tv and movies

My kids and I are big tv and movie fans.  Yes, I will admit my kids watch too much tv.  We have a pvr which is stocked with their favourites (and we are currently enjoying free preview of teletoon retro!).  They don't have unlimited tv time, but a fair bit...probably more than they should.  And then there's movies, we also love movies.  And I'm really enjoying the fact the 2 big kids are getting into movies I also enjoy watching.  But not to worry, screen time isn't the only thing my kids do, even though they might watch a lot of tv and movies, we also do a lot together as a family which exposes them to many things.  We always have several family memberships on the go and frequently visit zoo, museums, art gallery, science centre, playgrounds, go for walks, ride bikes/scooters, swim in our pool, etc.  It all evens out, right?

Jillian has been asking for "Family Fun Movie Night" for a while.  We try to do this as often as possible but just haven't had a chance lately with life being busy, evenings full of gymnastics and other activites.  But I know how much the kids (and I) love it so I want to make an effort to have them more often.  They aren't anything extraordinary, just all of us sitting on the couch to watch a movie together, and the kids get some sort of fun snack, I like to give them a popcorn/chip/fruit gummy combo mix which they love. 

Part of why we haven't done this recently is we don't have any new movies.  And getting the kids to agree on one we've already seen a bunch of times isn't easy, plus there's only so many times *I* want to watch one of their movies.  There's been some good ones on tv recently which we've been enjoying, such as The Princess Bride (a personal favourite!).

Tonight I found myself in the movie store where they had an additional 30% off the already lower priced previously viewed dvds.  I took a look and actually found a few which I thought the kids would enjoy.  Here's what I picked up:

The Barbie one is for Jillian.  Gforce is the only one the kids have already seen, we took Kyle and his friends to see that one in the movie theatre last year for his bday party but haven't seen it since.  I'll probably tuck one or two away to keep for the summer when we go on a road trip for vacation.  And now this gives us a few movie nights with new material which is nice.

Then for $5 I picked this one up for myself.  I remember seeing previews and thinking it looked like a movie I would enjoy.  And with my husband currently pursuing a masters while working fulltime you can imagine I have some evenings to myself on the couch while he studies.

On the topic of movies, I recently took all 3 kids to see ToyStory3...we all LOVED it!  I even cried at the end, I admit.  I'd like to take Kyle to see the new Karate Kid movie at some point, but I think it would be a bit much for Jillian so I need to find a time just he and I can go.  He has seen the original on tv and I know he'd enjoy the new one.

And yes, the 2 year old is also a big tv fan.  She is currently into Dora, Elmo and Kai Lan.  Leah is very similar to her big brother in this area, Kyle has always enjoyed anything with a screen, and Leah is following in his footsteps.  With Kyle first it was tv, then by age 4 he was quite proficient on the computer, and has since easily mastered any and all video games he comes in contact with.  We are sticking with nintendo brand game systems as I like the games, they are family friendly (i.e. no violent games).  I plan to keep him away from any and all war/fighting/death related video games if it's the last thing I do as I absolutely hate the idea of them.  I realize there will come a time when I won't have a say in the matter, but while I do, they aren't in this house.

Jillian hasn't always been so tech savvy.  Now that she's 5 she has become much more intrested in tv/movies/video games.  But she still doesn't have the same natural inclination Kyle has toward screen time.  Jillian is often happier sitting at the craft table drawing, colouring or painting.  Which I think is amazing, I love that she is so creative.