Hello again!
We made it through our second day without entertaining TV. I’m putting the “entertaining” qualifier on it today because the weather here had the potential to get really ugly at one point, so I turned on The Weather Channel. I still didn’t let the kids watch — the scenes of Joplin, Missouri are heartbreaking. They are hard enough for me to comprehend (I don’t), and I didn’t want those images wandering around in their heads. I try to shelter my kids for as long as possible. They will find out soon enough that the world can be a rough place.
With two girls in the house, it’s no surprise that there can still be plenty of drama in the house, even without a television. We went about our (new) routine of taking a walk to the park to play after breakfast. Since I knew we could be in a rainy situation later in the day, I wanted them to get some play time in. It went well, but my 9-year-old informed me that the walk is just “too long.” It’s about 2.25 miles, and the park is about half way along my walking route. The way I see it, if she’s worn out after a walk, then this will help build her stamina. There are issues of heart disease and diabetes on both sides of the family; developing healthy habits now may help her to avoid some of those issues in the future.
You may be wondering if we are “completely” unplugged. No, we aren’t. I use my computer to work from home, and I will let my older child hop on for 30 minutes or so to play some educational games. One site she visits is www.freerice.com. A friend told me about this site a couple of years ago. Here is how it works: for every question you answer correctly, the United Nations World Food Programme donates 10 grains of rice to help combat world hunger. Over time, it adds up. Choose questions from math, art, Chemistry, Geography, English, and a variety of foreign languages. You can even create an account to track your giving. It’s a way to keep some of the kid’s school skills up over the summer while donating to a worthy cause. Over the next few days, I’ll let you know about the other sites she uses to help her retain what she’s learned.
There is more rain in the forecast for today. So far, we’ve made a trip to get new coloring books. I’ll see if that can help hold their interest, or if I give in and let them watch a show or a movie. My goal is to go at least 2 weeks before I bring up the idea of watching a movie — I’d like to see how long it takes before they stop asking to watch TV. Any guesses?
Barb
