Unplugged: Read Alouds

My kids love to be read to, and I love to read to them!! Several years ago, before the first Narnia movie came out, I read all 7 of the Chronicles to the kids and then as each movie has come out, I re-read that particular book and then we go see the movie in the theater. I love that the story is appealing and exciting to kids and has so much depth for adults. This year we decided to read some of Francis Hodgson Burnett's books, The Secret Garden, Little Lord Fauntleroy, and The Little Princess. We have also included many saint books, Devotional Stories for Little Folks 1&2, The Little House series, Hank the Cowdog books, Rare Catholic Stories, Why Geese Fly Farther Than Eagles, Angel Food for Girls & Boys Collection, Children's Treasure Box Books,  The Little Apostle on Crutches, The Little Butterfly who Loved Jesus, Catholic Tales for Boys & Girls, and many classics. Catholic Heritage Curricula has a wonderful selection of Faith based books and I usually try to buy a few each year to add to our collection. This is one tradition that I hope my kids continue with their families someday. It's also a perfect way to wind down the evening and then have prayer time and bed time. I'm always on the look out for new books to share with them...especially interesting ones about our Faith. The little ones usually drift away or become distractions. It isn't until they are 5 and up that they start to pay attention, but it just depends on the kids, some 3 year olds have better attention spans than some 7 year olds.

The hard part is finding something quiet for the little ones to do. After reading the Secret Garden, our whole family is excitedly planning our Spring garden....if we get the swimming pool all filled in first!!

Unplugged: Chrismas Caroling

I know it's a little late in the season to post this, but we had so much fun caroling the week of Christmas!
There was a group of 19 of us that went including 1 seminarian. We went from house to house in our neighborhood and the reaction of our neighbors was heart warming and touching, a few of the lady recipients, actually cried! We were offered treats and 1 man took pictures. One of our favorite gifts was hugs! Most every single person said they had never been caroled before. Okay, well I kind of scared a couple of kids when I asked if they had a request, and they ran and hid behind their Daddy's legs..other than that, is was all positive. We agreed to make this a Christmas tradition.

Unplugged

Did you know that God created a beautiful, exciting, vibrant, thriving world right in the other room, in the backyard, and out the front door?? Here's a pretty radical suggestion:


There is something that is probably inside your home that is literally extruding the life right out of you. Your television and sometimes, yes, even your computer. These things are fine in moderation, but most of us have gone far beyond that to the point of neglecting those around us. Consider for a moment unplugging your tv, turn off your cable, and greatly reduce your computer time also.

What have you got to lose?
For starters, your very life. Did you know that the World Health Organization estimated that one of the top 10 leading causes of death was a sedentary lifestyle? Link: "http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/release23/en/index.html

What have you got to gain?( annual totals):

• Money..$900 ..The average cable bill is $75 per month.
• Time ..15,355 Hours..An American Time survey finds the average American spends 5 hours per day watching tv.
• Better Grades
• Peace.. witnessing violence in media contributes to violent behavior.
• Weight loss..Television is one of the many contributing factors to obesity.
• Sleep.. Often because of inactivity insomnia occurs.
• Cure of ADHD and related conditions.
• Many more....sexual promiscuity, drug use, alcohol use, and smoking/tobacco use has all been linked to tv. Article:http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv.htm

What can we do now?

• Discover the great outdoors, most cities have awesome nature centers, neighborhood parks, bike paths, lakes, etc.
• Find your artistic side, take a ceramic, sculpture,sewing, guitar, piano, drum, class/lessons.
• Volunteer at your local family shelter,church, school, hospital, nursing home, and library.
• Pray, you can't pray too much!!!
• Laugh, tell a joke, listen to one,the world is a constant source of humor.
• Visit the library, this place is full of adventure!
• Museums, there are so many different kinds from art to history to children's to science and more!
• Travel, there are places to discover close by or far away.
• Exercise, you don't have to join a gym, go for a walk, bike ride, swim, hike, climb, or turn on the music at home and just groove on.
• Cook, there are about a bajillion cookbooks out there.
•  Adopt a human, visit a local nursing home and choose a new Grandma or Grandpa, become a Big Brother or Big Sister.
• Write a letter, when is the last time you used a pencil/pen and wrote to someone?
• Sing, it's ok even if your tone deaf, flat or off key,it even lowers your blood pressure.
• Smile...You use less muscles in your face than if you frown. Not to mention, you can totally make someone's day!!
• Adopt a pet from the humane society.
• The list goes on.

So, here is the challenge, Unplug your tv and then post this article on your blog. Whenever you write about an unplugged activity title it "Unplugged: Sewing" or whatever activity you participate instead.


Are you up to the challenge?
If so, let me know, comment with a link to your blog.