May 29, 2014

Summer T.V. Time



We are only a day and a half away from the end of this school year! (If only you could hear the excitement in my voice!)  By Friday afternoon we will be able say that we accomplished one of the hardest things we've ever done together.  Home school. 

I have lots to share with you about our home schooling experience, but that will have to wait for another post.  Right now, the biggest thing on our minds is SUMMER!!!  It's nearly here.

I wish I was more of a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal, but I'm not.  When it comes to my kids, I need a plan ( even if it's just a simple plan) to live by during so many of those wide open days of summer.   ...or we (I) get bored and cranky.


This summer, we have trips planned, sprinklers and slip n' slides to cool off in, free movies to go see, arts and crafts to create, and friends to play with... but I know I'll get asked a lot, by my kids, if they can watch TV when their bored of all that.  TV is fine, but I don't want my kiddos wasting away their summer with their eyes glued to the screen.  So to balance it out a little bit, this is how I'm choosing to handle TV time for my children.  I'm automatically giving each of them 30 minutes of TV (think one episode of Full House or Phineas + Ferb).  If their little hearts desire more TV than that, they have to earn it doing one or more of the following:
  • They can do an extra 30 minutes of reading (on top of the daily reading they will already be required to do)
  • Pick a grocery sack full of weeds from our yard
  • Write a good old fashioned letter to a friend or relative (I'm willing to spend the craaazy amount of almost 50 cents a stamp if it gets them writing.)
  • Memorize a scripture
  • Complete an activity from scouts or Faith in God 
They can earn an extra 30 minutes of TV for every "extra good thing" that they do.  As a mom, I won't feel guilty if they're watching a couple of hours of TV every day, knowing that they are accomplishing a lot of other good things too.  

How do you manage TV in your house? 

2 comments:

Linnae said...

I like this idea! We don't have a TV, but the kids do beg for "screen time" (on computer or my kindle). So we have started giving them 20 minutes per day, and I try to make sure chores are done first. Fridays are movie days, so they get more like an hour and a half on those days. That's about it.

I have noticed screen time is great for giving me leverage to get things done that need doing! I like the idea of allowing them to earn extra by doing other good things. I'll have to talk to my husband about it.

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