BRIDGEWATER - Eleven-year-old Vanessa Wolfe looks forward to TV-Turnoff week as a chance to get out and do something new.

Her only struggle this year was not watching American Idol, but her mom told her who got kicked off the show.

"Everybody in America now watches TV. Turn it off and do something different," said Wolfe, who attended a kite and bookmark-making event at Burnham Library on Thursday afternoon.

Wolfe is one of more than 50 students at Burnham Elementary School and thousands across the country winding down a week without television - the 12th annual TV-Turnoff Week that started Monday and ends Sunday.

Instead, these youngsters are riding bikes, baking cookies, and designing posters and T-shirts for schoolwide and national contests. Many are also looking forward to next week, when they can turn back to the tube.

"We usually watch TV a lot because there's almost nothing to do," said Julia Lindblom, 7, of Bridgewater. "TV makes your brain shrink."

The week is sponsored by the TV-Turnoff Network, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that encourages children and adults to watch "much less television in order to promote healthier lives and communities."

The network has helped millions of people do just that, according to Executive Director Robert Kesten of Redding. Since 1995, more than 24 million people have participated in TV-Turnoff week and many have permanently changed their viewing habits.

The organization claims that American children spend more time in front of the television than in school, leading to obesity and lower reading test scores.

"We are empowering people to take control of the technology in their lives and not allow the technology to control them," said Kesten, who learned about the week almost a decade ago when his younger son was in kindergarten.

Vanessa Wolfe's father, Allan, said he tries to instill these ideas as well, even though he's not participating in TV-Turnoff Week per say.

"I think there's plenty of other good things to do other than sit down and watch some mindless shows," he said.

"I think it's a lifestyle that's important."

Ten-year-old Kailee Munson of Bridgewater said Thursday that she's definitely gotten the message.

She used to watch more than three hours of TV a day, but has spent TV-Turnoff Week reading, listening to the radio and playing on the computer.

She, Vanessa and Julia will receive TV-Turnoff week buttons and certificate for participation from their school nurse.

"I learned this year that I can do a lot more things than just sitting down and staring at the TV," Munson said. "It just really is fun."