cards and pictures to mail to the local nursing home since visitors are banned for now.
Plan and perform a talent show. Record and send electronically to relatives and friends, especially grandparents.
Kooky fashion show…make up outrageous outfits and do a fashion show for the adults.
Teach life skills. A fourth grader or older can learn to iron…pay them a little if they do a good job to iron household items like linens.
Hire them for home organization tasks…clean out the coat closet, polish the family silver, wipe the lightswitches, faucets, remotes, phones, doorknobs, cabinet pulls and other often touched surfaces with sanitizing wipes or using spray with a rag.
Teach them to fold clothes, do dishes, clean a bathroom…
Tie online use to hands on activity such as looking up a recipe, following along an online video to make an origami animal, look up and follow a video to learn how to draw a favorite character or animal.
Virtual vacation…have the kids look up their dream vacation and pretend they were there and present to the family about where they went and what they did and how much things cost.
I think getting the kids off of being sedentary with electronics should be the goal. They will default to that in between plenty.
