It’s that hour. You know the one. Right about 4:30 in the afternoon when your kids seem to go haywire. It’s also the time when moms seem busiest trying to get the day’s activities finalized while also preparing a nutritious meal for the family. You end up plopping the kids in front of their favorite video just to distract them, yet you know more TV is not the best thing for them. We know. We’ve been there too. So what is a mommy to do?

We’ve found a book Unplugged Play ($12 at Amazon.com) that is a treasure trove of simple ideas that will mesmerize your kids. Author Bobbi Conner set out to create a reference tool full of guilt-free playtime ideas. Whether you’re trying entertain your little one while you cook dinner or keep an older kid from watching too much TV, there are ideas in this book to help.

Filled with over 700 entertaining activities and every one promotes battery-free play that enhances your child’s imagination, physical health, mental development, and well-being. Most of the supplies are everyday items you already have laying around. Organized much like a cookbook, the play ideas are categorized for children of all ages: Toddler Play (age 1 to 2, Preschool Play (age 3 to 5, and Grade School Play (age 6 to 10. Activities are also identified by the amount of children needed (solo play, parent/child, and multiple children and the type (imaginative play, crafts, rhyming.

With so many ideas you don’t have to bother with being creative, although this book has a way of inspiring creativity (in both you and your kids. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to invent new games and probably start seeing toys in the strangest places — like the empty tissue box that becomes a magical mailbox for anything your toddler can stuff in it.

Kid’s Cupboard

This is one of our favorite tips from Unplugged Play.

You spend a lot of time in the kitchen and we venture to guess most of it with a child underfoot. To save yourself from getting upset, create a Kid’s Cupboard to distract the littler helper. Pick a low drawer or cupboard (we know, real estate is prime, but it will be worth it. Fill it with items that your child’s imagination can turn into games. For older children who truly want to “help” mom, give them “jobs” to do using the items in their special drawer. Add something new every now
and then to keep the fun coming.

Possible items for your Kid’s Cupboard:

cake pans
cardboard egg cartons
unbreakable plates and cups
measuring cups and spoons
pots or pans with lids
scarves
metal roasting pan
muffin tin
funnel
tape measure
ping pong balls
shoe boxes
plastic squeeze bottles
dish towels
plastic water bottles
plastic buckets and tubs with lids
large plastic yogurt containers
ice cube tray
tongs