Passive consumer/Active participant

"Look! Look! I almost got it to open! Mickey helped me!"
"Where do I go in this labrynth?"
"Wow, look what I did to my car!"
"Is there really a Fuji Speedway in Japan, Mama?"
"Why is it called a "360" when my girl does a spin?"
"The gold is higher than the silver, just like the Olympics, Daddy, right?"
"I added up all my coins in my head and I knew I was going to end up in third place!"

I would like to address the topic of VIDEO GAMES as compared to watching television, as it pertains to children, homeschooled or otherwise. My stance is that they are really quite fantastic. Contrary to the extreme passivity that is television viewing, playing video games, especially together, is a highly interactive, conversational, active, social and yes, educational activity around here. I might be a bit biased in my rave reviews, as both Greta and Mickey went from Cuh-ah-Tuh--CAT! to real actual readers from their video gaming, but I think that what I am seeing and experiencing with this oft maligned activity warrants a listen.

I think the generation older than myself are the ones more likely to really hate the idea of video games. Though these folks might have gathered 'round the TV at every "quality family mealtime", watching who kows what kind of shoot 'em up western or mindless laff tracked sitcom and thought nothing of it, they seem particularily keen on hating the video games. Some of my guesses as to why (with rebuttal of course ;))

Kids in my day went outside and played real baseball, not MLB 2007 on playstation/It will make them lazy
Totally awesome. We never use video games as a substitute for real outdoor time. Children these days are enrolled in team sports at record numbers, at younger ages than ever before, girls' enrollment in team sports has risen exponentially.

Kids don't need to be sittin' there on their behinds, starin' and goin' blind.
In our house, playing video games seems to be almost a sport in itself! My kids jump, shout, wiggle, cheer, press "pause" over and over to go check something out online such as "cheat codes", or maps. They go get their stuffed animals and set up big scenarios involving the dinosaurs and the cars and the kitties--often time blocks and legos become involved. They rarely veg-out, and when they do, I will announce that it is time to turn it off in 5 minutes and get my little bell timer.

Kids need to be playing with natural fibers, like wool and wood, beeswax and hemp.
I couldn't agree more that natural toys and art supplies are far more pleasing, aesthetic and lovely (and expensive!) than garish, plastic, low quality crap. I had idyllic dreams of a purist home, too, when my firstborn was age one and under. Then came birthday, holiday, and exposure to the real world aka other people's houses, nursery school, and voila! Magic markers, Kool-aid, sparkle stickers, and yes, nintendo were all as much a part of life as were our nature-catalog playthings.

All those flashing lights and wild music will overstimulate them.
As in all things, moderation is the key. Know your child, and the signs they exhibit when and if they are "overstimulated" and act accordingly.

I am not about to get into the societal implications of kids walking around this Earth with their faces plunged into various handheld electronic devices to the exclusion of human interaction, and the hows and whys of all of that. I think the rate at which kids-these-days are drowning in text messages and escapism and it is both understandable and upsetting all at the same time for me, to both think about what it must be like to be a harried (school) kid in 2007. But as far as playing video games versus watching tv shows, I think it is a BETTER thing to be doing.

Are there things I would rather have my kids be playing with than video games? Yes. Toys and board games. But we do not substitute video gaming time for anything other than TV time, so it truly is not an issue.

Avoiding commercials and subtle and blatant negativity and consumerism in tv and commercials is a big plus, as well.