goal: catfish


Roone's goal for Spring is to fish for catfish. He used his own money to purchase a catfish pole and supplies a month ago. Jesse didn't intend to begin fishing this early in the season, but after reading fishing reports of what anglers have already been catching they set out yesterday. They didn't bring home a bucket full of fish, but they did bring home this catfish Roone caught himself on his own pole. Isn't that cool? He was so, so excited (as was his sister who ate the fish for dinner), and ready to go out for more.

On a side note, an older fisherman when talking with my husband commented that his grandson wouldn't fish; that he'd rather play on his iPad than outdoors. When this fisherman found out that Jesse and Roone arrived when the park opened at 6am, he was astonished. I have to be careful here, because I know some people will take this as bragging on my son. I'm proud of my son for having an interest and goals. I'm proud of Jesse and I for not allowing too much screen time for our children. We are not against technology, it is an amazing resource and pays our bills through my husband's work. We have our favorite TV shows, enjoy watching movies, use Kindles for ebooks, and I have my favorite blogs that I read. However, when we hear comments like this, about what is neglected in preference for playing games, it only confirms what we've chosen: less screen time = more healthy living.

When the children were really little and I was very tired, it was easy to turn on a video so I could have a breather and they could sit for a moment. There's nothing wrong with that! I did begin to think, though, how easy it is to turn to the screen for mundane entertainment and it became obvious how giving a child just a little bit of that recreation makes them crave for more. I began to think, if I fill our days with other activities there probably just won't be enough time for the children to be drawn to the screen. Do you know? This thinking has turned out to be true. Our days are filled with creating (cooking, gardening, art), reading, building, playing outside, enjoying games together. It's similar to food, maybe? If one fills up on healthy, wholesome food there just isn't room left for the junk food; once the palate knows the taste of real food the junk food doesn't even taste good. I guess this is our intent: to provide opportunities throughout the day to have meaningful experiences, not relying on virtual experiences through a screen.


Comments

Such a great picture of nature and your boy!
Rachel said…
Thank you, Julie! Credit goes to Jesse for the pic. :)