Trapped in the house

Bear stated there was absolutely NOTHING to do when he was grounded.


*Kinda the point baby.*





Tired of him pouting and using this as an excuse to try to make everyone else miserable, and trapped in a van with sulky boy, I decided to make an end run (LOOK! A sport metaphor! Hope I used it correctly. Don't get used to it.).



I gave all the kids a "hypothetical situation." What activities can you do without leaving the house?



At first I got nothing. Then I put Ponito on the spot. "Name 5 things you can do."



Watch TV


Play computer


Play Playstation


...





That was all I was going to get, so I threw in, "Bob, what's your favorite activity?" Nothing. "You know the thing you do ALL the time?!"


Reading!
Yea, that's it.



Bear tossed in, "Sleeping until it's over."


Bear also tried to sneak in, "Have a friend over to watch a movie." I quickly responded, "Sure, as long as you're not grounded."





So here's the list we came up with:


Drawing, painting, sketching


Cleaning and organizing (hey, it's a legitimate activity! I only mentioned it once or twice...ish.)


Cooking (desserts to share with friends at school)


Homework (not that Bear ever has any)


Write music


Learn to play an instrument


Write, make sets, costumes and perform in plays


Make scavenger hunts


Jump rope, play jacks (No, no baseball!)


Play cards or board games


Do jigsaw puzzles


Teach the dogs tricks


Play with the cats


Learn to sew, knit or crochet


Lift weights


Aerobic exercise


Learn to belly dance


Write stories/ memoirs


Write letters (real letters not just e-mails)


Get a pen pal


Grow plants


Watch your fish


Play dolls or cars with your siblings





We went off on a tangent about the fun "Letter Parties" we used to have when the kids were younger. We would choose a letter, and that would be the theme of our party.


The kids especially loved the letter P. We'd have a Pajama party, picnic on pizza and watch a movie starting with P - usually the Pirate Move. Pie for dessert!


M was also popular. Movie, meatballs, chocolate Mousse cake...


E was fun but hard. We had an Elegant Event (everyone dressed up in nice clothes). We had eggs (deviled were eggcellent), and... never could figure out anything else to eat (eggplant was not popular!). The kids loved Eclairs though!


B Barbecue Birthday Bash


Talking about the elegant event brought up another idea. Bear talked about a movie where the teacher helped the kids invite a holocaust survivor and what they learned. We talked about learning about a historical character and pretending you were them at dinner (costumes and everything) or your favorite character.




Ponito was begging to bring the letter meals back. Bob was being totally negative until I mentioned we could have an EVIL Elegant Event (she's on this "evil" kick - in a totally mostly appropriate way). Everyone could dress as their favorite villian. Grandma likes Captain Hook. I'm partial to the drama of Cruella De Ville!




But with my figure like it is now maybe I should go with something more like the Red Queen?