Your child has mastered every video game in the house, watched every movie, and clicked through every cable channel several dozen times. He’s managed to tease his sister and torment his brother, then turns to you and says, “I’m bored.” Instead of channeling your father — by telling him you’ll give him something to do! — give him an entertaining book that will make him forget the “B” word.
“Unbored: The Essential Field Guide to Serious Fun,” by Joshua Glenn and Elizabeth Foy Larsen, might single-handedly save your whole family from complete craziness.
If it’s a holiday, a weekend, or just some sort of break from school and your child doesn’t know what to do with his time, that’s where this book comes in — it’s filled with pages of excellent ideas.
There are a lot of games in this book, including ones that don’t require a board or dice. He can learn, for instance, some farting games, or different kinds of games that use jacks. “Unbored” will help him learn how to get freaky-fit with friends and learn “parkour” (military obstacle course training), which can be done in the backyard — even in the snow!
The book will teach him how to rock out — from what he’ll need to build a band, to a quiz to help figure out which instrument is best for him and a few good movies about music he can watch.
It’ll teach your child how to turn the bathroom into a spa, redecorate his bedroom, or organize it. He can find some new crafts, learn how to cook, read a food label, and conserve water.
With all kinds of activities for both indoors and out, “Unbored” keeps children busy with information, ideas, get-outside movement, and downtime that doesn’t involve anything electronic. There are pages for quieter readers and an equal amount for kids with a streak of renegade in their blood and restlessness in their feet.
The nicest part about this book is that it’s great for sharing — and you’ll want your kids to do just that. Add these great activities to downtime, and 9- to 15 year olds will find “Unbored” to be crazy fun.
“Unbored: The Essential Field Guide to Serious Fun” by Joshua Glenn and Elizabeth Foy Larsen [352 pages, 2012, $25].
Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was 3 years old, and she never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill with two dogs and 12,000 books.
