Tuesday’s task made the class collectively groan when Ms. Larsen read it aloud: “Mission #09 – No screens tonight. Spend time with your family.” A few students laughed nervously. “So… no phone, no tablet, no gaming?” asked Jonas. “Exactly,” Ms. Larsen said with a smirk. “Just people, words, and maybe a board game.”
When evening came, the temptation was real. Notifications buzzed, the TV glowed in the next room, and the house felt strangely quiet without the usual background noise. But one by one, small changes began to happen. Emma found an old deck of cards and convinced her parents and brother to play. They laughed so hard when her father accidentally shuffled half the deck onto the floor that no one even noticed an entire hour had passed.
Jonas’s family dusted off a puzzle box they hadn’t opened in years. It started awkwardly — no one quite knew what to say — but as the pieces began to fit, the conversation followed. They talked about Christmases from when Jonas was small, about the time the tree fell over, about nothing and everything.
For many, the evening ended the same way — with warmth. No glow of screens, just the softer glow of lamps and conversation. The next morning, when Ms. Larsen asked how it went, the room filled with small smiles.
“It was weird,” said Ida, “but in a good way.”
Ms. Larsen nodded. “Sometimes silence helps us hear what matters most.”