AI Adventures: Making Mad Libs with AI - Fun Tech Time for Kids!
Hey parents! Looking for a way to get your kids playing with AI in a way that's actually fun AND educational? We've got you covered.
Tech That Makes Kids Giggle
Let's be real - AI is everywhere these days, and our kids are growing up in a world full of it. So why not turn AI into something they can play with and learn from? My 8-year-old Emma and I stumbled onto this last weekend, and I've gotta tell you - making Mad Libs with AI was a HUGE hit at our house!
Remember Mad Libs? Those goofy fill-in-the-blank stories where you end up with ridiculous sentences about "smelly elephants dancing vigorously in the bathtub"? Kids still go crazy for them, and now they can actually CREATE their own with a little AI magic!
How My Kids Made Their Own Mad Libs (And Yours Can Too!)
It's super easy:
Pick something they're obsessed with: My son chose Paw Patrol (of course), while my daughter wanted unicorns running a donut shop (don't ask). The beauty is AI can handle pretty much ANY wild idea kids throw at it.
Let them talk to an AI: With me sitting right there, my kids took turns asking our AI of choice (Anthropic’s Claude): "Can you make a Mad Libs about ninja pizza delivery?" The look on their faces when it actually created one was priceless!
They're the boss: My daughter got really into telling the AI exactly what she wanted - "Make sure there are lots of silly food words!" Kids LOVE being in charge.
Game time: Once we had our Mad Libs template, we printed it out for our Friday game night. Grandma nearly spit out her drink when we got to the part about "The _____ unicorn frosted donuts with smelly _____."
They're Learning (But Don't Tell Them That!)
While they're cracking up at their wacky stories, here's what's actually happening:
They're figuring out nouns, verbs and adjectives WITHOUT the usual groaning
They're thinking about what makes something funny (hello, critical thinking!)
They're learning AI isn't magic - it's a tool they can direct and control
And honestly? They're seeing technology as something they can CREATE with, not just consume
Try It This Weekend!
You don't need to be tech-savvy AT ALL. Just use whatever family-friendly AI assistant you have access to and say something like: "Create a short Mad Libs story about dinosaurs going to school with 10 blanks for different words."
Pro tip from a dad who learned the hard way: maybe glance at what the AI creates before showing the kids. Our first attempt included a "disaster at the bathroom" scenario that got WAY too silly for comfort! 😂
From Screen Zombies to Creative Geniuses
What I love most about this activity is seeing my kids' relationship with technology change. Instead of just staring at screens, they're directing, creating, and problem-solving. When my daughter told the AI its first attempt wasn't silly enough and needed "more butt jokes" (sigh), I realized she was actually learning how to communicate her needs and expectations - not bad for a 5-year-old!
This is just the beginning for us. Next up, we're trying to create a choose-your-own-adventure story together. My daughter already has plans for a "magical hamster detective agency" plot line...
Stay tuned next week when we show you how our choose-your-own-adventure experiment turned out - dramatic hamster voices included!
AI Adventures is our weekly column where we share tech adventures for families just like yours. Have your kids done something amazing (or amazingly hilarious) with AI? Tell us about it at wonderandimagination.newsletter@gmail.com - we might feature your family !