“I’m bored.  There’s nothing to do,” so many kids exclaim when they don’t have access to electronics or parents restrict the hours they’re on computers, video games, wii, playstation and others.
We as parents and grandparents can do much top open up a non-electronic world to supplement the electronic experiences.

Science experiments
Hikes
 Nature walks nearby
Arts and crafts
Acting out books and stories
Family fun nights
Family cooking competitions
Reading aloud
Storytelling

I think of the pleasures of my childhood and my daughter’s before there were so many electronics.  Recapture this family fun and closeness as we interact together.
What do you and your family do that’s non-electronic?

I don’t get cell phones when the newest model comes out. I don’t buy every game system that hits the store shelves. I don’t buy new computers, cameras, MP-3 players and other stuff on a weekly basis. Still, I have an awful lot of outdated stuff sitting around. I was wondering whether to haul them up to the local thrift shop or to ask at the landfill about recycling them. Then, I realized that all that stuff was actually worth some money. Not a lot of money, but enough to buy a new little gadget.
That’s right. There’s actually a market …read more

Well, haven’t yet started my heroic attempt at fixing things around the house myself, as I said I would. The first DIY project was to have been the exerior molding of my dining room windows…which have become embarrassingly decrepit in the last 2 years.
However, it clearly states on my can of “Ready Strip” that it has to be 67 degrees fahrenheit in order to use the product. Not to mention that it’s been raining for 3 days. Perfect reasons to delay the project don’t you think? (read: procrastination)
So I did what any handyperson-challenged gal would do, I began to shop …read more