Screen-free Week – Villa is “In”
Villa di Maria will join thousands of schools, libraries, and community groups nationwide in a coordinated effort to encourage millions of Americans to turn off televisions, smartphones, tablets, and gaming consoles for seven days and turn on the world around them. Screen-Free Week is a chance for children (and adults) to read, play, think, create, be more physically active, and spend more time with friends and family.
Screen-Free Week is a much needed respite from the screen-media that often dominates the lives of so many children. Now, more than ever, it’s imperative that we help children discover the joys of life beyond screens.

On average, young (think ages 2-5) children spend over four and a half hours a day consuming screen-media, while older children spend over seven hours a day facing ascreen. Excessive screen time is linked to a number of problems for children, including childhood obesity, poor school performance, and problems with attention span.
Screen-Free Week (formerly TV-Turnoff) is coordinated by Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a national advocacy organization devoted to reducing the impact of commercialism on children. Since the Week’s founding in 1994, it has been celebrated by millions of children and their families worldwide. For more information, visit www.screenfree.org.

VdM wants to help your family successfully navigate Screen-Free Week, so we are offering all kinds of great activities including:

• Tuesday, May 3: Circus Night
• Friday, May 8: Family Camp-out
• We will also have a Scholastic Book Fair running all week.

We encourage you to unplug and take the pledge to be screen-free for at least one week!