The Absolute Best Play Days: From Airplanes to Zoos (and Everything in Between!)

I wish I would have known about this book earlier. We could have been having this much fun sooner! My son is turning 3 and it is perfect for him. The layout of the book is great. It lists the supplies you need, details variations you might opt for, and lists resources. I really like the resources being listed. I plan themed days in advance and I look for the books and/or videos listed in the resources at the local library to help with the theme for that day. For example if it is "airplane day" I look up books and videos on airplanes at the library so we can learn about them before we dive into the other activities. At first I thought "wow this book has so many themed day I will never have time to do everything listed". Now I see that some themes really only work planned in advance but others work well at last notice. I mean we all know with toddlers events are unpredictable!! Great book for anyone with children or those caring for them.

Well organized. Comprehensive. Creative. An excellent resource for teachers, parents, and caregivers. As a mother of girls aged 4 years 9 months and 3 years, I was searching for activities that they both would enjoy and that I could adapt to their different levels of development. This book is a lifesaver! For each theme, the author, Pamela Waterman, provides several Art projects with simple instructions, a few Indoor activities, suggested Musical activities or songs to sing, activities to do Outdoors, Books to check out from the library or buy, Videos to rent or buy, and special snacks to make. All theme related. Most using supplies that are easily found around the home or inexpensive to purchase. There is even a section called Hints for Your Own Situation that includes tips for older children. You can follow the themes from A to Z, or skip around to various favorites as I do. With 52 Weeks of Themes, here are a few: Astronomy Bugs Circus Detectives Firefighting Hair Musical Instruments Pirates Restaurant Surprises! Theater Wheels Zoo

Absolute Best Play Days, by Pamela Waterman, is an extremely valuable resource for planning themed activities for children. This is a book that we librarians will use to get ideas for our 2-to-6-year-old story times. We like to structure our story times around various themes and the ideas presented in this book are great--really creative--and also very do-able! That's definitely a plus! Thanks!

Oh, how I wish this book had been written a few years ago! Quite pregnant and interested in testing my not-yet-used parenting skills, I offered to care for my grade-school age neice and nephews. As I look back on it now, the weekend might have been a bit more memorable if "The Absolute Best Play Days" book had been on my bookshelf at the time.Ms. Waterman presents ALL the information a parent, grandparent, childcare provider, or grade school instructor needs to create FUN and EDUCATIONAL playtimes. Really! Wouldn't it be nice to discover new ways to entertain children of various ages (or for them to entertain themselves) other than stringing macaroni on thread, baking cookies or watching TV? This book provides hundreds of ideas - organized by themes - as well as the required and optional supplies to put the ideas into action.When you get right down to it, "The Absolute Best Play Days" is a RECIPE BOOK filled with tried and true methods for entertaining a family of kids or a group of children. In just a short while after owning a copy of this book, its pages will undoubtedly sport folded-down corners, sticky notes, and highlighter marks...just like our best loved cookbooks.Use "The Absolute Best Play Days" as a guide for creating great encounters with kids. People are only young once - why not make that time as memorable as possible - for everyone!

The 52 activities are great, with all levels of application. My 5 year old niece can play along with a 12 year old and not be bored! The completeness of the activities, showing the lists and the FREE resources posted make it worth the cost of the book itself. I look forward to trying out each activity with my family and friends. It would be a must-have book for any child care giver who likes to be creative.