Creative Play: Television Style

Today WAS the day that television would become different forever...but that has been switched until June 2009.
However, to commemorate the ending of analog television, and have a little fun, we made this cardboard T.V. from a box. The kids can be the T.V. stars, or the toys, but hopefully less time will be spent watching the "real" T.V.

A funny story about this- my son loved this so much, he insisted we make movies too. He thought the Valentine's would be good to put on the movies, so he could tell which one was which. He made his own remote too. Tonight, when I misplaced the real remote- when trying to watch American Idol, he told me, I could use his and quickly got it for me-his cardboard remote pictured above. He assured me it would work :)

Here is a funny poem and song to go along with the fun!
Bill Harley has a song called "Dad Threw the T.V. out the Window" that is hilarious. (click on title to listen to a sample) He is a great song writer and story-teller for children (and a few things for adults too.)

Here are the lyrics to the song:

It was in the morning, a sunny Saturday
I turned on the TV and on the couch I lay
I watched my favorite program and another two or three
When my dad came in the room and said these words to me
"Son, turn off the TV now, there's lots of things to do
Your bed's not made, the chores aren't done, the sun is shining too"
I said "Oh Dad, I'm busy now, I've got to watch this show"
I guess I should have listened, but how was I to know?
Cause then he walked across the room and then he pulled the plug
He lifted up the television and skipped across the rug
He opened up the window, and then I screamed "Dad, NO!"
But he gave the thing a heave and I watched the TV go, ohCHORUS
Dad threw the TV out the window, the window
I think he's finally cracked
Dad threw the TV out the window, I got a feeling that it isn't coming back

When I saw it go, when I heard it crash
I knew that things at our house would soon be changing fast
My dad looked out the window and mumbled "My oh my"
My brother looked out too and said
"I'm gonna die!"
And that night after dinner when we went to watch the set
All we found was nothing, I said
"How could I forget"
My brother lay down on the floor and moaned "What will I do?!"
I said "Why don't you move away?" he said, "The same to you!"
But then he told a joke, and I told two or three
And the one about the elephants made dad fall on his kneesAnd my mom did her impression of a duck that couldn't fly
That would have made you wet your
pants and maybe even cry, all because

CHORUS

Life without a television wasn't what I feared
I didn't really miss it though some friends thought I was weird
I didn't miss commercials and all the blood and guts
And all the stupid shows my brother watched that drove me nuts
But then one sunny Saturday my dad could not be found
I looked high and low when from his room I heard a sound
I ran into his room to see what it could be
And I found my father hiding there watching a TV
I said "Oh Dad, now really, you ought to be ashamed"He said kind of sheepishly, "I want to watch the game"
I picked up the TV and waltzed across the room
I gave the thing a heave and waited for the boom.
CHORUS

Shel Silverstein, in his book Where the Sidewalk Ends, has a poem called, "Jimmy Jet and His TV Set"

Jimmy Jet And His TV Set
by Shel Silverstein
I'll tell you the story of Jimmy Jet --
And you know what I tell you is true.
He loved to watch his TV set
Almost as much as you.

He watched all day, he watched all night
Till he grew pale and lean,
From "The Early Show" to "The Late Late Show"
And all the shows between.

He watched till his eyes were frozen wide,
And his bottom grew into his chair.
And his chin turned into a tuning dial,
And antennae grew out of his hair.

And his brains turned into TV tubes,
And his face to a TV screen.
And two knobs saying "VERT." and "HORIZ."
Grew where his ears had been.

And he grew a plug that looked like a tail
So we plugged in little Jim.
And now instead of him watching TV
We all sit around and watch him

Here is to turning off the T.V. a little more often so my kids and I don't turn into one :) Have Fun playing creatively!