We started screen-free summer in the summer of 2017. At that time, with our kids aged 6, 4, and 2, we came to realize that our kids had no problem finding many other things to keep them entertained. They didn't seem to miss the daily TV or tablet time that they had previously enjoyed. Since that summer, we have never looked back. I won't lie: there are many times where I know our house would be much quieter and neater and less stressful if my kids were distracted by a television show or a tablet or a video game. There are definite moments where I can see the short-term benefits that could be afforded by screen time in our home. However, as our kids get older, I get to see first-hand the creativity, imagination, and exploration that comes from learning to entertain yourself without screens.
Right now, as I type this, Briggs and Adelie are together in the playroom, listening to 'The Pond' on CD. Briggs has taken apart and is putting together his big airplane Lego set that he got for Christmas. He has been working on it for over 2 hours, following the directions and experiencing the sense of pride that comes from doing something he wasn't sure he could do on his own. Adelie is in the playroom with Briggs, creating books and pictures from her new craft supplies. Staley is upstairs, reading in her room. They are all quiet and focused.
My kids have all found many ways to fill their free time at home. They love to build. They love to play imaginary games. They love to sing and dance and dress up and perform. They love to read. They love to write. They love to draw. They love to create. And I love to watch their creativity and imagination come to life.
Lately Staley and Adelie have started making their own board games. They create the game boards and pieces out of cardboard and boxes from the recycling, and then they type up the rules of the game. Their first game was called 'Mermaid Lagoon Dash'. Adelie and Briggs made the game board while Staley wrote out the rules and the directions. The description for the game is as follows:
Escape the octopus side, stay away from lava pits, slow down your
biggest rival, and win the race!
The rules for the game were 3 pages long and were very detailed. One excerpt of the rules included here are for the description of what the octopus does for each roll of the dice (which is different than what the mermaid does for each roll of the dice.)
1- 1- Add a
lava pit at a fork.
2- Put a
two-turn sleeping potion at a fork.
3- Move
into mermaid territory or move 3 spaces in mermaid territory.
4- Move 2
spaces in mermaid territory or add a dead end at a fork.
5- Create
a dead end in front of a mermaid of your choice.
6- Move a
mermaid back 6 spaces and you move up 6 spaces.
This is Mermaid Lagoon Dash. Zach actually attempted to play it with the kids. His assessment: Very long, convoluted, and hard to follow but a good first attempt. Since then, Adelie has made another game called 'Spy' and Staley is working on a new game called 'Robbers in Magic Land.'
Adelie and Briggs use their creativity often when building with Magna Tiles and blocks while creating homes and lands for their figurines and cars. There are often houses, buildings, castles, and towns made of Magnatiles and blocks. Uma recently gave the kids some small strings of 'fairy lights' that have adorned their creations.
This is one of my recent favorites. This is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Macy's is the building in the back (with clear 'windows' and displays inside the building). Then there are the giant balloons, a float, and a crowd of princess figurines and trucks watching the parade.
My kids love to create with paper, markers, tape, scissors, and things they find in the recycling. We often tease Adelie that she can make just about anything out of paper and tape. I truly believe that we could put the recycling bin, a few balloons, some paper, and some tape in an empty room and my kids would be happy for hours.
Over Christmas break, Briggs and Adelie made these gingerbread houses for the gingerbread man and woman that they made. They decorated their houses and even made little books, pictures on the walls, and other accessories out of paper to go in their houses.
This was a recent undersea panoramic picture that Adelie made.
One of my favorite creative activities that all 3 of my kids love is writing books. We have SO many homemade books in our home that the kids have made. Some of them are just illustrations. Many of them are handwritten and illustrated. Some are typed and include pictures that they took with a camera. Recently all 3 kids have gotten interested in typing their books and working on writing longer books. Over the summer, Staley began working on a chapter book series about the Schuyler sisters from Hamilton. Over the past months, she has worked tirelessly on the first of these books titled 'The Angelica Book.' This was the story of 3 siblings who inadvertently travel back in time with a magic dress and meet Angelica Schuyler. In the end, Staley's book was 10 chapters long and around 12,000 words. It was very well-written and creative. Staley uses great descriptive language and has a good flow to the story. The end of the book cleverly tied back in to the beginning, and I was very impressed with how hard she worked on her story and how well it came together. Staley worked so hard on her book that Zach found a place on-line where we could inexpensively 'self-publish' her first 50 page novel. She was so excited!!
Staley and her first novel
There are so many creative ways that my kids find to fill their time. Our home is always filled with building and reading and writing and drawing and creating and singing and dancing and imagining. It is often loud. It is often messy. Our home is filled with the results of hours of creating. I may not always love the clutter and the mess and the noise, but I always love seeing my kids' minds and creativity at work.
