Okay, it’s officially summer, and the livin’ is easy: We’re spending our first weekends at the beach, lazy afternoons in the park, maybe the sprinkler’s on in the backyard–and ooh–playtime! I grew up with lots of siblings who like to play games and have been fortunate to continue to grow up around lots of little ones who also like to play. Here are three no-fail outdoor games for every age from Bobbi Conner’s Unplugged Play: No batteries. No plugs. Pure fun.

Toddlers (age 1-2):

Water Painter (page 72 , in case you happen to be following along in your books) is an activity that’s simple to set up and even easier to clean up. Gather together some small plastic buckets (and a paint tray if you have one), fill them about 2 inches with water, and gather up paint brushes and rollers. Bathing suits optional!

Toddlers love to “paint” the deck, sidewalk, patio, railings, or deck furniture. And they’re very persistent–even when the designs evaporate quickly in the sun. The no-fail element is that this one works wherever there’s a relatively smooth outdoor surface to paint on–whether they’re painting the paved suburban sidewalk or the steps of a city brownstone.

Preschoolers (age 3-5):

Bucket-Head (page 195) requires a little bit of setup, but it’s worth it. Once you have the “bucket head,” the game is pretty irresistible, even for the adults with a silly side (yes, I’ve been known to not only play, but excel at Bucket-Head from time to time). For each bucket head, you need a plastic headband, some sticky Velcro tabs, and a clean 8-oz plastic container (like a Cool Whip tub). Remove the lid from the container and attach a few Velcro tabs in a line on the outside bottom. Then stick the corresponding tabs along the top of the headband. Attach the container to the headband, put on the headband–congratulations, you’re a bucket head! Gather up some small sponge or Nerf balls, or ping-pong balls, and start playing. To avoid getting hit in the face, the bucket head can turn with his or her back to the tosser, but the idea is to get the ball into the bucket. Fair warning: once the bucket heads are on, there’s no telling what new game might be invented. Can you scoop the ball off the grass with your bucket head? Can you toss the ball from your bucket head? No-fail because who doesn’t love a Bucket-Head?!

Gradeschoolers (6-10):

Beanbag Target Toss (page 271) is a combination of two classics: Beanbag Toss and Darts. Grab some sidewalk chalk and draw a circular target split into pie pieces with a bull’s eye in the middle. Assign each section a number of points and draw a “pitching line” several feet away. If there’s a group, simply take turns to see who can score 50 points first. Or, if your kid wants to go solo, add a timer–see if he or she can reach a score of 50 before the buzzer sounds! No-fail because it’s competitive and they get to add (see, you can still brush up on your math skillz even when school’s out for summer!).

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And lest we leave anyone out, here’s a suggestion for the older set (kids at heart and all that–or those who want to mix some cocktails with their play)–check out The Games Bible by Leigh Anderson (I’m especially partial to “Get Down, Mr. President!” on page 310). No-fail element: the tackle. Need I say more?

Welcome to another installment of Inside the Author’s Studio, where we give you a peek into the minds and studios of your favorite Workman authors.

In honor of springtime (playtime!), we’re celebrating with a visit to the studio of Bobbi Conner, author of Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun., which includes 710 Games and Activities for Ages 12 months to 10 years. Here, we ask her a few questions, speed round style.

Recent book you loved/learned from:

The Nature Principle by Richard Louv

Favorite bookstore:

Powell’s Books in Portland, Oregon

Hidden talent:

drawing and painting

Bookmark, dog-ear, or virtuality?:

bookmark

Book you are most ashamed never to have read:

I can’t say I’m ashamed of not reading any particular book since picking and choosing books to read over a long lifetime is all part of the fun.  Right now, I’m discovering a few classic books that I missed in my earlier years (thanks to the book club I’m in) and I’ve enjoyed them immensely.

Most frequent form of writerly procrastination:

Walking along the South Carolina beaches (with a tiny pencil and paper in my back pocket), brainstorming and refining ideas for a book.  It’s a perfect excuse for sunshine and exercise and I have worked out many ideas or challenges related to a book in exactly this way.

Favorite childhood book:

Blueberries for Sal by Robert McCloskey

Alternate ambition (i.e. If you weren’t a writer, you’d be…):

An art teacher for children

Your perfect meal:

A summer meal from my childhood, prepared by my grandmother—homemade chicken and dumplings (the dumplings were light as a feather) and sweet corn, green beans and melons harvested that day from my grandparents’ garden. Yum!

Big dream:

A grass-roots active-playtime movement—with children rediscovering the joys of inventing their own creative, active, happy playtime outdoors for a part of each day.

Super power of choice:

Waving a magical wand and granting good and worthy wishes to others.

Speaking of super powers, what 5 “tools” should every parent have on hand to provide spontaneous play anytime, anywhere?

Hula hoop, beanbags, assorted balls, drawing paper, and markers.

What’s the top unplugged activity you like to do with your (grownup) children?

For family get-togethers we love to play Taboo or Guesstures.  Lots of laughs and good family fun.

What Workman book would you like to receive as compensation for your involvement?:

The Dock Manual (re: building a dock on water!) by Max Burns

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Bobbi Conner is the creator and host of the award-winning national radio program The Parent’s Journal. She is the author of Everyday Opportunities for Extraordinary Parenting and Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun. She is also the mother of three kids, now in college.

Some people think that wholesome playtime for kids is akin to buying organic–that in order to really “get the really good stuff” and provide your child with the best in playtime nutrients,  it’s going to cost you. On the contrary, there are many clever ways to keep your child’s mind and body active that use materials you may already have around the house (and if you don’t, can easily get at a 99-cent store)!

I recently asked Bobbi Conner, author of Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun. to share a handful of fun ways to play on the cheap. She recommends going with what you already have (since you’re likely sitting on a treasure trove of toys for your young ones): Do you have a laundry basket? Muffin tin?  Paper bag? How about a box of pasta? Always keep safety in mind, and let the playtime begin:

#1. One Giant Floor Drawing

You will need: large sheets of drawing paper (or butcher block paper), invisible tape, and crayons. To do: Cover your kitchen floor with big sheets of paper. Use invisible tape to hold the paper in place. Challenge your child to use crayons to draw a HUGE drawing or create a “village”—with roads, houses, a river and trees.  When the village is drawn—add a few toy cars to drive through the town!

#2. Lunch Bag Puppet Show

You will need: paper lunch bags, nontoxic markers, scrap paper,  scissors, and glue. To do: For young preschoolers, parents can cut circles (for eyes) and any other desired facial features or accessories (noses, ears, hats, and so on). Glue or draw the parts of the puppet on the bag and then show your children how to manipulate the puppet by placing your hand inside the bag to make the puppet head move and “talk.” They can tell a story with their puppets, sing a song, or put on a puppet show.

#3. Kitchen Table Fort

You will need: several flat sheets, and some toys and props for pretend play. To do: Drape the sheets over the kitchen table or a series of chairs and let the kids haul their toys and books and pillows inside the homemade lair for hours of pretend play.  The game could involve a “camp-out” (maybe a parent can make s’mores in the kitchen!) or a pretend library or school.

#4. Macaroni Mix-Up

You will need: assorted uncooked pasta shapes like ziti, elbows, bow-tie; a  muffin tin; and a paper lunch bag.  To do: Pour ¼-cup of each pasta shape into the lunch bag and mix it up. Challenge your child to sit at the kitchen table and sort the pasta—all the elbows in one compartment of the muffin tin, all the ziti in another, bow-ties in a third, and so on. Preschoolers love to sort! Advanced version: Use tri-color pasta to practice color sorting.

#5. Coupons as Currency

You will need: an old wallet, coupons from the Sunday paper, an empty laundry basket, and canned or boxed foods from your kitchen or pantry. To do: Parents cut out the coupons and stuff them inside the wallet. Give your child a shopping cart (a.k.a. laundry basket) and line up the foods on the table or a low counter so he or she can pretend to be a shopper at the grocery store and “buy” groceries with coupons.

*And don’t forget, your local library is filled with lots of  free entertainment that won’t cost a dime! So whether you’re a parent or babysitter, bring on the next rainy day.

For more than 700 more play ideas for indoors and out, check out Bobbi Conner’s Unplugged Play!