Wasting Time Watching Too Many Movies?
“What shall I get Dad for his birthday?” I asked, and my girls giggled, and with one voice said, “Flowers… chocolates… promises you don’t intend to keep…””Flowers… chocolates… promises you don’t intend to keep…? Where’s that quote from?”
“Beauty and the Beast!”
Of course! Why didn’t I recognise this quote? Beauty and the Beast is Imogen and Charlotte’s number one favourite movie of all time. They’ve watched it a million times.
Sometimes I say, “How can you possibly want to see that movie again? Surely you’re fed up with it by now?” My young adult daughters shake their heads and settle down to enjoy it yet again.
Should I be worried? Surely Imogen and Charlotte should have outgrown this Disney movie by now? What is the attraction? Perhaps my daughters are wasting too much time sitting in front of the screen.
Except they don’t spend all their time watching movies. Sometimes Charlotte works on animations of her own. She’s doing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Digital Design. She’d like to design computer games. And Imogen can often be found at her computer, rewriting fairy tales. Apparently, these kinds of novels are very popular. Or she might be at the piano singing Disney songs. You see, she has dreams of becoming a successful author and online musician. It seems, movies can inspire all kinds of creativity.
They can also be a wonderful source of useful quotes.
It’s my eldest daughter Felicity’s birthday in a few weeks’ time. What shall I buy her? I know: “Flowers… chocolates… promises… (I)… don’t intend to keep…”!
In this week’s podcast:
I talk about movies:
Are movies educational?
If a child watches lots of movies, won’t she be missing out on other things?
Can we tempt our kids away from the screen?
And how can we turn movies into notes for our homeschool records book?
Also:
Can we use websites designed for traditional homeschooling/schooling in an unschooly way?
Is there such a thing as too many resources?
I share a story about kids and joy.
Should I be embarrassed by my early podcasts which are far from perfect?
Should I get upset when I think about my mothering mistakes?
I also share lots of resources.
Show Notes
Book
Lady Susan by Jane Austen
Game
Marrying Mr Darcy
Podcast
The read-along Shakespeare podcast. A word-by-word guide through the plays for students, readers, and performers.
Websites
Shmoop
Film Education Animation
Blender
Unreal Engine
Animate It!
Blog posts
Everything is Educational Even Disney Princesses
How to Plan the Next Term’s School Work in Half an Hour
Approaching Classic Novels the Other Way Around
How Younger Siblings Learn By Listening In
Podcasts
24: Boy Stories
21: Being Honest: Talking About Mistakes and Perfection
62: Young Adult Unschoolers, Dreams, Love and Marriage
My Pinterest Resource Boards
Follow Sue’s board Shakespeare on Pinterest.
Follow Sue’s board Jane Austen on Pinterest.
Podcast Music
You can find my Stories of an Unschooling Family podcast on
and here on my blog.
Thank you for listening to this week’s podcast. If you’d like to stop by and say hello, please do! Perhaps you can share your family’s favourite movie and quote.