Price: $22.99 - $19.86
(as of Mar 18, 2025 09:12:20 UTC – Details)
Get ready for kid-approved ideas that celebrate the great outdoors year round! Whether you’re building forts or making fresh cider, there’s something for every kid and every season.
What might unfold if we put away our devices for an hour, a day, or even longer? What adventures await, when we press pause on technology? The Unplugged Family Activity Book invites you and your loved ones to connect, create, and celebrate all year long.
With more than 50 projects, crafts, and recipes, plus ideas for seasonal celebrations to share with family and friends, there’s fun to be had, all through the year.
Host a springtime tea party, where you’ll nibble shortbread cookies and make a mossy teacup fairy garden. Or gather with friends for a summer potluck party. Blow giant bubbles, race leaf-and-bark boats, or camp out in your own backyard. In the fall, enjoy a harvest party with your friends! Create a fall leaf rainbow, sip mulled cider, and bake bread over a campfire. When winter comes, celebrate the longest night of the year with twinkling ice lanterns. Try your hand at candle dipping and pen your wishes for the coming year.
You’ll find instruction and recipes for:
Candied violets Herbal first aid balm Rose petal tea Infused honey Homemade ice cream Summer flower bunting Homemade dragonfly wings Felted acorn necklaces Autumn gratitude tree Decorative lanterns Baked apples Winter stargazing Maple lollipops Dried citrus garland Plus dozens more crafts, projects, and recipes!
In The Unplugged Family Activity Book, you’ll fall in love with every season—wherever you call home. So grab your family and friends, and get ready for an adventure that will last all through the year!
From the Publisher
The Unplugged Family Activity Book
There’s a Whole World Out There
Whether you’re discovering new recipes, turning in schoolwork, playing video games, or learning a foreign language, the digital world is a part of modern life. Our cell phones, tablets, and computers are marvels at keeping the information (and, often, fun) flowing in our lives.
At the same time, the natural world is an integral part of our everyday life. It’s just one that we, sometimes, forget to notice. Nature is there, humming along in the background as we go about our days—waiting, perhaps, for us to tune in and take note. From the busiest of cities to the tranquil, quiet countryside, nature is there. It serves as the unwavering backdrop to our daily lives.
Although we often consider nature as something existing separate from us, humans are a part of nature. Nature is where we come from, and it was our first home. By reconnecting ourselves with the Earth, sky, and seasons, we can remember our place in the natural world.
Stress Less
When we make time to connect with nature, both children and adults feel a greater sense of peace and a reduction in stress. Out in nature, we can hear our own quiet thoughts, get in touch with our creativity, and connect more deeply with family and friends. To rediscover nature, however, we need to put away other distractions and reacquaint ourselves with the physical world.
Even the simple act of expressing our creativity can be healing. Like nature, the creative process—activities like drawing, painting, or crafting—are known to reduce stress and anxiety. That’s something that can benefit us at any age.
OFFLINE MAGIC
Unplugging (putting away our digital distractions) helps us reconnect with nature and be present in our physical realm. Without the distraction of screens, we can dive deep into the joy we experience when our heads, hearts, and hands are engaged with the world around us. Spending time without technology can also help us connect with our family and friends and feed our imaginations and curiosity as we savor the simple pleasures of screen-free play.
“But wait,” you say. “Can’t we do all of these things online as well?” Of course we can! Technology is a wonderful tool for connecting with loved ones near and far and for fueling our curiosity, imagination, and knowledge. But there is a balance to be found in this modern world by inviting in a bit of the slowness that exists in life beyond the screen. Not by doing away with technology, but by cultivating balance in our day-to-day lives.
SPRING: Branches in Bloom
Sometimes, we’re ready for spring before winter has properly moved on. But by snipping a few branches from a dormant flowering tree or shrub, we can encourage the season’s blooms to emerge in our homes a few weeks early. Known as “forcing” blooms, this simple process allows us to welcome a bit of springtime magic into our homes even before the chilly winter world has melted away.
SUMMER: Dragonfly Wings
I’ve been a bit obsessed with both damselflies and dragonflies since childhood, even raising some from nymphs in an aquarium as a teenager. They are a sure sign of summer, with their glimmering wings slowly fluttering as they perch beside rivers or wetlands. Despite their beauty, dragonflies are fierce, daring, and courageous. Celebrate summer by channeling your inner dragonfly when you tie on a pair of homemade wings.
AUTUMN: Gratitude Tree
Gratitude and harvest festivals are enjoyed around the world, from Vietnam to India, Germany to Ghana. Every autumn, my own family gathers to celebrate all we are grateful for. At the center of our celebration table is a simple tree branch bearing an assortment of paper leaves, each one noting something that one of us appreciates. It has become a favorite family tradition—one that reminds us of all we have to be grateful for.
WINTER: Folded Window Stars
Winter often means more time spent indoors. And, in many regions, it can mean a dreary view out the front window. Lacking the vibrant greens of summer, gray winter can get us down. So, why not brighten up that winter view with colorful, folded window stars? When made of translucent paper, they all but glow in the afternoon light. It’s my favorite way to bring a little cheer to any gray view. Window stars are traditionally made with a translucent paper sold as “kite paper” (see the Resources section, page 137, for where to buy). They’re also lovely when folded with any other thin, colorful paper you have on hand. Even recycled office paper will work!
Publisher : Fair Winds Press; Illustrated edition (June 23, 2020)
Language : English
Paperback : 144 pages
ISBN-10 : 1592339433
ISBN-13 : 978-1592339433
Reading age : 8 – 12 years
Grade level : 3 – 7
Item Weight : 1.3 pounds
Dimensions : 8.6 x 0.5 x 11 inches
Customers say
Customers find this book offers creative, accessible projects and recipes for families of all ages. They find the ideas simple and creative, making it perfect for family time together. The instructions are easy for kids to follow and well-written. The layout is organized and the writing style is thoughtful. Overall, customers describe it as a great resource that promotes family and community relationships and connection with nature.
Angela R. –
A beautiful book designed to get you off the screen, and into the woods!
My family already spends a lot of time outdoors playing and crafting and gardening, but this book brings those activities into another realm of engagement for us. There are so many wonderful ideas to follow you through the year, no matter where you are in the world, you can jump in at any season and find yourself immersed in fun and adventure. I especially find a book like this one really important right now because because as a busy parent, I can run out of ideas to keep my child engaged. This is probably the BEST reason to invest in this book. I don’t have to do it all! The instructions are simple and easy for kids to even engage in on their own if they want to!The instructions for each activity are very easy to follow and well written, the time allotment for each project is given along with the instructions, which helps when you know you need about an hour or 45 min or 2 hour activity to engage your kids. Any supplies needed are things most of us have on hand in any home and are given in a list like in a recipe book. While all of these things are super helpful for any busy parent or babysitter, the photos are simply delicious and inspire you to go out right now into the woods and play!My child spent hours looking at this book when it first arrived and already has gotten lost in many of the projects.Excellent purchase for any parent with kids wanting to spend more time outside and creating fun stuff or even for older kids who are babysitting and need ideas to keep younger kids engaged.Highly Recommended!
Shannon –
So Many Fun Ideas
This book is awesome! Its great quality and thick pages. The book is bigger than it looks from the pictures, its really cool all the ideas inside. Perfect for families to enjoy time together and off their phones
Mama Bee –
Fantastic Resource for Family & Nature Connection
This book is chock full of really lovely, “doable” projects and activities that promote family and community relationships and connection with nature. I’ve used many of the ideas in it with my kids, and have given this book as a gift to others. I love the seasonal layout, it helps us stay connected to the changes that are happening in the natural world around us. Recently we made dipped beeswax candles using Rachel’s tutorial, and I made some tiny ones to be used as birthday cake candles for my children!
joycesmysteryandfictionbookreviews –
Have some unplugged fun
This book encourages families to unplug and try other kinds of activities, everything from playing board games to nature walks to crafts to cooking and more. The case is very well made. Early in the book, it is suggested that kids and their families try to unplug from devices for even as little as 30 minutes. They know that this can be a challenge.The book is divided into sections based on the seasons. For instance in spring, there is a suggested scavenger hunt. Summer suggestions include a bark and leaf boat regatta, while for fall, you could make bonfire bread or baked apples. One of the winter suggestions is building a snow fort.This book has many photos throughout. They add to the text and are quite appealing. In all, this is a good book to get folks away from devices and into the real world.Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.
maggieb –
Great Ideas!!
I heard about this book from a friend. I was looking for a book that had activities to do outside no matter where you live. I live in a city and it is hard sometimes to do the activities in other books, but I found that many of the activities listed you can do in the city.
ellsiejay –
Perfect timing for this book!
This is a beautiful, thoughtful book that came out just in time to give families fresh – and refreshed! – activities to share with our children while we ride through these unprecedented times. This book is appropriate for a wide variety of families – city mice and country mice alike!
Shianne Allen –
Not for me
Wasn’t for me. It’s beautiful and well laid out but I guess I was expecting easier activities. I consider myself “crunchy” and love all things natural but even this was too far fetched for me.
Salena K –
Creative, Accessible Projects/Recipes for All Ages
My 4- and 7-year-old daughters love this book! We were already big fans of Herbal Adventures, but we love how accessible this book is. It’s filled with thoughtfully planned recipes and projects that are totally doable and use things you probably already have. We particularly loved making lilac soda syrup from our giant lilac bushes.
Miss K –
Bought as a gift and they love it, have said they have got out the house most weekends doing something out of the book