Our local school system implemented a “Family Fun Night” throughout the city schools!

No homework was to be assigned from any of the teachers, and the kids were encouraged to do something with the entire family.

So at first, my wife suggested going to eat and then doing something.  Next, I said “well how about going out to a movie”. 

Then we asked our kids what they wanted to do.  

My son wanted us all to do to the park and build a fort in the woods.  By “build a fort” he means a spot in the woods that would be cleared and a few pieces of dead wood be leaned against smaller trees.  So we wouldn’t be building with a hammer and nails per say…  Since it was cooler out by that point in the day, my wife wasn’t so keen on this idea.

My daughter didn’t want to go out at all, she had started playing the WII Petshop video game.

Family Plan

So I suggested sitting down and playing Yahtzee (I knew my wife would like that, besides my kids are too young to play Texas hold-em poker).

In the end, my son convinced everyone to go down in the basement and play a quick game of darts, followed by a crazy game of ping-pong.  We started playing a regular game, but then we started hitting 2 balls at the same time.  It was plain crazy!  There were some hilarious moments where both my son and daughter would end up on the floor crying because they were laughing so hard.

My wife and I had our share of chuckles too.  So I can honestly say that it was a great experience for the entire family.

As the kids went to bed, my son mentioned a few times that this was one of the best Family Fun Nights ever…

The real beauty, was the fact that we all derived value out of the experience and the entire experience was totally free! 

Another win-win!

-MR