A (Relatively) Tech Free Summer (Post #2)

Take one backyard inexplicably filled with junk, add three teenage boys with no sense of self preservation and presto! One hand made obstacle course.... and impending hospital visit!

A (Relatively) Tech-Free Summer (Post #1)

As all modern day parents, we have a problem, we read about how other parents "fixed" it. Of course 99% of the time any idea I try does not work as seamlessly as portrayed in my reading. I have a feeling that this will be yet another example but I am determined to try! My children's souls are at stake (or it sure feels that way).

I am not alone, I am sure, in feeling like my children spend entirely too much time on their screens (phones, gaming devices, iPads, and actually much less on an actual TV) so I decided to drastically restrict their screen time this summer. Now "drastically" for this Silicon Valley family means cutting down to 4 hours a day which is still an embarrassing amount of sedentary time but, well, I am trying.

So here goes my chronicle of the activities the kids and their friends get into this summer. My house and sanity will most likely not be intact by August 20th when they return to school but that was sort of over-rated anyway. :)

Gina

A McDonell Boy's bright future.... sigh

Heard in the backseat from Riley (5th grade): “Check out my homemade prison shank. I use it for my business.”
He then produces a broken pencil jaggedly sharpened.
Appalled, I asked what type of business he was running?!
His totally serious response, “Expired homework passes and cootie repellent.”
Oh. Good. He will have a job (illegal) and a home (prison) someday. I am so proud. My work on this one is done!

Bailey's Personal Credo... an English Assignment

It is times like this when I see something produced by my child that I know comes from his heart and gives me a small peek into what type of person he is becoming. As a typical 14 year old, Bailey is not super conversational at the best of times, especially about serious and introspective topics.

I happened to see him working on an assignment for English that entailed writing a poem. This is what he produced and it made me really proud (and also, strangely, a bit sad for some reason).

I believe in the right to dream
the value of people supporting you
the ambition to pursue your passion
the ability to love others
the joy of doing absolutely nothing

but the belief that you are superior to someone
else because of race, religion, or wealth is ludicrous

I believe in marriage for all people
I believe in second chances
I believe in freedom of speech,
religion, expression, the press

And I believe that one person can make a difference.
---Bailey McDonell