Family Goals

I started something new a couple of weeks ago with my family and I'm loving how it's going so far.  I set some new family goals for our afternoons, evenings and weekends together.  I brainstormed some ideas for several days and then posted them on a letter board for everyone to see.

My motivation behind making the list was that I didn't love how we were spending our time together.

There was too much screen time for everyone.

My kids love shows, movies and the adults love their phones.  I hoped that by shifting our attention to other things that we end up with more quality time together and enjoying our time together more.

It was a struggle at first limiting shows after school, but now they know they each get to pick one and we're done.  It's so fun that Olive is starting to read more and more.  She'll look over the list and say - Let's do ______!!  It also helps that the weather is getting so much nicer making some of these things easier.

It was also a struggle for me at first.  I just pick up my phone all the time and start scrolling through social media without evening thinking about it.  Now I throw my phone on the charger when Olive gets home from school and move on to other things.  I'll grab an iced coffee and a book, work on preparing some good food for dinner or make plans to head outside.

I should also say that I did not approach this from a critical or criticizing angle with my family.

I didn't nag about too much screen time or complain.  I just took charge of our family goals and made the shift.  I led by example - putting my own phone and computer away - and then changes started happening for everyone.  I don't think that anyone appreciates being nagged about things so I'd highly recommend changing your behavior first and watching changes happen with everyone else.  We've definitely cut back on screen time, but we still enjoy them, too.  We won't be getting rid of our tvs or dvrs or phones anytime soon.  Just enjoying more quality time together than before.

I think our goals are pretty self explanatory and are easy things for kids and adults to grasp.  We've been doing this for a couple weeks now.  The only changes that I see making ot the list are maybe adding in some fun summer options like swim, popsicles or garden.

I wanted to share some of our favorite family things right now:

My friend Whitney at Come Home for Comfort mentioned that the Dollar Tree had popsicles recently.  I couldn't way to try them out because my kids love popsicles.  I picked up these two varieties.  Juicy Juice = 10 for $1 and they're the perfect size for kids.  We haven't tried the Italian ices yet, but they look yummy!  They're 6 for $1.

I loved that the Juicy Juice popsicles weren't full of food coloring and they tasted delicious!!  Kids and adults loved them.  I am going to be seriously stocking up on these for summer.  I think I've purchased 6 boxes so far.  ha!

Popsicles = so many smiles.

We've been checking out new parks and playing together.

We've also been investing in fun things for the kids to enjoy together outside.  This week I picked up a $1 bag of Military Action Figures for their rock pit underneath our swing set.  They've had the best time hiding, transporting and camouflaging these military guys all over the backyard.

Scratch Art.
I've purchased a couple of boxes of these now and we just love them.  I bought one for a playgroup with friends and we've enjoyed another one at home.  They're so much fun!!  The quality is great and you can scratch them off with toothpicks, popsicle sticks, pennies or your finger nail.  Both kids have really enjoyed them.

They come in a box of 150 notes.  They're post it note size, but really thick for easy art work.  I think they'd be great for road trips, birthday parties or some fun art at home with your kids.  



Olive did these scratch art family portraits as surprise for me.  I just love them!  They're hanging up in our kitchen and I smile every time I look at them.

What are your favorite things to do with your family??

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