Unplugged, Part II

Well, my first post on this topic talked about how we had decided not to subscribe to satellite tv when we moved here. Mostly because we didn't want to waste all kinds of time watching tv, and because Oliver would really turn into a beast when it was time to turn off the tv. (I'd like to say that that's a characteristic of a 4 year old--having difficulties with transitions, but I think he's like his momma and could watch tv endlessly...). Anyway, the kids started off doing really well, playing with toys that hadn't been played with for a while, and generally being more creative with their play time. And I'm VERY HAPPY to say that things are STILL going very well!! The kids run downstairs and instead of whining to watch something on tv, they get out Legos or books, or some other toy. And they play together so much, and come up with (I think) very creative things to do with their toys. Pretend play has reached a whole new level. Here are some examples...

This is in the girls' room. There were 3 different "fort" areas going on. Eva had a restaurant and kitchen, Oliver had a garage and bedroom, and Lucy had some little area. Eva had her cd player over in hers to provide "mood music", and all kinds of little plates with play food on them. This fort, however, doesn't hold a candle to ones that we did a couple months ago, and I wished I had taken a picture. Oliver's whole room was a fort! I loved it. I think I would've thought that so neat as a kid!

Eva and Oliver had taken a lot of the dollhouse furniture and set it up on the stairs by the window and for some reason it was more fun to play with it there. They made separate little sections of living area. I loved it--I told them to leave it up for a while (and fortunately, no one biffed it on the stairs while it was up).

Ah, play doh! I try to bring it out every once in a while, because boy, it occupies them for quite a while. This time they made a whole bunch of little villages and cars that they put on paper plates.

Here is their restaurant. They had spaghetti, cherries (lots of cherries, for some reason), tacos, and burritos, too. Again, Eva had her CD player to provide mood music, and at one point, everyone had aprons on while cooking. Behind them is the fort Eva made. She had a small stool in there with a napkin on it (for her table--she then had a little snack there), and some books to read (with a flashlight, of course!), and of course, some stuffed animals to share the time with.

Needless to say, I don't think we're going to be going back to TV anytime soon. Granted, we do have a Netflix account, (and I LOVE it!). We use it for our family movie night on Fridays and the kids do watch a Diego, Dinosaur train, or SuperWhy! now and then. Sanity does need to be preserved, after all!!