Rationing

My girls and I are finishing up our study of World War II, and this week we are including some activities from the homefront. I decided that in order to teach my kids about the concept of rationing, I'd make up some ration books of my own. Instead of rationing food, however, I'm rationing activities. For the next 5 days they will have ration stamps for activities such as playing outside, time on the computer, playing with Barbies, playing with American Girls, and TV, to name a few. It's been fun to see their little minds strategizing. They wanted to know if they could Tivo a show and skip the commercials, thus freeing up some extra minutes for every hour watched. When they had 30 minutes of free time after lunch they had a big discussion and then they decided they'd play house, since it wasn't a rationed activity. They are very particular about saving up their rations! They are extremely concerned that they will run out of stamps labeled "playtime with Sarah" (their cousin down the street). And they are frequent reporters on the illegal behavior of the others. Gordon just poked his head in here to inform me that the singing and dancing the girls were doing was going to have to count as both "listening to music" and "dance" on their ration cards. Believe me, I've been hearing this all day, and it's only Monday!


I'm definitely seeing some benefits, though, despite the tattling! The TV didn't turn on once today because they are saving for a show later this week. Gordon actually played for extended periods of time with his toys instead of asking to be on the computer all the time. And when he did have his computer time, there was no fussing when the timer buzzed after 30 minutes, because he knew that was all his ration stamps allowed! Tonight they all played with Playdoh together (again, another unrationed activity). I like to see them interacting without the need for the computer or the TV!