Wanda Kanten Hartfield
UNPLUG! 101 Ways to Pull Your Kids Away from Their Electronics
- Parenting
- Activities
- Learning styles
Real activities for ages 4 to 12 and up: magic tricks, paper folding, kitchen projects, secret languages, games for a crowd. Lots of them start with what's already in the kitchen drawer or the garage.
no screens were harmed in the making of this list
What's in it
154 pages, 101 activities, 18 chapters. First written in 2003, revised in 2025.
101 of them, in 18 chapters
Magic tricks, paper folding, kitchen projects, secret languages, games for a crowd, costumes. Pick and choose, in any order. If one doesn't catch, the next one might.
Written to the kid
The activity pages talk straight to the child, with a note here and there for the grown-up. Hand one over and let them run with it.
Made from what's lying around
Coffee cans, coat hangers, bottle caps, panty hose, a muffin pan. Where something specific is needed, the book sends you to the library, a garage sale or the craft store.
Each one leads somewhere
They're starting points, not one-offs. A collection of coins or shells can grow into a lifelong interest.
Try it free
A taste of the book, playable here. No email, no account. If you never buy it, you still get these.
This month
From the book
Picked from the book for this time of year. Tap one to peek inside.
The 101
All 101, in the book's own numbering. Filter for what fits tonight, then peek at any one: what you'll need, and what it's like. The steps stay in the book.
Showing all 101. Pick a filter to narrow it down.
Filters
Instant Knot
Dazzle ’Em with Dice
Coin Trick
A Blooming Indoor Garden
Easy-to-Grow Greenery
An Egghead
A Monster Sunflower
Ducks in a Row
Coyotes & Turkey Buzzard
Ping-Pong Bounce
Thieves in the Henhouse
Showing 12 of 101
The steps are in the book.
The full instructions and the diagrams, and for the tricks and puzzles, the secrets and the solutions.
Read a mind
The trick from page 82. Think of a number, follow four steps, and the site will tell you what you started with.
Think of a number from 1 to 9, and keep it to yourself.
Say it in secret
Type a sentence and see how it comes out in three of the book's secret languages.
Stays on your device. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
The easy one everybody half-knows.
Type something above.
Swap an hour, see what fits
Not a lecture — just arithmetic. Move the slider to however long a normal day runs.
Swap one, swap none — the book works either way.
06+
6 adventures unlocked
Dream it, then scale it
The book's own worksheet, from pages 22–24. List everything you'd love to try, tick what's realistic, and see which three you could actually start.
Too big? Scale it down. In the book, a family safari becomes a diorama.
Nothing yet. Start with the biggest dream you've got.
Sticker chart
Ten activities from the book, ten stickers. Do them in any order, and tap a name to peek inside.
0 / 10 stickers · First badge at 3
Badges unlock at 3, 6 and 10.
Nothing yet — that's the fun part.
Peek inside
Six real spreads from the book. Swipe through, no email needed.
Spread 1 of 6: pages 38–39, Ducks in a Row and Coyotes & Turkey Buzzard
A list can name 101 things to do. This is one family's own repertoire, tried out on two sons: a secret language from her mother and aunts, a two-generation Easter egg tradition, game boards you can copy and play, and the answers to the puzzles at the back. That's the part you can't search for.
Read a bit
A page or two of the real thing does more than any description.
from author
A sample spread or two of real text
Readers who get this far are close to buying. Even one page of the real thing does more than any description.
from author
The real back-cover blurb
The description on this page is our draft — replace it with your own words.
from author
Ebook or audiobook editions?
The copyright page lists an eBook ISBN (978-1-968807-17-7). Is it on sale yet? If so, send the link and we'll add it, and an audio edition too if there is one.
from author
Other retailers
Amazon is linked. Add Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, or a direct link if you have them.
Who wrote it
Wanda Kanten Hartfield
Wanda Kanten Hartfield was raised in Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada, where she and her sisters spent long winter days creating their own entertainment. She went on to become “Miss Wanda,” host of Romper Room, delighting millions of children in the Magic Mirror — then tested her ideas for real as the mother of two sons.
UNPLUG! is where those ideas landed: 101 things to do instead, so there's something better waiting when the screen goes off.
Ten to start with
A one-page checklist of ten activities from the book — the easiest ones to say yes to. Print it or save it as a PDF, stick it on the fridge, work down it.
Get the checklist