Turn the TV Off!

This week is Turn off Your TV week! What a great concept?! As a mother, I challenged my own children to go the entire week without watching TV. Maya's first words when she wakes up are, "Put my shows on please!" We can do this as a family...I am sure! We have successfully made it to Tuesday with many art projects and outdoor activities...even family house cleaning. I start to question my sanity with this challenge.
Since my own children were up for the challenge, I decided to take it one step further and challenge my 18 kindergarten students. I have never seen stranger looks from my class when I asked them how long they thought they could go without watching tv. We then entered into an interesting conversation. One student told me her mom would not like it if she didn't watch tv. I thought about this for a second and realized what a great babysitter/entertainer/teacher the television can be. There are shows that teach students how to speak Spanish without them even realizing it. And then when your kids are engaged in that show, you can have a few minutes of clalm quite time to yourself. Yeah, your parents may not like this but challenge them as well! Another student added, "What will I do if I don't watch TV?" I suggested reading. Nope she doesn't like to read. How about jump roping or riding a bike? Nope she doesn't know how to ride a bike or jump rope. Maybe if we shut the TV off for a bit she can learn! Oh that is a fabulous idea! So all 18 kindergartners accepted my challenge. Upon acceptance, I encouraged them to not drive their parents crazy with their new free time! 24 hours after accepting the challenge, I was thrilled that 5 of them were able to carry it out. We discussed some more and reaccepted the challenge again today! I am anxiously awaiting the results tomorrow!
Reflecting on this TV free week (one day in) I am truly enjoying the undivided attention my daughters are giving me when I am talking to them and asking them to do things. It is amazing how much more they listen and understand me when not trying to listen to Daphne on Scooby Doo.
So I challenge you too! Can you go the week without TV? What could you do instead of watching a show?