Thursday: some whining/wine-ing

The kids loved their fourth day of coding camp! I'm actually pretty impressed with what they are learning to do on Scratch. Pretty cool! Then Ryan went over to a friend's house to play while Zane came home for his piano lesson. He whined HARDCORE to play X-Box while Ryan was gone, but we played outside instead. Then it was off to Ryan's softball game, followed by dinner with a teammate's fam while Larry and Zane went to shoot hoops. Then we reconvened back home for some swimming, followed by some math and science workbook time. I broke my solidarity tonight and had a glass of wine!    

Wednesday: getting easier!

The kids had coding camp again today (where they got free fit bits and other cool swag!) and then came home and did their 5 math pages and 1 science page for Zane. 

Then Zane and I practiced hitting and catching while Ryan read. Then it was time to head out to Zane's baseball game-they won! Then we went to dinner, and Zane did not ask for my phone once. I can't remember the last time he hasn't asked for electronics at dinner. He actually colored a picture! We are getting better at filling our days without electronics. I've found that I'm on my phone far less as well. I even did some home improvement projects today. (Which unfortunately ended with a big hole in the first bath drywall!) 

 

 

Tuesday: a little (sanctioned) screen time!

The kids had coding camp again today, and Ryan was so into her project that she asked for permission to work on it a bit at home. I gladly said yes! 

Both kids knocked out their five pages of math, Zane did a page of his science workbook then read to me for 20 minutes. Ryan practiced her guitar, but Zane didn't do piano (whoops). 

Ryan finished Catching Fire (the 2nd book in the Hunger Games trilogy).

Then Zane swam and Ryan had a softball game (she hit a home run!)

While the kids were at coding camp, I was taking my final exam for the semester at SMU. Summer is finally here for me!!

 

 

Monday in the books!

Today flew by! The kids had coding camp from 9-2 and then two of Ryan's soccer pals came over to play.  Then we went up to the track to do some conditioning and running. Ryan is going to sleep VERY well tonight! (Zane too, but he didn't run nearly as much as the girls!)   

Day 4: Fri-yay!!

We made it! Our "no screen time" lifts each week from Friday at 3pm to Sunday evening, and I'm pretty sure Zane was counting the seconds until X-Box time! 

Today was a fun day! It started with both kids knocking out their 5 pages of math. Then Ryan and my mom made blueberry cobbler, Ryan had her soccer team party, and then went home with a friend from her team to play and swim. Meanwhile, Zane has his favorite triplets over to play! 

Then we finished up and delivered some t-shirt orders for Ryan and her friend Lauren's Oh My Posh shirt business. 

Ryan finished grouting her mosaic and then went to spend the night out, while Zane and Larry are playing FIFA on the XBox!

 

 

Day 3: Field Trip!

We decided to hit the road for East Texas today to pick blueberries! We went to Blueberry Hill Farm in Edom, TX and collected around 5 lbs of berries. Then we came home and Ryan and Grandma baked a Blueberry pie-it was delicious. Then Zane had his end of season soccer party, and Ryan had soccer skills practice. Then we came home and Ryan did more work on her mosaic. She got the rest of her tiles trimmed and placed. Tomorrow will be cement day! Itwas a fun day, but I required a nap during the pie baking. My kids clearly have FAR more energy than I do! 😋      

Day 2: Can I Mainline Red Bull?

Mmkay. I have NO IDEA how home school parents do it. We had a full day of active learning, and I am worn OUT.

We had friends with us today, and we started out with all four of them doing their five pages in their respective math workbooks. 

Then we moved onto science. We piled in the car and got the supplies we needed for our eggsperiment! We studied air pressure with the egg in a bottle trick! (All you need is a glass bottle with a medium sized opening, a peeled hard boiled egg and some wooden matches. Light 3 matches, drop them in the bottle, then immediately place the egg on top, skinny side down. The air in the bottle expands from the flame heat, then quickly cools, thus contracting, when the egg on the top snuffs out the oxygen for the fire, thus quickly dropping the air pressure inside the bottle. Then the external air pressure is greater than the air pressure in the bottle, so it pushes the egg inside! Pretty cool.) Then our little scientists wrote up what they observed.

Then we hit the KC Pool for lunch and a swim. After our friends went home, we worked on crafts (Ryan is making a floral mosaic and Zane wanted to make a cardboard "telescope."  Theb we got ready for Ryan's team soccer practice and Zane's baseball game. Whew! Long and fun day, but I am EXHAUSTED and very behind on housework. Oh well. Maybe tomorrow. . . 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 1

We made it through through Day 1 of summer nonscreen time, and nobody has strangled anybody yet! What did we do all day? Well, Ryan set up a perfume sale stand in our neighborhood (she makes her own essential oil roll-on perfumes) and earned $45! Both kids practiced their instruments (guitar for Ryan and piano for Zane) and completed five pages in their summer math workbooks. Zane built with legos and we played dinosaurs. Ryan finished reading The Hunger Games (Larry convinced her to try it, and she couldn't put it down!) Then we swam, practiced soccer and baseball and did some yard work. So far so good. Zane whined to watch TV this morning, but he quickly forgot about it. The kids are doing great, but I'm exhausted! 😂 In a show of solidarity, I'm swearing off weekday wine for the summer. This could be an interesting couple of months here at Camp Fogel!

 
 

Mission Impossible: Can we do it?

Meet Ryan and Zane. Ryan is 9, and Zane is 7. They are pretty awesome. Both kids are bright, athletic, social and a ton of fun. But we have noticed a trend over the past year or two: they increasingly gravitate toward screen time, and are increasingly belligerent when it is time to transition from screen time back to the real world.

We tried an experiment for the last month of the school year: no weekday screen time. Like, none. (Except what was required for homework). No playing games on their iPads, no using our iPhones, no TV. The works. This was met with bitter, albeit futile, resistance from both of them. And, internally, from me. The reality is that screen time for them equals time for me to get my own stuff done. It means no fighting. It means no whining. It means no interruptions.

It also means less time outdoors. Less creative play. Less original thoughts. Less conversation.  The days are long, but the years are short, as the saying goes, and their childhood years are zipping by with alarming speed. I want this summer to be one in which they enjoy the freedom of being a kid without electronic interruptions. I am all for technology. Truly. But not during summer weekdays. 

Can we do it? This remains to be seen! But wish us luck!