What My Kids Do For Fun

Because I am a proud member of the Mean Mommy Club, I do try to limit the television intake of my kids. That is not to say that they don't ever watch. I just try to make sure it is off most of the day. Some days I succeed more than others. Because of this, my children have been forced to create their own entertainment. Sometimes this works out well. Sometimes not so well.

At the moment, there seem to be three really popular games around my house.

The first one cracks me up because it is being played by the two children who live here who can't spell very well. One of them can't even read. But they insist that Hang Man is a fun game, regardless of their spelling abilities (or lack thereof).

I apologize for the poor scan quality, but this paper has been folded up and carried around the house more times than any Hang Man game should be. Notice the fingers. I wonder if every wrong answer got a finger, or if one wrong answer got the whole hand.

The next game just drives me a bit insane, because it nevah evah ends. It is called, "Mommy, if Obi Wan, Yoda, and Kit Fisto were in a fight, and they had fifty clone troopers on their side, and they were fighting against thirty droids, plus General Grievous, who do you think would win? Huh? Mommy, are you paying attention? Do you want me to tell you again?" This game is played by all three of my children, and has as many variations as there are combinations of Star Wars characters.

This is just a few of the many sticker collections around my house. Usually when this game starts, Mommy asks if there is anything good on tv.

Next is my current favorite game. This year, my kids are obsessed with March Madness. They have kept up with the brackets, the schedules, the seedings, all of it. And true to form, they have created a whole new game, called UK versus UConn. Or UK versus West Virginia. Or UK versus North Carolina. Or... well, you get the idea. Basically the kids stand on the parquet floor and toss the ball into an imaginary hoop. When they do, they cheer for UK, and give themselves a tally mark.

This is the score sheet Will kept from the UK/Duke game. (It doesn't matter that UK and Duke didn't play each other this year. They have heard the legendary stories of THE game.) In their version, UK always wins. (Please don't actually count the tally marks. It's an exercise in futility to argue with my children.)