There's nothing wrong with having fun

I was talking with a customer at a show this past weekend and the subject of TV came up. I told some amusing story about Ryan and his love of WWII documentaries. The woman commented, "At least he isn't playing video games all day." I smiled, and she left. Her comment, however, stayed with me.

I thought about what she said. I thought I should have told her that Ethan spends a great deal of time playing games on the computer. I thought I should have told her that there is nothing wrong with playing video games all day. There is nothing wrong with watching TV all day. There is value in everything, but society doesn't seem to think there is value in children using these things for entertainment, or learning, or fun. Mostly, though, I wondered why I was thinking about her at all.

I know that my guys are happy. I know they are learning and growing. I know that computers, TV, and video games are tools people to get things we need and like. Still, I felt that I ought to have said these things. Part of that is my desire to share how wonderful Unschooling is for us. Part of it is my own to justify myself and my life to other people. The former is something I think is something worth keeping. The latter is something I am learning to let go.

People have a right to learn and live in ways that make sense to them. That is what the first was about. It stemmed from a belief I have always had. Many times, other people try to enforce their views of what constitutes the best ways to live and learn on other people, especially children.

Both of my sons have gotten a great deal from TV and computers. First and foremost, they have gotten enjoyment from them. Electronics have made them smile and laugh. Not incidentally, they have both learned a great deal from their electronics. I think they have learned more from TV and computers because they enjoy using them. They aren't forced to watch things that are educational. They watch what they want and take away insights from what they see. I'm glad they can spend their days watching TV and playing video games if that's what they want to do.

I wish my customer could get as much out of TV and games as my guys do. If she did, I bet she'd have a lot of things to think about instead of focusing on what other people are doing.

Water Park, Computers, and Snow!

Wow it's been a long time since I wrote here. Guess I've been too busy enjoying life to write about it. We just got back from the UWWG.That was big fun.

Ryan loved the sword fight and the endless games of chase.
He enjoyed reconnecting with friends (Jared is on the right) and making new ones (Jet is on the left).
Ethan had a blast selling and trading Pokémon cards with Aryn and Evan.
Ethan really wants to learn to surf. We thought this would be a perfect place to try it out, but he absolutely hated the flow-rider. He said it was too fast and too scary.
After he tried it out, cried, and calmed down he said, "I'm really proud of myself for trying that." Way to go Ethan.

We left the Water park on Friday and arrived home Saturday to a visit from two wonderful friends. Doran and Amory are here for the week. They arrived just in time for Ethan to get his long awaited holiday present. He wanted a laptop and used all his Christmas/Hanukkah/Solstice money to get it. He waited until we could find one in his budget that met his needs. That finally happened yesterday. He was so excited. He and Doran opened the box together.
Mimi helped get it all set up.
Ethan hasn't been off it for long since.
Today we have lots of snow. Doran wanted to go play in it, but was having trouble convincing the other guys to go out. I suggested we could cover him in snow without leaving the house. Ethan leaned out the back window and shoveled the snow from the overhang. All Doran had to do was wait. It was Ethan's idea of perfect snow fun. He got to cover someone in snow without going outside.

Now we're setting up all the computers in the house so that all four guys can play Wizard101 together.

New Hampshire, New Fridge, New Haven

July was quite the month, but I'm going to start out with today because it's fresh and amusing. Ethan and Ryan stayed home with Mama Jeanne today while Esther and I set out to get a refrigerator. The old downstairs fridge died a horrible death last month and we had no choice but to get a new one. We got an amazing deal since Sears was having a sale and we had a $50 coupon.

While we were in Sears, we got a phone call from Mike Alumni Cruises. We just booked our rooms for the Unschooling Adventure Cruise in October of 2009. In order to talk to him, Esther wanted to sit down. We ducked into the nearest dressing room and sat down in a stall. While she was talking, I listened for a while then looked around the stall. I noticed a very large pair of shorts hanging on a hook.I thought it was odd that they were men's shorts. Then I looked at the other clothing in the stall. It was all men's clothing. She finished the phone call and left. The sales associate outside looked very confused. We just smiled and walked away.

In other news, we spent 10 days in New Hampshire at Kim's cabin. The first two days Esther and I had to work. If you've ever wondered what we really do at work, here's a picture of breakdown. Mike is one of the show producers and the girl pushing him is Georgia, child of one of the other vendors.



Back at the cabin, there was lots of game playing,

and hanging out by the pond.
There was also a day of bowling. We won a free game of ten-pin bowling last year at the Firemen's Auction and cashed it in this year.

We got to spend with Kim and she got to spend time with Croydon.
Ryan loved having s'mores each night. It was even better the night we had the fire, s'mores, sparklers, and fireworks.

Of course all that fun in one night can make you very tired.
Ethan liked getting up early and waiting near the dock for anyone else to get up and go swimming with him.
Both Ethan and Ryan liked having Uncle Stephan's and Uncle Gareth's friends come up. Callen played guitar and that was very cool.

Now we're back in New Haven and looking forward to a day at Lake Compounce on Monday. Right now though, we 're having fun playing Webkinz and Puzzle Pirates.