Over 170 fun, safe, and ready-to-use activities to help create meaningful play experiences for children.

Grade level: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, k, p, e, i, s, t.

450 indoor and outdoor games for pre-school to middle-school-age kids arranged by age group.

“[A] combination of history and meaning behind favorite playground games and the verses . . . virtually guaranteed to make you laugh and sing” (Fiona Shoop, author of How to Deal in Antiques). This delightful book records favorite childhood games and recalls forgotten rhymes. With more children suffering from obesity, Susan Brewer looks at the social games we used to play from skipping to chase games that used up our energy during recess. Instead of costly computer games, we used rhyming games, played Jacks, and showed our balancing skills during competitive games of hopscotch. A charming book, full of anecdotes and nostalgia for how we remember our favorite place at school—the playground.

UNBORED Games has all the smarts, creativity, and DIY spirit of the original UNBORED (“It's a book! It's a guide! It's a way of life!” -Los Angeles Magazine), but with a laser-like focus on the activities we do for pure fun: to while away a rainy day, to test our skills and stretch our imaginations-games. There are more than seventy games here, 50 of them all new, plus many more recommendations, and they cover the full gambit, from old-fashioned favorites to today's high-tech games. The book offers a gold mine of creative, constructive fun: intricate clapping games, bike rodeo, Google Earth challenges, croquet golf, capture the flag, and the best ever apps to play with Grandma, to name only a handful. Gaming is a whole culture for kids to explore, and the book will be complete with gaming history and interviews with awesome game designers. The lessons here: all games can be self-customized, or hacked. You can even make up your own games. Some could even change the world. The original UNBORED has taken its place as a much beloved, distinctly contemporary family brand. UNBORED Games extends the franchise -- also including UNBORED Adventure -- in a new handy flexibound format, illustrated in full color throughout. This is a whole shelf of serious fun the whole family can enjoy indoors, outdoors, online and offline.

We could all use a break. This guide to the schoolyard games of childhood is “something special” (The Wall Street Journal). Remember recess? It was that refreshing break between classes that cleared the cobwebs, refreshed the mind, and got everyone moving. Recess is the ultimate illustrated guide to the best games of the playground, for inside or outside, kids or grownups. With detailed instructions, diagrams, and a can-do attitude, this fun guide includes the rules to more than 150 games and variations, including more than two dozen international games from schoolyards around the world, plus tips and strategies for winning! “Remember, your 30-year-old self isn’t quite as adept at dodging a ball as your 10-year-old self was, but spending your lunch hour at work playing in the parking lot is a lot better than catching up on your friends’ boring Facebook updates.” —Gizmodo

An irrepressible new girl dethrones the reigning recess bully by becoming her friend in this infectious playground romp. Mean Jean was Recess Queen and nobody said any different.Nobody swung until Mean Jean swung.Nobody kicked until Mean Jean kicked.Nobody bounced until Mean Jean bounced.If kids ever crossed her, she'd push 'em and smoosh 'emlollapaloosh 'em, hammer 'em, slammer 'emkitz and kajammer 'em.Until a new kid came to school!Parents and teachers will appreciate the story's deft handling of conflict resolution (which happens without adult intervention)."A lively story about the power of kindness and friendship" -- Publishers Weekly"A lighthearted look at a serious topic in schools and on playgrounds everywhere..." -- School Library Journal"Great for reading aloud and joining in." -- Booklist

A child brings a dragon to the library and learns a valuable lesson--libraries and dragons do not mix.

Unbored is the book every modern child needs. Brilliantly walking the line between cool and constructive, it's crammed with activities that are not only fun and doable but that also get kids standing on their own two feet. If you're a kid, you can: -- Build a tipi or an igloo -- Learn to knit -- Take stuff apart and fix it -- Find out how to be constructively critical -- Film a stop-action movie or edit your own music -- Do parkour like James Bond -- Make a little house for a mouse from lollipop sticks -- Be independent! Catch a bus solo or cook yourself lunch -- Make a fake exhaust for your bike so it sounds like you're revving up a motorcycle -- Design a board game -- Go camping (or glamping) -- Plan a road trip -- Get proactive and support the causes you care about -- Develop your taste and decorate your own room -- Make a rocket from a coke bottle -- Play farting games There are gross facts and fascinating stories, reports on what stuff is like (home schooling, working in an office...), Q&As with inspiring grown-ups, extracts from classic novels, lists of useful resources and best ever lists like the top clean rap songs, stop-motion movies or books about rebellion. Just as kids begin to disappear into their screens, here is a book that encourages them to use those tech skills to be creative, try new things and change the world. And it gets parents to join in. Unbored is fully illustrated, easy to use and appealing to young and old, girl and boy. Parents will be comforted by its anti-perfectionist spirit and humour. Kids will just think it's brilliant.

Written by a nationally known physical education teacher and author, this one-of-a-kind book contains PE games that allow children to develop team and lifetime sport skills in an exciting and meaningful setting--leaving them motivated, challenged, and enthusiastic about sport participation. In all, this user-friendly resource contains field-tested activities proven to enhance sport skills in fourteen sport categories--the most comprehensive sport lead-up game book available to physical educators. Each of the 242 games provides everything needed for its successful use. This includes an introduction with a skill purpose, number of participants required, suggested grade levels, equipment needed, play instructions, and illustration. In addition, you'll find helpful advice on how to use lead-up games most effectively in the PE curriculum, including how to introduce games to children, tips on finding the right game to achieve your learning objectives, safety guidelines, and much more.