But before I get into that: Happy 4th of July! A day or so later. Now you're onto me. I'm behind on my blog.
We went to a BBQ that we go to every year. A very nice couple and their two little girls (6 and 9) host it. They are both Ph.D. researchers in the brain lab, where the brain surgeon does a fair share of his research. Some of the other brain surgeons occasionally attend and the sister-in-law of the wife-half is married to a neurologist as well. So it’s a brainy good time.
We always start with the whole party at the Pacific Palisades parade put on by the Palisades Americanism Parade Association (um, mouthful), which is usually a mix of so-so bands, drill teams and a few odd groups (usually some religious groups and a few community groups). My favorites are these elderly guys (I think they are called the Oompahs or something similar) who come out in short-sleeved white button downs, white boxers and black socks with what I now affectionately call “sock-spenders,” which are like little elastics on the tops of the socks that hold them up, except that they don’t always hold them up. This time they did a little drill-team-type routine. It rocked!!!
I was thinking that maybe Holly Madison on the Girls Next Door could incorporate this particular fashion option on the show along with her tube socks. Wouldn’t that be so HOT? Sex-kitten sock-spenders!!!
Just the other day, I wrote about buying real suspenders. Is this a sign from God herself? Am I supposed to buy things that suspend? Should I go into the suspending business? What does it all mean?
Oops. I digressed.
Anyhoo, after the parade, we headed to the house. We all played and ate (veggie BBQ options) endlessly until it got dark and then we watched the fireworks. They have quite a spectacular view of the fireworks from their backyard.
This time, they had a new karaoke machine and my two oldest (3 and 5) impressed everyone with their fabulous singing and the fact that they knew most of the High School Musical soundtrack, which they had memorized from listening to it in the car.
Yes, I know the truth is they might have annoyed everyone, but that’s what they get for pretending to be impressed and egging the little darlings on.
How the foray into High School Musical happened might be fodder for another post, but there it is.
Anyway, wow, I’ve REALLY digressed. I’m writing about Wii.
So, we’re going to the California Homeschool Network homeschool conference next month and random people keep mentioning this Guitar Hero competition that will happen there. I’ve been sort of ignoring this on the updates, but then they sent out a list of rehearsal songs and said they were opening a category for 5 to 7 year olds and I thought my daughter might like to do that.
So I Googled Guitar Hero and became instantly overwhelmed.
I’m apparently the last person in the entire universe to know this, but you can’t just buy Guitar Hero. You have to buy a system to play it on.
Okay, so I’ll just buy the system, I thought. But, no. It cannot be that simple. Of course, you can play it on more than one system.
So, I’m a research freak and the research began. I searched online. I asked people I know. Most of them are in the same (should I just say it?) parenting elitist intellectual Southern California crowd that I’m apparently in and had the “Oh, no, we don’t do much media. We really would rather go out and really live life,” attitude. Yes, someone actually said those exact words.
But, I’m also very influenced by the radical unschooler crowd (though I’ve said before and I’ll say again: They can be quite rude and superior themselves), which is more in the “Everything Bad is Good For You” camp. As a result, I’ve been opening my mind a bit more about media types, media limits and how so many studies apply to kids in the traditional public school or private school settings rather than my kids.
We did unschool the television, for example. We just started letting them watch as much as they wanted instead of having some predetermined amount of TV time set. I had been anal about a one-hour-a-day limit. Well, guess what. They almost never watched a full hour of television before we took the limit off and they still don’t. So limiting versus not limiting didn’t seem to make a difference and not limiting sure seems easier.
Okay, back to gaming. Our experience thus far is this. First, my daughter received a Leapster L-Max gaming system handheld thing as a gift about a year ago and didn’t really get into it. I planned to limit it, but never had to. Next, my children received a V.Smile system for Christmas this year. Again, I thought I’d have to limit it, but didn’t have to.
What do I mean by that? Well, my daughter never played on the Leapster for more than about an hour or two per week. My daughter and son play the V.Smile together occasionally, maybe once a week for about one half-hour.
Really. That’s it. I think they have so many things to do, that these things are just options to them, like any other option, just like the radical unschoolers (not all unschoolers) say. I find that fascinating. I’m not sure that this would be the case if we purchased the Wii, because it looks about a thousand times more entertaining than the Leapster or V.Smile, but we’ll see.
Anyway, I very quickly decided that the Wii was the system I’d prefer, due to all of its AI and virtual reality features. You can play as a family and there are so many get-off-your-butt games. Plus, and I personally want Wii Fit, too. That looks super cool and I so need the exercise!
The brain surgeon admitted that all he knew of the current gaming world was Halo and that he would like to have it (yes, dear, even though it is a bloody shoot-em-up game), but Halo doesn’t come on Wii.
I’m trying to be open, supportive and not controlling. I’m all about natural limits. That’s a natural limit, right?
Okay, but really, that Wii thing has so many fun things to do. I realized that I want more than just Guitar Hero and Wii Fit. I also want Rock Band and Dance Revolution, which, if anything like the arcade version, is a workout like no other: Check out this kid!
I'd also want Endless Ocean, Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (will it make us smarter?), and my children would likely love the High School Musical one with the microphone. My daughter would also likely enjoy the Hannah Montana game, even though she doesn’t really know who that is yet. She loves to sing and dance. Oh and my mom would love a car racing one. There’s well over a hundred games. I’m so tempted.
Of course, this all comes with a hefty price tag and sort of goes against my current drive to be frugal based on the fact that as a freelancer, I choose projects based on how many hours I need to work and more spending = more projects = less time devoted to my quickly-growing children.
Plus, when would I have time to play these games? It’s a tough call.
So for now, I’ll keep asking around and doing the research. I’ll consult my family and friends. I don’t think I’ll run out and buy a Wii or Guitar Hero or any of it for now, but if we receive one as a gift (and now that I’ve mentioned it to my mother, we probably will), you probably won’t see me in the return line, either.
Toodles!
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