From the joy of smearing glue on paper to the screaming delight of a bubble-blowing relay, kids love to play. In fact, it's every kid's built-in tool for experiencing the world at large. A parent-friendly encyclopedia, UNPLUGGED PLAY ("A wonderful guide," says Daniel Goleman) offers hundreds and hundreds of battery-free, screen-free, chirp-and-beep-free games and fun variations that stretch the imagination, spark creativity, building strong bodies, and forge deep friendships...and keep kids busy at the table while mom or dad makes dinner.
Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Conner, author (Everyday Opportunities for Extraordinary Parenting) and host of the popular public radio program The Parent's Journal, offers more than 700 ideas for play without plugs, batteries or beeps in this imaginative collection. Conner points out that electronic play has a number of drawbacks—contributing to the rise in childhood obesity and isolation, and limiting creativity—while unplugged play builds strong bodies, helps kids forge friendships and expands the mind. In an effort to get back to the basics of play, Conner began collecting and inventing hundreds of games, then tested them on groups of children ages one to 10. The author divides the book into three sections—for toddlers, preschoolers and the six-to-10 set—with subsections on solo play, parent and child, playing with others and birthday parties. She covers a wide range of activities, from noodle necklaces to toddler basketball with a laundry basket, including indoor and outdoor play for rain or shine, with clear instructions as well as discussions of safety issues. Child development experts such as Fred Rogers and Benjamin Spock have emphasized the significance of play; Conner has taken her sources at their word and produced a fun-filled compendium likely to become a dog-eared resource for parents seeking whimsical yet practical ways to unplug the electronics and promote the physical, cognitive and emotional benefits of plain, old-fashioned play. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Top quality brain food for parents. Bobbi Conner consistently offers the best public radio there is for child-aware people, and everyone can afford it." - Dr. Penelope Leach, developmental psychologist and author of YOUR BABY AND CHILD."
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Playfulness is the name of the game in childhood. Unfortunately, in their workaday world, many parents forget that all work and no play makes Little Johnny a bored, lethargic boy. Thanks to Bobbi Conner, Little Johnny just got 710 reasons to get up off the couch and join his hopscotching playmates outdoors.
Veteran radio show host on NPR, Bobbi Conner is concerned about today's kids and their lack of creative outlets. Instead of being busy with electronic entertainment such as video games and push-button toys, she suggests myriad avenues to get down to the business of play in fun, very simple ways. Unlike many guide books that read more like a Martha Stewart manual (and must be secretly backed by major craft store chains), Bobbi's approach is simple - take what you have at home and let `er rip.
The book is divided into three useful sections - toddler play; preschooler play; and grade school play. It was gratifying to see many of the games we've thought up on our own are in the book. Necessity is the mother of invention. This book is the mother of children's creativity.
Bobbi's tone is real-life and compassionate, not patronizing or oozing with `expertise'. She was once a time-strapped single mom raising her kids with nothing more than her ingenuity to keep them occupied. When we think back to our own childhoods or that of our children, the best times were those spent together around a Parchese board or telling stories to one another. But if you think you have to spend hours with your children to right the wrongs of those hundreds of TV hours your kid has logged, you're wrong. Bobbi recognizes the reality in today's world.... Read more ›
Veteran radio show host on NPR, Bobbi Conner is concerned about today's kids and their lack of creative outlets. Instead of being busy with electronic entertainment such as video games and push-button toys, she suggests myriad avenues to get down to the business of play in fun, very simple ways. Unlike many guide books that read more like a Martha Stewart manual (and must be secretly backed by major craft store chains), Bobbi's approach is simple - take what you have at home and let `er rip.
The book is divided into three useful sections - toddler play; preschooler play; and grade school play. It was gratifying to see many of the games we've thought up on our own are in the book. Necessity is the mother of invention. This book is the mother of children's creativity.
Bobbi's tone is real-life and compassionate, not patronizing or oozing with `expertise'. She was once a time-strapped single mom raising her kids with nothing more than her ingenuity to keep them occupied. When we think back to our own childhoods or that of our children, the best times were those spent together around a Parchese board or telling stories to one another. But if you think you have to spend hours with your children to right the wrongs of those hundreds of TV hours your kid has logged, you're wrong. Bobbi recognizes the reality in today's world.... Read more ›
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By TJ Holmes
Format:Paperback
As a pediatrician and parent, I can attest to the fact that children learn by doing, not by watching. In this wonderful book, Bobbi Conner makes it easy for parents to turn off the TV and have a ball with their children the old-fashioned way. Unplugged Play is overflowing with fun, creative ideas for how to have fun and engage young minds along the way. I hope parents buy this book in droves and put their "developmental" videos in the attic.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If only I had this book five years ago, when my son first started asking for a Game Boy! I might not have bought the device, but even if I had, I would have had a much better idea how to balance electronic, programmed "play" with free, physical, creative play. Bobbi Conner, the host of NPR's The Parent's Journal, has gathered more than 700 different games and activites together and organized them in a practical way: by age, indoor vs outdoor, by how long they take, etc. Some are active running around games, while others are quiet indoor exercises like "Doggy Diaries," in which kids imagine the secret lives of the neighborhood dogs. There are games your parents played that you forgot the rules to, and fresh ideas. The sidebars are crammed with additional information, including scientific studies showing how unstructured play helps children think more creatively and stay more active. A gem.
33 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After reading many great reviews I purchased this book thinking it would be a useful resource for games and activities for my children. I was greatly disappointed. Almost every activity is the same, just a different variation. Most require yet another trip to a store to buy some plastic "toys" If a parent already had what the author has listed as a "well-stocked" toy room they should have no problem thinking up the games listed in this book. For any parent or caregiver with even the slightest bit of imagination this book is unnecessary. In place of this I would recommend Playful Learning from Le Leche League or any book from Bev Bos. They require more imagination and less trips to a store.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There are some parents who always have crayons, bubbles, and homemade play-doh on hand. Their children are adept at drawing, cutting, and pasting, can reliably kick a ball, and are the first to join in the games at birthday parties. To these lucky kids a homemade birthday cake in the shape of a tyrannasaurus rex is no big deal. Their parents do not need to read Unplugged Play.
For the creatively challenged among us, however, this is a great resource for making your time together count. It's filled with hundreds of articles with activities for ages 1-10, each with a sidebar giving the number of children needed, indoor/outdoor location, and materials needed. I especially like the fact that it is organized into three age ranges, printed so the sections are visible on the fore edge so a harried parent can flip the book open and start looking for ideas. There is an introductory chapter describing the benefits of non-media play, and appendices with suggestions for family game night and materials to keep on hand.
Some of the activities require materials you may not have, and many will not fit the personality or specific interests of your children, but the book provides a wide variety of options to satisfy most needs. It may be especially handy when caring for children you do not know well or who are a different age than you are used to. Because of its exhaustive content, it's probably best treated as a source of inspiration rather than a to-do list, and after using it for a few weeks as creative "training wheels," parents and children may find that they no longer need it.
For the creatively challenged among us, however, this is a great resource for making your time together count. It's filled with hundreds of articles with activities for ages 1-10, each with a sidebar giving the number of children needed, indoor/outdoor location, and materials needed. I especially like the fact that it is organized into three age ranges, printed so the sections are visible on the fore edge so a harried parent can flip the book open and start looking for ideas. There is an introductory chapter describing the benefits of non-media play, and appendices with suggestions for family game night and materials to keep on hand.
Some of the activities require materials you may not have, and many will not fit the personality or specific interests of your children, but the book provides a wide variety of options to satisfy most needs. It may be especially handy when caring for children you do not know well or who are a different age than you are used to. Because of its exhaustive content, it's probably best treated as a source of inspiration rather than a to-do list, and after using it for a few weeks as creative "training wheels," parents and children may find that they no longer need it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Play time for families
Please, do a favor for your grandchildren a give this to their parents. Broken into age related grouping it provides suggestions with every day household or back yard supplies.
Published 4 months ago by Prupip
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!
This book has more ideas for more ages than any book that I have seen. Playing "Unplugged" is so much better for children. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Susan Hull
2.0 out of 5 stars
duh
what was i thinking? kids know how to play! Its the one thing they do without asking. why did i think i needed to find more things for them to do?
Published 5 months ago by Joseph R. Impello
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome!,
Love the unplugged book. Winters are long here (in the single and negatives a lot) and finding things to keep my 1 yr old busy we're getting difficult since we are on a budget. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Kate
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wow
Many, Many activities for a wide range of children. Can recommend
to any buyer looking for ways to interest children who are entirely
too wrapped up in electronics.
to any buyer looking for ways to interest children who are entirely
too wrapped up in electronics.
Published 6 months ago by Linda A. Hammersmith
5.0 out of 5 stars
No More Bordem
This book is divided into section based on age to insure an age appropriate activity, song or game. This is my go to for ideas for the " mom, I'm bored". Read more
Published 7 months ago by laura
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yeah!
Our TV recienly broke, and we are moving so decided to wait to purchase another. My kids entertainment thus far was to torment the dog... Read more
Published 9 months ago by T. Weis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great ideas all in one place
This is a wonderful book! Some of the ideas from the book are ones someone could probably think of on their own or have heard of from elsewhere, but I think that it is helpful to... Read more
Published on May 19, 2011 by AlCaSa
4.0 out of 5 stars
gift for friend
Item was a gift for a friend to keep her two grandsons busy this summer. She said that she got a lot of ideas from the book.
Published on March 26, 2010 by POLISH
5.0 out of 5 stars
So much fun!
I bought this book for games to play with all my nieces and nephews. I love the way the book is divided up into both age categories and types of play. Read more
Published on March 1, 2010 by K. Wingo
