Getting it Together

It seems as if Abby's interests and intellectual needs have been changing so quickly that I'm barely able to get things together to head in one direction and she's already going in another. I realized that I needed to get things more organized and make our home more functional for her learning. I am noticing that the things I have done to our space are part Montessori and part OCD. Either way, I'd say things are improving!

I have been looking for a small and attractive coat rack to hang at Abby's level so that she can be responsible for getting her own coat before an outing and hanging it up when we return. I haven't been able to find one that I liked enough to pay the asking price for and haven't had the time to add it to the Honey-Do list. I was shopping for craft supplies when I ran across this wire coat hanger at the Dollar Tree. It's not as attractive as I would have liked for it to be, but it allows for Abby to be more independent and I'd call that a dollar well spent.

Simple & Cheap. Pretty much sums me up!

Abby has recently started pulling all of her toys out and dumping all of her bins out until there is no room to play, let alone even walk through the living room, so in the interest of preserving my sanity I created labels for her bins and shelves. I chose to use a font that is simple, clear, and similar to fonts used in beginning printing lessons and because Abby can't read yet I also wanted to include pictures of the toys. If you would like a pdf of the file I would be glad to email it to you, just leave a comment with your email address in it.

The ideas behind the labels is that she will be better able to take her toys out, play with them, and then return them to their "home" when she is done. It's very important to us that our children learn to treat people and their things with respect, taking care of your belongings is part of that. Today was day one with the laminated labels and here's what I learned...

1. Adhesive velcro tabs are pretty much useless after they've been toted around and stored in extreme hot and cold temperatures for five years. I will probably be hole-punching the tags for the bins and attaching them to the handles like luggage tags.
2. Scotch tape is no match for a 21-month old. I was afraid to use stronger tape because I wanted to keep the labels mobile while salvaging the finish on the cheap shelving we have. Still working on a solution for this one.
3. Abby LOVED knowing what to put where and was so much more excited to help with clean up! Score! Insert Happy Mama Dance Here!

Labels velcroed to bins. Those that are labelled with a STOP sign are materials that require assistance from a parent, such as DVDs, CDs, and special books.

The drawer unit next to her kitchen is new and already well used. It has freed up several fabric bins for other materials and has contained her kitchen mess to a smaller area.

We have been slowly collecting arts and craft supplies for Abby, but haven't really had anywhere in the house to store them which means that every art project, even something as simple as coloring, requires a minimum of two trips out to the garage. That means cold feet and a rush of cold air into the house, which doesn't exactly thrill me. I had been thinking of inexpensive ways to store art supplies in a more accessible way when I ran across the idea of using an over the door shoe organizer. Less than ten dollars? Heck yes!

Please don't look at my pantry. It's embarrassing. Getting that organized is nowhere near the top of my to-do list though, so I guess I ought to accept it the way it is!

I am very pleased with the results and I think Abby is too! In fact, we have been doing so much more painting and coloring lately that we decided to create an area in our dining room to display her artwork. I chose to frame a famous quote by Pablo Picasso and hang a clothes line where art can dry and be displayed in a way that is easy to change out.

Greg says he sees a lot of happy trees.

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." Pablo Picasso

I really struggled with how to arrange, frame, and display the quote. Greg insisted that it needed to be artistic and unconventional, so it is. I guess. It serves its purpose and will probably change before I get used to it, so it'll do for now.