July 20, 2014
The power went out on a Sunday morning. We were getting ready for church while Dave was at his meetings. We had about 45 minutes until church so I continued to get the girls ready for church. Dave came home from his meeting and said they were discussing whether or not we would have church. I figured the lights would turn on at 8:55 so continued to get the kids ready. About 8:50 Dave was called and asked to come turn people away at the church because it was canceled. At 8:55 (no kidding) the lights came back on, but it was to late to call everyone for church.
So why the long story? Well during the time the lights were out the girls kept asking to do things.....like watching tv or other things requiring power. They didn't know how to act with the power off and I realized that we had a big problem. My kids couldn't entertain themselves! Something needed to be done and quickly. So that night for FHE it began....
We started that night by reading The Day the TV Broke, a children's book I have had since I was a kid. It was all about how the boy watched TV everyday until it broke. Everyday he asked if the TV was fixed yet while doing other activities. By the time it was fixed he didn't want to watch TV anymore because he was busy playing and doing activities. After reading the book we announced the plans:
Week one we would cut amazon and netflix, this did not go well. But they were watching too much!
Week two in order to watch/play/ have any screen time they had to earn them. They earned them by playing outside, doing art projects, having conversations with family members, and playing downstairs with toys just to name a few. Lily's exact quote was "wait we get to earn screen time by doing fun stuff." This week was much better!
The kids have done amazing and now I can't remember the last night they watched a ton of tv. They usually spend so much time doing the activities that they don't have time to watch TV. Its been amazing! One of the biggest things they had done lately is beads. Here are a few of there creations...
So glad we decided to unplug! Its been the best thing for our family!
1 comment:
We love those beads!!! We must be on the same wavelength- I came up with a list of seven things that have to be done everyday before any "glowing screens" can be turned on! I am going to have to go restock now on the melty beads though...we haven't played with them for awhile and the kids will be so excited!!! Love you guys so much and I hope that the little guy is doing well!
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