No Movies or TV: Day 4

I don't generally allow the girls to watch a whole lot of TV. Tony and I don't watch much TV either. However, we somehow slowly slipped into the routine of watching PBS cartoons in the morning -- every morning. And often (ok, most days) we would watch all or part of a movie -- usually "princess" something -- in the late afternoon or evening.

Well, last week the girls were really struggling to concentrate and remain focused during school hours. And furthermore, they were having bouts of sullenness and moodiness. I started to suspect that the problem was with the TV, so I decided that we would avoid it for a while. I didn't ground the girls from TV or anything. I'm just finding other things for them to do. They've been making cookies, doing jigsaw puzzles, coloring, playing with their toys, and playing outside more (since the rain finally stopped). Today is the fourth day of no TV for them, and they seem to have their behavior back on track. School was great this morning, they have not been bickering, and they didn't even ASK for the cartoons this morning. They woke up and headed directly to the play room.

So...here's my theory. I don't allow my kids to watch anything even remotely inappropriate, so content is not the problem. TV doesn't cause a problem in our house because of what we watch. The reason too much TV is a problem is because it uses up countless hours during the week when kids could be doing something -- anything -- that encourages them to use energy, imagination, innovation, concentration, and creativity. Television is just a big time waster, and it puts kids in an entirely different frame of mind than when they are engaged in active play. It seems to stunt their ability to entertain themselves, and instead makes them feel like they can't find anything to do unless something is suggested or provided for them.

Having said all of that, I also realize there have been and definitely will be times when I just need to turn on the TV and let the kids sit and calm down...or let myself calm down...or just find something more for them to do on a rainy day. I'm not suggesting my girls will no longer watch TV or movies, but I am sure that I'm going to make TV less of a routine or habit in their day. No longer will we wake up and turn on PBS cartoons every morning simply because that is what we do!

And on completely different note... I'm not a very artistic person, but I'm finding that in order to be an effective kindergarten teacher, I really have to stretch in that area. The girls get a kick out of my drawings and like to watch and guess what I'm drawing on the board. Tony thought my dinosaur was a cat when I first started drawing its head, but did say it was pretty good once it was finished. We were all laughing at that one!


And, of course, whatever I draw they draw. They're actually a lot better at drawing than I am!

Part of the lesson was about the unique characteristics of insects -- one being that they have six legs. I think I counted eleven on Nora's ladybug (however, she does have six legs on her other insects). Guess we'll keep working on that part of the lesson. LOL