Customer Reviews

101 Offline Activities You Can Do With Your Child

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As parents of an active six-year-old child, my husband and I decided early on that we would focus on engaging her in interesting outdoor and indoor activities without relying too much on gadgets (though we do use computers and the iPad sparingly, especially as teaching tools). I received this book in exchange for an honest review and I have to say that I loved many of the activities listed in here. The format itself is simple - all the activities are given eye-catching, interesting titles and listed in alphabetical order. Certain activities require adult supervision and are categorized as such while others involving small parts are also categorized as such for parents' reference.

The 101 activities listed in this handy little book can be carried out at home, in the kitchen, on the road, or just about anywhere. Each activity lists the items required and a detailed description as to how to carry it out. I have tried out many of the activities in this book and my child loves them all. She tried Coffee Filter Painting, which is a simple yet fun activity that kept her engaged (especially after I let her use edging scissors to create fun shapes out of her paintings); the Make-Before-You-Go-Swiss Army Notebook was an immense hit during our recent weekend trip on the road and as a budding fossil hunter, she loved being able to keep some of her treasures and notes (yes, she writes her observations down!) in one cute binder; soundalikes (beginning with teaching her what homonyms are and then having fun trying to outdo each other in coming up with lists of homonyms); and many more.

Gadgets may be here to stay, but I also feel it is important for some sort of balance in a child's life so as not to develop an over-dependence on these gadgets. Plus, the activities listed in this book can help foster bonds between siblings, parents and child/ren, and between children. A win-win for everyone!

"If you're awake, you're plugged in, literally or via wireless waves."

The problem with our modern society is that we are all glued to the Internet in some way. We have trouble stepping away from the computer screen, cell phone or iPad. The list goes on and on. "101 Offline Activities" is really needed because it allows us to have some good old-fashioned fun. Kids will enjoy making their own newspaper, painting, building a cabin with couch cushions and pillows or going on an indoor treasure hunt. What I really liked was the idea about making mileage bags. You make up bags of fun things or snacks and give them to your children as you travel to any destination. I wish my parents had found a book like this when I was a kid traveling through America. The only activity I wouldn't suggest you do is the Witches' Brew only because why teach children to waste food ingredients? The idea is to combine as many kitchen ingredients as possible. So besides that I think this book has tons of good ideas. Plus, it won't take a lot of money to buy supplies. Most of the items needed can be found in your home right now. To fun!

~The Rebecca Review

What a great book for fun activities to do with your kids!! I definitely want my little monkey to know how to be "unplugged" and have fun doing it! This book has several great ideas that are at no cost to you, all you need is your time and some imagination! Most of the entries are very unique and creative. Others are things/activities that I think most kids and adults grew up doing(ie: Bistro Spy, Gimme Shelter, etc)! I personally really enjoy books like this because in the moment you can't think of things to do and this can be your go to guide!! I would recommend this book to others.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book for review purposes only through the Family Review Network. I was not compensated to write a positive or favorable review. This is Keeping Up With The Rheinlander's personal opinion. This giveaway is sponsored by Keeping Up With The Rheinlander's!

A must have for every grade school kid home on winter break! Filled with fun activities!! Grab it while it's free, but this book is well worth buying!!

This book is just in time for summer when there is free time to explore, learn, have fun imagining and creating, and just being outdoors. So turn off the TV, video games, etc. and use this book for great parent /child interactive play.

The 101 activities range from inside activities, outside activities, on the road fun, creating games, using your imagination, acting out parts, word games and more.

Here is one easy activity: Take a muffin tin. You can use pennies , beans or dry macaroni to toss into the muffin tin spaces. Keep score as to how many land in the tin. Each child has a turn. you can do this several times. You could change it a little by putting a slip of paper with a number in each "cup" and then counting up the score after tossing the pennies or beans.

An art activity for all ages uses coffee filters and water color paints. Have the children use brushes and water color paints to paint designs on coffee filters. Allow the filters to dry and cut into shapes. You can hang them on a window to see a rainbow of colors or paste them on paper in a pleasing design.

Play career charades: Write the names of occupations on slips of paper. Put the papers in a bag or bowl and each child selects one of the papers, reads silently the occupation and acts out the way this person would perform on their job. You can ask questions of the "actor" such as: Do you work outside? Do you wear a uniform? etc. Put a time limit on the guessing. At the end of the time limit or the correct guess, switch roles.

These are only three of the 101 activities in this little book. I am sure you and your family will enjoy hours of joy choosing and involving the entire family in the fun, easy, environmentally friendly activities.

With summer vacation in full swing, it is a constant battle to keep my kids away from TV and video games. I don't think there is anything wrong with SOME screen time, but unplugging your kids gets them moving and inspires creativity.

101 Offline Activities is laid out in a very easy to understand format. The table of contents is alphabetical and is a collection of eye catching drawings. I really like the fact that most of these activities require very few supplies, most of which are readily available in your house. Things like art supplies, dried pasta, muffin tins, paper cups, etc. Each activity is also given a 'category' like on the road, in the kitchen, etc. and the activites are listed by category in the back of the book. This makes it easy to find activities that fit your needs...if you are driving to grandma's in the car, you can't do kitchen activities, for example.

The authors do a good job of explaining each activity and the explanations are short...one page for each activity. Those that require adult supervision are clearly noted. I was very pleased with the range of activities listed and the format of this book. Some of our favorites were the Tabletop Basketball and Vegetable Art. I think this is a great resource to get your kids unplugged and show them that they CAN have fun without their favorite electronic gadget!

Disclaimer: I received one copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone.