Saturday, March 29, 2014

Granny Squares, Chicken Poop, and Minecraft

Adding a bit of sunshine to my days by crocheting these tiny granny squares using  wool yarn I dyed with a dye color called Sunflower.    So far this year I haven't bought any new yarn except when I met my Mom for our overnight get-away in Woodstock.

I am trying to decide if I can use up yarn I have for Nolan and Rachel's blanket or if I have to buy some yarn, or maybe both.

With the weather at least being in the 30s we are getting outside, but still not a lot to do.   I scraped the poop off the top of the chickens' boxes and then thought I might be able to clean out the coop - but having to step down two feet (because of the snow) to get in and out of the coop proved to be too much.  And then, where to put all of the compost.... do I really want to add it to the built up compost already right out side their coop?  So for now we wait and keep adding a bit of hay to the inside to keep things at least somewhat manageable inside their house.  

Inside the children are so, so into Mine Craft that I worry, talk to them about my concerns, limit it on one day, don't say anything another.  Oh, this is such a tough one for me.   The hardest part in the process of thinking it all through is that we have such a wide range of ages, Abraham at  6 being my biggest concern.  I worry about their bodies - the sitting, the staring at the screen.  Wondering if it would be better for them to have no screens so they would have to do more creative things.   But really isn't the "more creative" just my idea of creative?  I am sure they could explain how very creative  Mine Craft is and they have.    And at nearly 14 and 16, Abby and Isaac are at a place where I think they need to learn the consequences of their decisions.  Abby is wonderful at balancing her day.  Isaac would be on the computer all day if I didn't say anything, or would he?

I look forward to the weather changing when they will choose to be outside more.  First we have to get through another 10" of snow that is coming tonight and tomorrow.

9 comments:

  1. what an interesting combination of topics...so glad my children are grown, don't have to make so many choices. Congratulations on your news...wedding and health.

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  2. My son too is into Minecraft in a big way. I am trying to let go of "my" ideas of what he should spend his time on and be happy he has found something he is so passionate about. Check out sandradodd.com in her unschooling section she has quite a bit on Minecraft which I found helpful and maybe you will too.

    Congratulations on your son's upcoming wedding. The granny squares are lovely.

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  3. 10" of snow, yuck! I am sorry for you - they are predicting snow showers and sleet here tonight for us but by all means not 10" I have done a lot of crocheting but never a granny square, my mom did granny squares all the time. I did see a tote bag made of granny squares I liked and one day I might do one of those. The same goes here too with my chicken coop, just more straw till I can haul the poop away.

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  4. Here is a blog post that addresses just that; and her kids seem to have such a creative soul!
    http://www.nestinggypsy.com/blog/2014/3/4/screen-time
    Hope this helps allay some worries

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  5. I love the yellow yarn so pretty. Do you buy uncolored yarn to do this? My youngest daughter also Loves Mine Craft. She is in the process of taping herself playing it :) There are so many people on you tube doing this kinda crazy :) I understand your concerns.

    Hope the weather warms up a little for you all.. Many Blessings!!!

    Renee (a knitters notebook)

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  6. I'm an older mom so my kids didn't have computers until they went to college, for the most part. The big thing was playstation, which only my boys cared for. (not the girls). Our rule was any t.v. or playstation (and if we had computers this would have been the same) were allowed only on weekends, starting on Friday after school. Their schools gave them so many hours of homework each evening, maybe 3-4 hours, they wouldn't have had time to do anything else anyway. I'm old- school and do not think it is good for kids to be on a computer or watching t.v., playing playstation,etc. I feel it takes kids away from old-fashioned reading, and reading is how they increase their vocabulary and exercise their minds.

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  7. I like your happy little granny squares, the yellow is a very sunshine-y colour :)

    My boys, especially my 6 year old, would probably spend all day on the computer if I let them. I limit it to at most an hour on a weekend day and maybe 45 minutes at most on a school night if he's done any homework etc. that's outstanding. I try to encourage him to do other things like reading or playing with his lego

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  8. I've watched my son play Minecraft and I just don't get why he loves it so much...but he does. He's only 9 so I have to limit his time, but I totally agree that older children need to be able to monitor themselves. And...I love your granny squares with that hand dyed sunflower yarn! Thank you and aloha, Lori

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  9. My children LOVE MInecraft! Having a large family and only one computer, everyone is given a certain amount of alloted time, just to keep the peace here. When the kids have more time than usual, they usually self regulate after a while. I really think that it depends on the child's personality. Most of my children will grow bored with it after a while, but my 13year old son would spend all day playing. I feel that it is important to help our children, especially in the beginning of the young adult years, to prioritize. It really is an important skill to life skill to learn. I feel that the important concept here, is to allow them to enjoy the Minecraft, for what it is, but make sure that they still have outside time. There is a family who has started a company that has classes that teach certain subjects through Minecraft that you might want to check out. Whenyouriseup.com

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