It seems like just yesterday, but yesterday marked one whole year since we took up the gauntlet. We began our challenge to work our way through the book, 365 TV-Free Activities, by Steve and Ruth Bennett. We had highs! We had lows. We were running a week or more behind for most of the year, but darn it, we finished a few days early.
For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about: Hi, nice to meet you. I have a blog where I attempt to make sense of our loony ways, and we've been doing an activity per day, from the same battered little book, all year. Read more about the introduction of this idea here.
There were times when it felt a little grueling to come up with supplies, energy, and the technical wherewithal to accomplish, document, and publish each activity, but we rose to the challenge and are better for it. The younger two kids were greatly enriched by all of the hands-on nature and art activities, as well as spending time with the older two, who were in turn enriched by spending time with their younger siblings. It was like a big ole' circle of enrichment.
But, something else happened to make this experience better than anyone could have predicted. Henry and Thomas showed themselves to be budding sketch writers/ directors/ performers. They relished every step of the process, coming up with ideas, gathering props, setting the stage, even storyboarding in some cases. And of course, their filming adventures would always produce a few outtakes, which made me and their dad laugh harder than any other time during the year. I hope it was fun for those following us on Facebook.
Speaking of which, if it weren't for our friends out there in the land of the internet, we'd just look like a bunch of dorks with a beat-up activity book, a camera, and too much time on our hands. So thank you, for reading, posting, encouraging us, and playing along.
I give you, our final submission. Look for the wacky alternative ending version on Facebook.
