I did a little traveling to celebrate the marriage of two of my beautiful friends, and got to spend time with some of the best people I know
Mom and Walter visited and we celebrated Mother's Day and the following weekend Pap visited!
Turtle finished 1st grade. Yikes.
I got really serious about working out and keeping a food journal. I am beginning to see my Muffin Top melt away. And while I've only lost 8 pounds, my muscle mass has increased and I am feeling better than I've felt since I was a teenager.
My phone kicked the bucket. I have been without a phone for 3 weeks. And other than missing out on my "JMU Ladies" and "The Fam"group texts, and daily phone calls with my mom, it has been wonderful being (somewhat) disconnected from the real world.
There was a flash-flood. Luckily the house wasn't ruined-but Steven's car is currently at the shop getting estimated for flood damage. Awesome.
I think that about sums it up.
As I expected a smart remark about how "it's not fair" or "do I have toooooo?" I was absolutely shocked when instead he said, "Awesome!"then quickly went to work.
- Each day Turtle will pick a topic out of a list of "Cool Topics" supplied by Mom
- Turtle must READ something about cool topic for at least 15 minutes, after that he may READ or WATCH something educational about cool topic
- Upon completion (no time limit on when it has to be completed, just as long as it's before electronics/screen time) Turtle will give a brief report to Emily and/or Dad
- Emily and/or Dad will "grade" report on a pass/fail rating
- to pass the Turtle must teach Emily/Dad something-it doesn't have to be something new
- If report is passing, Turtle will have access to electronics and screen time
- If report is failing, Turtle will have one chance to redo the report. If he passes the second time he will have access to electronics and screen time
- If the second report is failing, Turtle will not have access to electronics or screen time
He did a wonderful report about dogs and their body language. But of course, I am not the best with technology, and accidentally deleted his video. Oops. So instead, here is his most recent video with his report on trees in our neighborhood.
I would love to hear any ideas you guys may have in limiting screen time. It is no secret that it is a constant debate in our house. I am okay with screen time but feel like it should be for educational purposes, at least for Turtle. I see now that, that isn't fair, and that I am a hypocrite. I have spent so much time with my nose in the phone instead of really spending time with my family. I am hoping that this new family rule will not only help Turtle learn, but will inspire me to put the phone or computer down and really enjoy the time I have with my loved ones. How does your family limit screen time both for kids and adults?