Updates from the Summer

A few thoughts from some recent blog posts... like when I took away all my kid's toys and when I decided to let them rot their brains away on video games for the summer.

The Toys.

In April, the toys went away. Especially for my smaller ones (ages 4 & 6). They kept a stuffed animal/baby that they sleep with and I did keep the communal box of Lego's in the dining room.

Are the toys still gone? YEP. Well, mainly... my Mother In Law has sent the kids a few bucks here and there- they've either bought Lego's that are in the dining room bin or we've gone to Dollar Tree to let them buy treasures. So there are a few items floating around, BUT - once a toy is broken we let it go and throw it away. Grandma is happy to spoil them, they feel like big rollers with $10 in Dollar Tree and as the "treasure" (mom translation: junk) breaks --- it's trash.

Do we plan on bringing them back? NOPE. Everything that was bagged up is going to be donated and bless someone else. Just like in the four steps I use to minimize the stuff in our home-- the bagged up toys will follow that path as well.

How are my kids surviving? Wonderfully! They spend most days playing in the pool, the girls have made up the cutest games with their little doll/stuffed animal, they "cook" with dirt/mud/rocks/sticks outside, ride their bikes, play Lego's and board games, paint with watercolors, explore around the globe we have and ask questions... You name it!

How is mom doing? WONDERFUL! Minus finding stray Lego's from time to time (the rule is they stay on the dining room table and get put in the communal box when they're done. If I find them elsewhere-- they're trash. Immediately. FOLLOW THROUGH.), clean up is easy peasy! The level of any bickering is nearly non-existent, I haven't spent a dime on any form of "entertainment" for my kids in I have no idea how long and I can SEE their growth and creativity soaring!!!

The Video Games.

I usually keep a pretty strict screen time schedule. They get to play on their tablets (Kid's Kindles for the little girls and our son ((nearly 13)) uses his iPad) for up to 1 hour in the morning and can watch something during the 1 hour quiet time in the afternoon. No video games during the week, and only an hour on the weekends. We rarely watch TV, unless it's a school something/documentary and then one episode of family snuggle/TV time in the evenings (Little House on the Prairie, The Bible series, etc...).

So when I decided that for their summer break I wanted to remove the reigns-- an all out, kid led, fun summer. Swimming - go for it. Popsicle for snack time - yep. (as long as it's organic without ANY high fructose corn syrup... let's not get crazy here.) Video games & tablets - sure, why not? So, what happened? Do you think they've completely melted into a pile of goo in front of the TV?

Surprisingly... no. I did add two notes -- no video games before lunch. We have one TV which is in the living room. I work from home and do my Bible study usually in the mornings, I can't stand the TV just running in the background and video games going in this time just drove me batty. So, tablet time was ok as much as they wanted, but no video games. Still, most mornings? They're at the table playing Lego's together. Go figure.

Second note, video games went off by 5:00 PM. That gives them one hour to go swim and detox from the screen before we have dinner and momma can play records while she cooks. *happy thoughts*

What did I learn? They are REALLY good at regulating themselves! There were some bickering/issues in the beginning of making sure everyone got fair game time. (1 Xbox One, 3 controllers & not all games are 3 player compatible.) The oldest took the lead and set up a system, sets the timer for each block and keeps everything running very smoothly. I didn't step in once -- they worked it all out together! And the two little girls can be VERY difficult to accommodate.

They will GET BORED and walk away after so long. Whhhhat?!?!?! Say it isn't so! I know, I didn't think it could happen either! But, some days they would be bored of video games too. The less I made it this big deal that had to have all the regulations and laws around it... the less they craved it. Other days they would play for 5 hours straight. Balance. I mean, we do the same. Ask how many days it took me to watch every episode of Gilmore Girls before the new episodes were released. Not my proudest moment. But some days I also kick butt and churn out thousands of dollars worth of work. Eb and flow.

Will we keep it this way? Probably not. This has been a BLAST for summer, which we enjoy taking off from school and just being on a VERY relaxed schedule. Come September school officially starts and we bring some steady rhythm back in to our days. Their tablets will go back to only being on in the specific periods and video games will go back to being a weekend only thing. But, our days are full of fun activities with the homeschool plan and with the weather cooling off we tend to spend more time outside. (I know I don't want to do much outside when it's 90° and a million percent humidity... 70's and humidity gone? Yep- outside for everything!)

Time may change this, but so far? Good to go! :)

Be sure to download our Minimalist Home eBook if you haven't gotten to yet! It's been so great getting feedback from everyone -- I'm excited to see how it goes as people actually take the plunge and start the process! Know I am rooting you on and following the steps right along side of you!