Issue to be addressed: We had been keeping the bulk our toys in a single large toy box in the front room. It was crammed to the brim with all sorts of toys and when the boys wanted to play with their toys, everything would get strewn across the room and nothing ever really got played with. I also wanted the kids to start understanding and actively implementing the concept of having a place for everything and keeping everything in its place.
Activity: I organized the toys.
Methodology: I sorted all of the toys in the house, ensuring that every type of toy had its own container for storage. (Some toys defy categorization, so there is a "miscellaneous toys" bin I keep behind the couch.) I then found clip-art that matched each item, printed the pictures off, and laminated them. I used them to label each of the containers so that even our little pre-literates can easily determine what goes in which containers.
Results: So far, so good! The principle of entropy ensures that the organization sort of falls apart over a period of days, so each Saturday the kids and I (mostly I) re-sort everything. I've been trying to implement a rule that we play with one toy at a time: get one down, play with it, pick it up, put it away, and then get another toy out. This has had the unexpected benefit of increasing the amount of actual playing that goes on, rather than gratuitous toy scattering. Soren seems interested in the concept of organization. One day he even piled everything he could find on our couch, explaining, "I'm organizing, Mommy!"
Activity: I organized the toys.
Methodology: I sorted all of the toys in the house, ensuring that every type of toy had its own container for storage. (Some toys defy categorization, so there is a "miscellaneous toys" bin I keep behind the couch.) I then found clip-art that matched each item, printed the pictures off, and laminated them. I used them to label each of the containers so that even our little pre-literates can easily determine what goes in which containers.
Results: So far, so good! The principle of entropy ensures that the organization sort of falls apart over a period of days, so each Saturday the kids and I (mostly I) re-sort everything. I've been trying to implement a rule that we play with one toy at a time: get one down, play with it, pick it up, put it away, and then get another toy out. This has had the unexpected benefit of increasing the amount of actual playing that goes on, rather than gratuitous toy scattering. Soren seems interested in the concept of organization. One day he even piled everything he could find on our couch, explaining, "I'm organizing, Mommy!"
A sampling of labeled containers in Soren's closet.
Our changing table has found a new lease on life as a toy truck parking garage
I figured it couldn't hurt to label Soren's clothes, too.
3 comments:
Good gravy. Want to QIA my house?
Perusing your brilliant organizational plans causes the green monster of envy to rear its ugly head!
I'm curious: after some time has gone by, how is this going?
Post a Comment