Rhythm

I have well and truly taken off my slack coat and I am really proud of myself. I haven't let my kids watch TV at all this week. And its been really wonderful and EASY.

No, I am not mad
And No I have not found my inner hippy.

But I have noticed a huge difference in the way my kids play since the box has been turned off. They are using their imaginations and inventing creative role playing games.

I don't have two zombies passively sitting on the couch only speaking to me in between shows, asking for refreshments anymore and I really really like it. I cant help but be proud of myself as a Mum, and this is a new feeling. I encourage you to try it.

Why would I do this?
It started with my old friend guilt. Particularly for Little Miss. She was watching way too much ABC TV and DVDs. Lola (Charlie and Lola fame) was becoming her alter ego, Angelina ballerina her hero, The Fairies her idols and the Play School presenters her family. I needed to get my daughter back.

I got really inspired by this post at Childhood magic. We have a general daily routine that gets the kids fed and in bed at 7pm every night, but I had lost the daily momentum of rest or sleep times for Little Miss. I also felt deep inside I wasn't grasping enough one on one play time with her. She goes to child care two days a week when I work, so I really wanted to make the most of the time I have with her. B is learning guitar and practising time was slipping away. Before I knew it, it would be Friday and no practise had happened. B responds well to charts and calendars and I thought if I marked which days to practice it would then be set, no negotiation.  I really wanted to chart our routine and activities and get a rhythm in our home.

our chart

Once I made the chart, it was really easy to not turn on the TV. At first I thought I would just try it for one day, but it really was so easy that I kept it up.

While doing chores I have included Little Miss as much as I can. Getting her to help me make the beds, load the washing machine or unload the dishwasher. She has also happily played with toys and books at this time.  I have had some general ideas about activities to play with Little Miss, but she has also initiated play. This week we have done simple colouring and drawing, sticking and pasting a paper mosaic letter "L" for her name, and crayon drawing with water colour painting over the top. She has played sorting games, which she really loves, using little tongs to sort out a mixed bowl of items into separate containers. And for the first time in years we went to a Library's storytelling session with craft and play time. She has asked several times to watch Fairies, but I have just said 'No,' and got her busy with something. It has felt like a really busy week, and yes, it required more effort on my part as I don't use the TV as a baby sitter, but  I am engaging Little Miss with opportunities to learn play and flourish. It has been really rewarding.

sorting activity

After Lunch, with a lot of convincing and perseverance, she has lay down for a rest with a book, I was happy with that and glad for an hour to myself, but to my surprise she has more often than not fallen fast asleep and has had to be woken in time for B's school pick up. She has been a much happier little girl. The terrible whining and whinging has gone and she has slept really well at night.

In the afternoons the kids have made cubby houses inside, played Mums and Dads, been to the park to meet friends and gone out to a cafe. When it has been music practice time for B, I encourage Little Miss to get out the box of toy musical instruments. It has been noisy, but we have had a lots of fun all getting involved in what turns into B's music lesson with him as guitar teacher.

The most amazing part of this all is that B has not asked to watch TV once or even noticed that it is not on.

I feel a bit radical, but I feel so proud of myself. I know with absolute certainty that I am doing the right thing for my kids. I can't say I have ever felt that before in this challenging role as Mum. But it has only been a week, and I am sure it will get hard, especially over the weekend, but I really hope I can keep it up.

Taste

Is it just a matter of taste? Or does your nose have something to do with it? What about texture? How does it feel? What words would you use to describe it?

I am talking food.

A game my older sister used to play with me when I was little was 'taste testing'. I would always know there would be hot english mustard in there somewhere, but I could not resist the blindfolded guessing game that tested my senses.

So I played it with B recently, and he loved it. I assured him there would be nothing he didn't like on the menu. I was flattered by his trust. And I admit that for a moment I really wanted to put something sour, or chile hot on the plate. Kind of like when you hold a hose, you just want to spray people with water. But I resisted and didn't put anything nasty on the tasting plate, I stuck to his well liked staples.

B was blind-folded with a tea towel and given a taste of each item with a drink of water in between.

clockwise from bottom

cashew nuts, berry fruit flakes, chocolate freckle, yoghurt on spoon, cheese, white bread and cherry tomato in the middle.

He had no problem with identifying the yoghurt, freckle, bread or tomato, however it took him ages to recall their correct names. And he couldn't think of the name for the cashew nuts or the fruit flakes, but knew what they were. It was only the cheese he had no idea about.

I found it really interesting that he couldn't think of the words for the foods. Was that because he didn't have the visual prompt of the item? I asked him to use describing words about the textures and flavours he was experiencing. My favourite lines were.

"They were rough, but they were smooth, they had sugar on them making them rough" fruit flakes

"It's rough on the top and smooth on the bottom because all the hundreds and thousands have made it rough." freckle

Find out what other Mums are playing with at childhood 101

Red elephant

Sometimes life throws a spanner in the works and you just have to adapt to the situation as best you can.

It's an important lesson. But B really hates it when plans change, he gets very very upset, cries and even stamps his feet. I can symathise with him, but in the back of my mind I am really thinking, get used to it dear child as life doesn't always go according to plan.

Red elephants can walk across your path at any time.

Slack

Dear efficiency police,

I admit I have been slacking off lately, but that does not make me a bad person. Guilt riddles me for thinking Monday was a pupil free day, when in fact it wasn't.

I know if I had read the latest school newsletter (and probably the one before) I would have known that the pupil free day was cancelled, but I wasn't the only Mum not-in-the-know. I saw an 'a' for absent next to a least one other child on the sign in sheet. But if that wasn't bad enough as I humbly attended school, all be it a day late, B proudly spoke up when asked about his health,
"Oh, I had a pupil free day, I'm not sick."

The parents' laughter still rings in my ears. (please note the plural parents)

I've decided pupil free days are actually a tool the school uses to determine which parents are slackers or not, staff training is just a guise. The efficiency police have spoken to the school and told them to organise a pupil free day each term to weed out the slackers. Then cancel one or two and really see who is on top of the school calendar.

Being found out as the slacker I am, has some benefits though. I can admit to really loving these school holidays. Time away from the routine, demands of homework, music practice, the nightly 'reader' torment, the school lunch doldrums, and the school uniform washing regime have been fantastic.

A new slackness overcame me these last two weeks, an awful lot of T.V. was watched, a lot of mess was made, a lot of takeaway junk food was eaten, computer gaming was involved and B thought one of the best days was pyjama day. We all got to stay in our jammies all day long and the next night. It was simply the best 24 hours he had ever had.

But you will be glad to know that as the pendulum swings one way it returns back just as far the other way. The slackness is sure to be short lived, as I am already thinking of implementing a time chart to limit TV viewing, ensure homework is done, music is practised and quality time is spent together as a family, fully dressed in clothes suitable for the outside.

Yours sincerely,
A slacker Mum.


PS  Please make feel better and let me know how the school has caught you out? or at least how you have been slack, a bit?

School report

Desalination Plant designed by B.

How time flies, B's school report was handed out recently. And I was completely taken aback. On reading it in the playground I exclaimed rather loudly,

"Oh, I am really shocked."

A fellow parent knowing my belief that creativity is paramount low expectations said,

"See B does need to learn to read."

"Huh" was all I could manage in reply as I stared at As, Bs, and Cs judging my child's performance in school.

As, Bs, and Cs, he is 6 for goodness sake. Whatever happened to the competent or developing scales he faired last year?

Suddenly I was torn. I wanted B to have a fantastic report full of As, yet deep inside I know it really doesn't matter. I was getting sucked into the school report vacuum that encourages conformity.

I love the school he goes to, we chose it because it is a Reggio Emilia school. We wanted a creative approach because of our own school experiences and we have been influenced by the work of Sir Ken Robinson. (For the sake of your kids please check him out)

B's teacher this year has an amazing approach, it is so organic and child lead. She sets up provocations that are designed to make the children ask questions. (It might be a hollow log in the middle of the room with a sign that says "What is this?") Every morning the provocation has developed in some way to encourage a line of discussion. The discussions cover topics like maths, science, society and design with her non judgmental facilitation. (The hollow log turned into a home with a spider moving in) B does a lot of painting, which we think it is brilliant, but sadly the teacher has received criticism from other parents.

B is really happy at his school, he loves the provocations and rushes into the class room to see what has developed. His drawings are getting more and more detailed and contain intricate workings. Check his blog out. His Dad and I simply can't believe the drawings he is doing. They are brilliant.

Container ship by B

I am so proud of B, he received glowing comments from the teacher and a great collection of As, Bs and Cs. But most of all I am really proud that B hasn't paid any attention to his school report at all. It really is no big deal at all...

Truly.

Library play

Winter.

It's cold.

The kids are climbing the walls.

You just have to get out of the house.

But, you don't want to spend any money.

Where do you go?

A library of course.

We ventured into the hills, past our local dusty library, to go to the purpose built Stirling Library. It has a great children's section. You can safely make as much noise as you want as the children's library is located away from the adult's books. A cafe space and the borrowing desk actually separate the areas so you don't have to keep quiet. (However Little Miss did at one point decide to do a run through the quiet reading areas with B then me running after her, of course I received several looks with daggers, but just thought, "Lighten up people, public libraries are for everyone.")

We aren't members so borrowing books was not on the agenda, but the kids did not mind.

B found a nice spot to read

Little Miss just pretended to read

We played with the computers, explored the toilets, had a few stories together on a nice comfy couch, and drank the free water from paper cups. B had lots of fun playing knock'em down dominos with a giant wooden domino set.

Little Miss concentrated really hard on the game, but got a bit frustrated.

It was a fun afternoon.

Find out what other Mums are playing at here