Fighting Television
We all know that there is a plethora of television shows for kids out there - all at varying levels on the "educational" meter. Throw in whatever cable you have and the choice becomes overwhelming, and to be honest, quite overbearing for me. Maybe you are a daytime, nighttime or anytime television watcher or perhaps you don't even own a TV. Whatever is your preference is fine in my book. If you remove hurrying home for lunch during high school to watch Days of Our Lives, I have never been a fan of watching TV during the daytime simply because it's the wrong kind of noise for me. I prefer having music on instead.So, while the late afternoon comes with the normal crankiness that seems to be a part of every child's disposition as it gets closer to bedtime, I have turned on the television every so often for Cole to watch a half hour of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It got me thinking, though. Since I'm not a huge fan of television shows on during the day, how could I help us all get through the early evening hours a little easier without Mickey and his friends?
I decided to make Cole his own slideshow using iMovie because home movies truly are the ultimate "family channel." I simply took all of the photos from the last year and put them in an order of my choosing (it was easiest for me to just do it chronologically because that is how they are stored but it doesn't matter the order). Then I added some songs and left it at that. I decided to use some of my favorite music that I wouldn't mind listening to all the time. Finally, when I converted it to a DVD, I used some instrumental music for the playback area (the "title" part that a DVD goes to when it begins or when it's over). If I don't turn it off immediately then the instrumental music is nice to have playing in the background at home.Here is my list of music that I used:
- Everything by Michael Buble'
- Everybody by Ingrid Michaelson
- Fallin' For You by Colbie Cailat
- 1,2,3,4 by Plain White T's
- Wonderful by Gary Go
- Our Kind of Love by Lady Antebellum
- Fireflies by Owl City
- Sweet Pea by Amos Lee
- Never Let You Go by Colbie Cailat
- Main Titles (Emma) by Rachel Portman (instrumental from the Emma soundtrack - used for the playback screen)
Seeing the list of songs, you're probably wondering how long this slideshow is. It's 33 minutes - about the same length of one television show. Cole likes to sit and watch his video and drink his sippy cup or sometimes he will play with his toys or dance while he watches. He doesn't stay focused for the whole thing but he now knows when he hears the first song that his movie is coming. It settles him down and makes him happy. And Mom is happy knowing that he's entertained but watching pictures of himself and his family instead of a television show. Of course, we can also do the same thing with all of the video we have taken of him but this was easier so that's why I chose to just stick with the photos.I may not be big on watching television during the day but one thing is for sure, it doesn't take Sweeps Week or ratings to tell me what the most popular thing to watch at the Hall house is. I love home movies and I love Channel Cole.