Fun Freetime: Kids' Activity Collections

Have you ever heard the whine of "I'm bored" coming from your kids and run out of ideas yourself? There are lots of activity guides out there, include three from Adams Media: Kids' Activities for Traveling, Kids' Activities for a Rainy Day, and Kids' Backyard Activities and Games.

Each book contains 25 easy-to-do activities that require little or no equipment (and most of it is stuff you probably already have at home). In each book, there are a few that I read and thought they were almost too basic to even mention (who hasn't come up with the idea of a tea party already?) but the books also had some ideas I hadn't heard before, such as directions for making a rain stick, "story in a bag" (a great new idea that I'm definitely going to do with my daughter), or making a rain painting by letting the rain soak a paper plate with food coloring.

The books are also clearly laid out. Each activity indicates the appropriate age and an average duration, as well as times when the activity is particularly useful and any materials needed. They're $2.99 each, available for Kindle or iPod/iPad.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the activity guides to facilitate this review.