5 Catergories of Screen Free Summer Fun

Media, ah media.  What a great babysitter it can be.  Right?  I have to admit that I do use movies to babysit my kids every now and then.  It's important to note that media is not inherently evil but amoral.  Some of my children use ipods for daily devotions.  So, it's what you make of it.  But, it is essential that we limit the time our kids sit in front of screens.  It can be a great quiet time activity, but, so can listening to an audio book while putting together a puzzle or sketching:)

As summer is upon us and we have less structure to our day, I have to be even more deliberate about limiting screen time.  Don't get me wrong.  We love movies and my boys enjoy video games but there really needs to be a healthy balance of hands-on, mind engaging, active play as well.  By "balance" I am not suggesting equal time.  Haha.

So, here are five categories of screen free summer fun.

1. Build - When kids build things, they are forming basic concepts of Physics in their minds.  They don't yet understand kinetic and potential energy, but they know their homemade tent has the "potential" to fall.  So, build with your kids.  Build with sheets, blocks, scraps of lumber, etc.  Take apart that slide and playhouse in the back yard and see what fantastic things they can build out of all the pieces.  They will be entertained for hours.  Admittedly, this is easier with the littles than the older kids.  But, if your budget will allow, get model cars, boats, or airplanes from a local hobby store. (I prefer to support Hobby Lobby.) There are endless things that older kids enjoy building and you can usually find a coupon if you search online.  Pick up some hammers and 2 X 4s and turn them loose building a clubhouse or tree house.

2. Disassemble - After you have built things, "un-build".  Disassemble things.  It's okay, really.  Go to your local thrift store and purchase old computers or small appliances and let them disassemble and then put them back together.  I'm not big on messes or little pieces all over the house so I have them keep things in an old box.  They love to see how things work and you may end up with a fantastic appliance repair person in your home:)



3. Bake - We love to bake in our house.  Well, maybe we just enjoy eating what we bake but either way, it's a way that we can spend time together.  So, bake things together this summer and maybe even give away part of what you bake to bless an elderly neighbor.  Baking is a great way to practice  living math as you measure things or double (or triple...haha) a recipe. 

4. Create - Unleash the artists in your home and create things with different art mediums.  For the larger families you can have the littles finger paint while the middles paint by number, and the olders copy a landscape painting. Hand out yarn and crochet hooks and see who can make the longest chain (or an blanket for an American Girl doll as would be the case in our home).  There are so many different craft kits available that I bet you can find one that each of your kids will enjoy.

 
5. Exercise - Summer is a great time to keep kids exercising (now that PE is over).  There are a plethora of ways to keep them exercising without them even knowing that they are doing so.  My favorite is the pool.  Ah, those lazy summer days by the pool, right?  Well, not quite with seven kids.  We play "motorboat, motorboat" and marco-polo.  We have races.  My boys are ever amazed that their mom can still win in a race across the pool., although not for long:)  Good thing it's only one lap!  Haha.  Another great idea is a slip-n-slide for the backyard, a sprinkler under the trampoline, a family relay race, or a morning nature walk.  Whatever the case, be deliberate about keeping those kids exercising this summer.

5. Play & Imagine - Play is one of those things that does not come naturally to me.  I have to be oh so deliberate about setting aside time to play:)  So, this summer we will be busting out the board games and taking time to just play and enjoy one another.  Other great ideas for play are puppet shows, family talent shows/plays/concerts, or dress up.  Now, I know those of you with kids beyond about 8 years old are thinking that there is no way your kids will dress up.  But, sometimes it's all in how you present it.  I admit that if I handed my 11 year old a Buzz Lightyear costume, he would not, could not:)  But, if I hand him a video camera to make his film he would and could.  They all get excited about making a homemade film (maybe from this year's literature *wink*) and jump right in with the planning.  So, in a sense, they are still playing dress-up:)  We are currently in the process of making our own version of "Pilgrim's Progress" and we all have a role.  Now, I know this last suggestion is borderline for a "Screen free" post but it is definitely more along the lines of hands-on, mind engaging, active play.

So, as you plan out your summer fun, remember to include plenty of media free or screen free activities that engage the brain and foster creativity.  You won't regret it or the memories you make in the process.

Sewing with Meme's machine

As a child, I loved to spend time with my Meme.  What little girl doesn't?  She was loving, patient, and very giving.  Although she was a little rough around the edges and occasionally let out a few choice words (to which she would immediately turn to me and say "Excuse my French, Allison"), she was mine and I loved her just the way she was.

We actually didn't know about many of the things that she did to give herself away during her life.  It wasn't until after her death that stories emerged of things that she had made and given to people who were needy in one way or another.  She was living out the scripture "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing"  Matthew 6:3.  I knew this verse well.  It was a verse from one of the many large passages of scripture that I memorized as a homeschool child.  Somehow it came more alive to me after my Meme's death than any other time.  She had been doing just that.

Here is a picture of me sitting in my Meme's lap with my older brother Scott, and Big Mama (Meme's mom...the name is a story all of it's own).  Ahhh, look at those dresses and hair styles...theirs, not mine:)

Here is a picture of Meme holding my newborn brother Adam. (And, look how sweet that baby is!)  I love the look on my face as I am looking up at her.  Admiration in my eyes?  Yes. 

 And, here is a picture of my Meme with all three of us kids.  She was a regular part of our lives and lived only a couple of miles away.  Wow...that wallpaper...and those glasses!

 She was an artist.  She loved to create and she loved to give. I still have many things that she made for me as a child and can remember all the special treasures that didn't survive the years. 
She taught me how to crochet, knit, quilt, and she enhanced my knowledge and experience in sewing.  As a teen, I would occasionally go with her to the little shop where she worked.  I would work with her when the owner wasn't going to be there.  It was a craft shop.  I can't even remember the name but, I can remember the place.  It was full of so many wonderful craft items and instruction books.  I think that she mostly brought me along because she didn't want to be lonely all day and she didn't like to balance the books at the end of the day...haha.  (Back in the day when you actually had to do math and not just press buttons on a computer.)  She would give me the account book and say that it was my homeschool lesson for the day...but even back then, I knew that numbers were not her strength.  I loved her.  Loved spending time with her.  And, still love her to this day. 

She was a mystery.  She had lived alone since my Pawpaw passed away over a decade before.  She lived a simple life in a little apartment full of priceless memories and old treasures.  One such treasure was a letter from my Pawpaw that my mother found in her bedside table after she left this world.  It was written before they were married and while my Pawpaw was serving our country in the military.
I stayed with her for a week one time as a teen, in that little apartment, when my parents were going out of town.  She insisted on giving me her bedroom and she slept out on the couch.  It is a week that I will cherish for the rest of my days.  Just Meme and me in her little apartment.

So, now as an adult, words cannot describe the roller coaster of emotion that I ride each time that I pull out her old sewing machine.  I kept it put away for many years so as not to damage it.  Then, I thought that she would really prefer that I use that old machine not store it in my closet.  So, I pulled it out and sewed curtains and things for my little apartment in Virginia where Peter and I lived shortly after we were married.  (We lived in Virginia for four years while he earned a JD and a masters degree in Government.)

A few years ago, I decided to trade the old machine in along with the machine that my parents bought me for my tenth birthday.  I was hoping to upgrade to something fancier and more modern.  As I was checking through to make sure that all the parts were there, I noticed something scratched into the machine.  It was in plain view and I can't believe that I hadn't seen it all those years.  It was her initials.  Mozelle Virginia Harvill...MVH.  As I stared at it, I was pulled through time and space to see her sewing with this very machine in her little apartment all those years ago.  No, I couldn't sell this machine.  Call me nostalgic, but this machine will forever be in my home.

Here you can see the tape that she placed on the machine to help her keep her fabric straight as she fed it through the machine.

 I have used that machine to make curtains, bedspreads, baby quilts, little matching shirts for birthday boys, frilly little dress-up dresses, Halloween costumes, to decorate burp cloths, and most recently to create my own cloth diapers.

My Meme, did not get to hold her great-grandchilden but she has been a part of their lives through the gifts and lessons that she gave to me.  So, every time that I sit down to sew, crochet, or do any type of craft, (which isn't that often these days...haha), I think of my Meme and the way her hands not only created but how they willingly gave as well.