100 Family Adventures Review & Give-Away

When I first heard about new book, 100 Family Adventures by the Meek Family, I suspected it was one for us and one that my readers would be interested in, too…

100 Family Adventures provides a valuable resource bank of tried and tested outdoor activities to enjoy with children, swapping ‘screen time’ for ‘green time’. Particularly inspiring for people who want to get started, but don’t know how, the book shows how any family, anywhere in the country, can enjoy time together outdoors.

Activities are grouped into themes: Woodland, Water, Close to Home, Hills and Mountains, Exploring, By the Sea, Extreme Weather. Within each section is a range in difficulty, from making a rope swing to scrambling up a stream, from spending a day without electricity to going on a charity bike ride, from exploring a rockpool to camping on an uninhabited island.

Packed with inspiring photos, sensible but enthusiastic instructions from parents Tim and Kerry combine with remarks and advice (and jokes!) from children Amy and Ella.

There’s a huge range of activities here. Some of them I think my kids are too young for, some of them I think I’m not ready for!, and some of them are perfect for us to add an extra element of adventure to an outing. Boo’s had a good look through it. She now has grand plans of climbing a mountain, sailing, snorkelling and sleeping in a wood. In truth, we’re likely to do a few of the simpler things first! I think things like discovering local history, visiting a landmark, a no-screen day and tracking and casting animal footprints will be manageable for us and fun to do. When we go away, I’d love to take the kids crabbing and rock pooling, both things that I enjoyed as a child, so it’ll be fun to introduce my two to the delights. As you can tell from these ideas, there is a good range of suggestions in here, so something for the average family, and then the more adventurous, too.

I like the layout of the book. It’s split into the 7 sections mentioned above and each adventure is listed at the beginning, along with a little box next to it for you to pop a tick in it once you’ve done it. There’s then a double page for every idea, which includes the details, photos of the family and a very useful tips and considerations section. There are jokes from Ella sprinkled throughout, ‘did you know?’ fact boxes and Amy shares her thoughts on each activity.

100 Family Adventures has a really inspirational feel to it, with something for everyone. It also feels very accessible, written clearly and always with a sense of fun, alongside tips for ensuring safety. I like that it’s a whole family affair, and there are many photos of the Meek family throughout the book, sharing their experiences with us. I can see us dipping in and out of this, and using it for fresh ideas to spend quality family time together. I may just need to point Boo in the direction of building a den or taking a night walk before we end up kayaking! Stacks of great suggestions here, I hope to get ticking some boxes each and every year from now on.

The book is published by Frances Lincoln and will be available to buy from 5th March.

I do have one copy of 100 Family Adventures available for one of my readers to win! To be in with a chance of winning it, simply enter using the rafflecopter below. Give-away closes at midnight on 28th February 2015, and is open to UK entrants only. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What appeals to you most about this book?

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