Wednesday, July 27, 2011

101 Offline Activities Book Review

101 Offline Activities You Can Do With Your Child


Here’s a brief time out that EVERYONE in your family will enjoy: disconnect from the Net, put away your digital toys, and get ready for some good old-fashioned fun.  Even 20 minutes a day can be rejuvenating for you and a great way to connect with your children. In 101 Offline Activities You Can Do With Your Child, you’ll find activities that tap the most advanced computer of all time—the one between the ears.  Best of all, you can do most of the activities with little or no preparation!


Steve and Ruth Bennett are the authors of the million copy-selling activity books, 365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child and 365 Outdoor Activities You Can Do With Your Child, as well as numerous other activity books. The Bennetts have written widely on families and quality time. Steve is the founder of AuthorBytes, a company that creates Websites and digital collateral for authors; Ruth is a landscape architect who specializes in public parks, university quadrangles, and children’s play spaces.They have two young-adult children and live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.


Review
This book could not have come at a better time since I am home with my children all the time right now. (I lost my job in February) My husband and I also end up entertaining 2-5 other neighborhood children each day who come to play with Big J. Two of which are known for being bored all the time. 


The great thing about these activities is that some only require your time, or the time of bored children of course. The ones that do require items typically need items that you would find around your house such as paper plates, pens and a muffin tin. The activities are designed to do at home, on the go or even while waiting in line while running errands. 


Each activity has:

  • Easy to follow instructions
  • List of required Items
  • Category 
    • In the kitchen
    • At home
    • Anytime, Anyplace
    • Out and About
    • On the Road

Two of our favorites are:
      *Gimme Shelter - Big J and friends are currently into building tents and forts so this is a great one for them. Using couch cushions, pillows, blankets, chairs and props children create their own cabin and even a pretend campfire out of blocks and paper. 
      * Fresh off the Press - Using a store circular I can keep Big J occupied "matching" the items in the flyer to ones in the store while getting my shopping done. 

One we are looking forward to trying soon:
      * Travel board games which uses the Make Before you go Card Board Game - Using simple household items (cardboard, glue, scissors) create a portable board game which can be used to play highway bingo, concentration and lotto. 

This is a great book for anyone who has to entertain children, especially if you always hear "We are bored."

To purchase
Book can be purchased from Amazon or Barnes and Noble for $19.95 (at time of post)
Autographed copies are also available for $25.00 through the offline activities website. (Click on Buy the Book) 


“This post was written for Family Review Network and offlineactivities.com who provided the complimentary product for review in exchange for my honest opinion. All opinions are mine."

1 comment:

  1. This looks like a great read!

    Mandie
    http://time4mommy.com

    ReplyDelete