Beginnings of our Decade Nights

I'm finally making the time to blog again and after many requests I'm blogging about our Decade Nights we did over the summer.  This whole idea started as a rainy day activity and laugh with the kids, I had no idea it'd be such a hit and the fun stuff the kids learned is being used in school now and will be used later this year too. Major Mom Win!!! 

HOW IT STARTED
I'm sure I'm outnumbered in my thinking this but I think 12 weeks is a long time for kids not be learning something. I love having my kids home but so much can be lost or forgotten in that time. I always find something for us to do, road trips, fun books to read together, map/states/capital study, etc. I find fun ways to do these things but this year I was having trouble thinking of something fun do and with crazy schedules it made it more difficult to figure something out what to do with the  4 kids still at home. 

Thanks to my kids choir teacher..my "lightbulb moment" finally came! My son came home during the last week of school in May and told me about this hilarious 60's movie he was watching in Show Choir titled "What's Up Doc?" As he told me about this movie I kept thinking of other cheesy/funny shows he might like. Elvis' Blue Hawaii was the first that came to mind. We got on Netflix, looked up Elvis and other 60s's beach movies and watched a few trailers of hits from that era. He thought James Dean in A Rebel Without a Cause was the funniest. (Whatever!) We had a good time laughing at obvious differences in film making and the cheesiness that many of these films had. This was when summer fun lightbulb lit up. "Hey! How would you like to have a 50's night with everyone? We can watch an old tv show, have dinner and listen to 50s music." He loves "retro" stuff so I didn't have to twist his arm too much. I ran the idea by my husband, Jim, to see what he thought and I extended it to be a decade night once a week throughout summer. He was in and said it was a "fabulous" idea. We then took it to the rest of the kids, who were sold on the idea immediately.  They really are an easy bunch to excite and impress.

Our two oldest girls were still away at school when they heard about this. They too got excited and asked...no they begged...to have us time it so they would be home for 80's night. June was insane for our kids with camps, sports, work, etc, so we delayed the start until July. This limited the decades we could do before school started but we still got some decade fun in...even on vacation! I had no idea how educational it would end up being, how much fun and how genuinely excited everyone was about this.

GETTING IT TOGETHER
I figured out when everyone was back home together and started with the 80's and counted backwards to find our start week and decade. After finding one night everyone was home, we put it on the calendar. In our house, if it doesn't get put on the calendar, there's no guarantee it will get done or that I'll remember.  Jim and I thought of 6 topics (we added 2 when the girls got home from school.) The topics were put on paper and tossed in a bowl. We were off!  The kids chose their topics to research and ran away to learn everything they could. 

TOPICS

• food-I always got this one since I make dinner most nights. 
• TV shows/Movies
• Media (books & magazines)
• Games/Toys
• Music
• Fashion
• History & famous people
•     Add ons: technology

Twelve year old, Becca,thought we should have a Family topic too. What a wonderful idea!! Jim and I gathered family info and would add "What's new with our family".  


WHAT WAS LEARNED
Not only did the kids learn their topic from that decade, they learned how to research--on internet, at library, interviewing neighbors. They learned how to make a powerpoint presentation, improved public speaking skills and family history.  


Here are a few of my fav pictures from the 50's. I'll post pictures and some info they were most excited about tomorrow.  I'll post more starting tomorrow. Each decade will have it's own entry and pictures.

60's treat

80's night. Kara, in the brown skirt, was the fashion consultant this week.

My fav! Kara's laughing at Hunter's 80's technology presentation. "were there Ipods in the 80s?" 

They kids got so into this that they dressed up for each decade night.