Avoiding the TV and Tablet

Butterflies from Peggy Noterbaert Nature Museum of Chicago

I have a horrible confession- I let my kid watch TV and play on the tablet. . . A LOT!! I used to watch TV with him which increased our bond a tad and it kept him on knowledge because we only watched PBS Kids. It got worse when I got pregnant as I slept in front of the TV and he would watch TV and play. They tell us that kids should not be in front of the TV and they should be outside. When you live in a city and there is a limited budget it becomes a challenge. Here is what we did and are doing in order to get our son to unplug. . .

1. Get to School
     He is in school which decreases his TV time by 7 hours in a day. His communication is more abundant and he teaches us songs he learns in school.

2. Read a Book
    My son can read! He has been reading since he was 3 1/2 years old. I expect him to come home from school and read to me or let me read to him and his baby sister. We spend between 15- 30 minutes a day reading.

3. Homeschool Material at Home
   You can take the homeschool mama to work but you can't take homeschool out the mama! We are still working on materials separate from school. He loves the solar system and we go through it at home. We do projects and work out so he is good and tired by the time he gets home.

4. Dance Party!!!
    We hype it up with a dance party! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Keep them moving!

5. Clean and Believe
    He swiffers the floor, I wash the dishes and cook dinner. I wear my daughter while we get the house ready. My husband comes home after I do so it give us the opportunity to get the house looking nice after all our earlier chaos.

6. Watch a Movie at the end of the week
    By Friday, we watch a movie together when we get home from school. We also do more of that dance party since mama gets paid weekly

7. Weekends are for Exploring!
My son running and jumping this weekend

   I try not to keep him in the house on the weekends. This past weekend we went to a PBS event at a play space where he jumped on a trampoline. Most weekends now are birthday parties and family events. Sunday we head to the zoo and since it is winter there is not a huge crowd. We go over what we learned from select animals since he does watch Wild Kratts in the morning before school. It is one thing to learn and another to recall the information.

It does help that my son destroyed his tablet. My husband gives him an allowance based on his behavior in which he saves his money so he can get another tablet. He states he wants a Blue tablet this time. LOL! Yes, a four year old is money conscious. We have been teaching him money and math since he was three. Give him a dollar and take him to the dollar tree and see- he thinks very carefully of what he wants there and is satisfied with his purchase.

If you are still unsure of if you want to reduce TV, check out Pinterest if you haven't already. It is a wealth of resources. Now, I have to get off here and get to church! :)

Keep them learning!

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