In the kitchen...

One artful day, I painted this sign as a reminder for us to keep up with our PLAY this month. When it came time to find a place for it, the kitchen seemed the obvious choice, but where exactly?

 

I poked around looking at old photographs. One favorite spot kept coming up, year after year.

 

 

 

 

 

So many years - so many goldfish - it only seemed fitting that we hang our sign 

at our favorite hang out spot! Can't wait to see what the rest of the month brings:-)

Don't Minecraft Me

So, we had a revealing weekend! The plan to turn off our electronics and have some FUN didn't quite "play out" as I hoped.

As much as I pulled the kids to do new things, inside and outside, their actions reminded me over and over what was still on their minds. MINECRAFT.

At the house, they made chalk drawings on the new blacktop on our driveway...Minecraft characters.

 

Reese found her paint and brushes to make some art...Minecraft art.

Ethan spent an afternoon building with his legos....Minecraft designs.

Maybe we just need to get out of the house? I thought. So I took them hiking one day at one of our favorite local state parks. Our 3 mile trek turned into 3 miles of Minecraft chatter and banter - lucky me! They took the occasional breather to have a picnic snack, to count rings on a tree stump and to admire some cute chipmunks and this beautiful horse.

So, as I said, it was a revealing weekend on many levels. We survived one another (lol) and had moments of FUN (extra points on kids' creativity) but our first rule? Yeah, it's going to take more than just a push of a button.

Rule #1 - READY, SET, PLAY!

You would think the idea of PLAY would be considered easy for kids.  It's their very first job, really, it's what they do best. So, why make a rule about it?

Answer: PLAY has changed greatly since our days as kids.

Today, if I were to tell my kids to go play, they would grab their favorite electronic device and get comfortable. (Sigh) It wasn't always this way. 

Even as I write this post, our house is alive with the sounds of our primo game of choice, Minecraft. Each and every day, my kids wake up excited to enter this strange, cubed world of Steves, creepers, enderman, villagers, spiders, squids and more. THEY. LOVE. IT. So much so, that sometimes, they let the everyday world pass them by. This won't do, so this month, our first rule puts PLAY front and center.

The computer games won't go away completely but we are looking to open up and expand their world of PLAY, as well as rekindle that original spark.

READY, SET, PLAY is about physical play, the kind where you GO OUTSIDE - what a concept!

READY, SET, PLAY is about crafty play, using the basics: paper, pencil, paint and imagination.

READY, SET, PLAY is about mental play, stretching our minds to bring more PLAY to our everyday thoughts, words and actions (and not be too serious.)

In the end, the goal is always the same, to have some FUN!

I PLAY - YOU PLAY - HE, SHE, WE PLAY...It's that SIMPLE.

What makes a good rule?

 

So here's the plan...we will write one house rule each month for the next year. Then, during that month, we will test said rule to the fullest of our imagination to see if it's a good fit for us. 

But what makes a good rule?

As Ethan said, the key factor for us is FUN!  We want to make rules that are FUN  to follow... 

1) On our own
2) As a family 
3) Together with friends, neighbors, our school, community and more!

You can join in, too! Share your FUN in comments and help us spread the word around! :-)

Riddle me this, Batman

"Rules are boring!" That's what my kids said one day when I told them I wanted to create a set of house rules for our family. And to be clear, to them, rules weren't just boring, they were SO BORING!

Yes, yes, I had to agree, sometimes, rules were boring, but I didn't think our rules would be.

"Ours can be different." I told them. "Think curious, quirky, zany. They're our rules, so really, they can be anything we want them to be."

My kids weren't convinced. Heads down in their video games, both were quiet for what felt like a real, long while. And then, my son, Ethan spoke, again.

"Can they be FUN?"
Reese's face light up at the request and joined in. "Yeah! We want FUN!!"

Fun, hmm...and that was it, the moment, the inspiration that bubbled and perked inside my head and became this blog.


So, riddle me this Batman and fellow crusaders who dare: can rules be FUN? Let's find out together!!!

Welcome to <our house rules>.