This week, we are having a little break from the television.

I have absolutely no problems with TV in general, and I usually let my kids watch daily (though I do try to limit it to 30-60 minutes a day, and we keep it to shows & DVDs without commercials). I think it is quite useful as a break for us all – me in particular! For us, it works to help everyone chill out for a bit when we are having a rough or fussy time, or to keep the kids entertained and safe while I try to get some work done,  shower, or take a mama break and zone out for awhile to work on the blog or other stuff online (I really really need this for my own sanity).

I’ve found that in order to curb the requests for TV, I have to schedule it into our day very carefully – not just toss it in willy nilly – because the kids then think any time might be a good time to watch (and will ask ALL THE TIME). Up until Elsie and Delia eliminated their morning nap (around 20 months or so?) my oldest, Emma, would watch something while I nursed them to sleep. Now, the little ones get to watch too, and its usually after playtime in the morning (breakfast, playtime/get dressed, TV, then outings or other projects) and sometimes also in the afternoon right before dinner, while I cook. Any time I slip up and let Emma watch at a different time (while Elsie & Delia are still napping in the afternoon, for instance, or directly after breakfast), it comes back to haunt me for weeks – she will remember and try to badger me into letting it happen then again.  Stick with the schedule, though, and all generally goes well.

However. There has lately been a bit more whining and angst over who decides what we watch, and a bit too much talk (from my oldest) about all the TV she wants to watch, so I’ve declared a TV free week. It’s going pretty well, though boy do I miss it sometimes! It’s a good exercise for us all, though. I am tempted to stretch it to two, actually.

Here is a list the girls and I have come up with of things to do instead of TV.  We certainly have not tried them all this week, but it’s nice to have a list to refer to!

1. draw pictures/color
2. flubber!
3. swing on the swings
4. build a tower
5. run around outside
6. run around inside
7. jump outside
8. glue magazine pictures (magazine collages)
9. play with the dollhouse
10. play a board game
11. do math
12. do button math (counting buttons into cups, or using them to add & subtract)
13. bead necklaces
14. sort pasta (and pasta beading)
15. cook something
16. play with (fisher price) “little people”
17. line up all the little people in a parade
18. line up all the plastic animals in a parade
19. play with animals in the bathtub
20. felt some soaps
21. dress up
22. make a fort
23. play in the sandbox
24. take a walk
25. throw the frisbee
26. ride bikes
27. read books
28. dance party!
29. go to the park
30. go to the zoo
31. work on paper dolls
32. play with “Suzie” doll (Elsie)
33. play with dominos
34. make a checker game (Emma wants to learn checkers)
35. type on typewriter or computer
36. scavenger hunt
37. set up the (indoor) tent
38. play with instruments
39. pots and pans
40. learn to write words (Emma)
41. write on chalkboard wall
42. clean chalkboard wall
43. play with marbles on a tray (with muffin tins,egg cartons & ice cube trays)
44. marble game
45. paint with marbles
46. play with dolls
47. dress our dolls in new clothes
48. bristle blocks
49. fingerpaint



50. paint with water
51. play with trains
52. play with cars
53. make a racetrack
54. paint with cars
55. play with toy kitchen
56. plant some seeds (indoors in windowsill)
57. take a bubble bath
58. play with Noah’s Ark
59. wash the sink (Emma enjoys this job a lot)
60. play with water in the big sink
61. wash toy dishes in big sink
62. make a card
63. glitter art
64. make a book
65. do sticker books
66. make a pillow stepping stone track (no touching the floor)
67. pretend we are going to school
68. have a tea party
69. have a birthday party for Bunny Bun Bun
70. make bubbles
71. pretend it’s Halloween
72. ice cube surprises (freezing toys/fun objects in ice for bath, sink or swimming pool)
73. play in Mama’s bed (Elsie and Delia’s favorite, ha)
74. Legos/duplos
75. make a “magic” bottle with oil/water/glitter
76. play/sort shells
77. play with “gems” (glass gems) or rocks
78. collect nature treasures for a nature display
79. hopscotch (inside with tape, or outside with chalk)
80. move the furniture and do tumbling
81. make an obstacle course
82. (homemade) reading games
83. look at pictures on the computer
84. listen to music or books on CD
85. sew on buttons
86. make sock puppets
87. tissue paper collage
88. work on & play with shower curtain playmat
89. make felt board pictures
90. crayon rubbings
91. stencil pictures
92. letter stamps (or any stamps)
93. play “school bus” or “driving in the car” (an E & D favorite)
94. play with beans (sensory table/bucket/pool)
95. hammer nails into a stump
96. play with magnets
97. roll balls in the hallway
98. do puzzles
99. go to the library
100. invite friends over to play

What do you do around the house instead of TV? Please share your ideas in the comments.

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You can find Kristin over at Intrepid Murmurings, where she writes and photographs her attempts to embrace motherhood, nurture creativity, and maintain sanity while raising twin toddlers and a preschooler.