Open-Ended Crafts

One thing I have been working on is having craft supplies accessible yet contained (so the baby can’t get them). After reading Playful Learning, I was inspired and challenged to do a better job at having art supplies accessible.

Of course since I do have young children I have to have the materials contained (i.e. not in a center), but I have found that using plastic shoe boxes with the snap-top handle that swings up and down to close (how’s that for a description!) are easy enough for my preschooler to open but hard enough for my 11 mo. to pry open.  I’ve been leaving a couple of the supply boxes on a shelf (that way not everything is accessible at the same time—I am still controlling it a bit) that my preschooler can reach. I didn’t even say anything about them and the next day I found Mr. Smiley sitting on the table.

This made me smile. Right after that my 3yr. old came along with her pair of scissors and cut it all up. Ahh, the nature of crafts in my house. It’s the process that counts—right? :)

How do you store your craft supplies? Do you have a set-up that allows open-ended craft creating? I’d love to see some ideas, as I’m still tweaking how I’d like this to work in my house.

If you are interested in learning about creating Playful Spaces in your home, you might check out Playful Learning’s e-course. I’m looking forward to gleaning lots of good ideas from the class.

Our Family Routines

Routines. You would think that once we got them down-pat we wouldn’t have to work on them again. At our house, we are always working on sticking with our routines and schedules. Our routines change with each season, with each new activity added to the schedule, and with each new child that was added to the family. What worked one month ago might not work right now. My goal is to make sure my kids are in the routine of following a routine. :) Here’s our set-up for this year:

Daily Meeting—aka Breakfast

Melt in Your Mouth Muffins

Our day starts so much better when we all eat breakfast together. Since I have a captive audience, I go over our job chart, any school-related  items not on their daily school schedule, and Bible.

This is my view at breakfast. I purposely created this “command central” wall this year. It helps me remember what’s going on, who has to do what, and what I need to do first. It might not be the prettiest kitchen decor, but I needed something that was functional. The black organizer was purchased from Hobby Lobby on clearance, the 2 clipboards I’ve had forever, and I moved one of our dry erase boards from the school room into the kitchen.

See the cute cards in the middle? I just added those today! We’ll be going over a virtue each week during breakfast. I’ll be posting more about We Choose Virtues very soon!

The Chore Chart

We’ve tried many different types of chore charts over the years. We had good success with Accountable Kids until the 4th kid entered the mix and my older kids got older. I thought I had a good web-based chore chart system, but after using it for several moths, I realized it just doesn’t work for our family. We tried chore lists where each child was responsible for a specific job, but the kids got burnt out on their jobs fast. In addition, certain kids weren’t learning how to do specific jobs because those jobs weren’t on their list. Finally I remembered a simple chore chart Smockity Frocks posted.  I was desperate for something to work this year, so I made our own circle chart version (see her post for step-by-step directions.) I figured if it worked for her big family, then maybe it would work for mine.

My outer plate is divided into 4 main sections which are sub-divided into three job segments. I color-coded the job segments- blue section, purple section, green section, and red section. I did this to make it easier to see which jobs each person had to accomplish, and I also created detailed chart (below) that listed more details about the job.

The inner plate has my name plus my three older kids’ names (Someone  moved the circle before I took this picture so everything is not lining up perfectly.) Then I added a tiny circle with my 2 preschoolers’ names. The preschoolers get two big helpers to help them. The big helpers make sure the little girls do their morning routines each day. The little girls also get to help the big helpers with some age-appropriate tasks (i.e. folding wash clothes, help with setting table etc.)

On the kitchen door I wrote out the job expectations for each chore. This picture shows what the “green” person is in charge of for the week. I have each color’s job listed on cards so that my kids have no excuse for not knowing what I expect. This also helps break up the job into manageable steps for the week.

I color-coded my kids this year, so each child has a specific color book pocket. The white index cards are “infraction cards” aka “home blessing” cards aka extra jobs. The kids have figured out various ways of earning these :) The stop-light color sticks are for my little girls. We are working on a few specific things with them so if they are on task, the green stick stays in front. If they get a warning, the yellow is in front, and if are warned again, the red stick is in front, which means there will be some sort of consequence. Right now loosing iPad time is a good incentive. The purple sticks are reward sticks. I place them in the pocket and they can be redeemed for extra privileges.

We’ve been using this chore-chart system for 3-weeks now and it is working great. The kids like that they only have to endure their jobs for a week and then they get switched. It is easy to keep track of who has to do what, and each child can easily see what is expected of them.

Do you have a family chore chart? What have you found  works best for you?

Part 1: Do Toddlers and Well-Ordered Days Mix?

Do Toddlers and Well-Ordered Days Mix?

Having toddlers and well-ordered days might seem at times like mixing oil and water -- an impossible task. Oh sometimes if you stir hard enough it appears like the oil is mixing in with the water, but when you stop, the oil naturally separates to the top. Having toddlers can be that way too.  Little children can create chaos on top of a well-intentioned, well-ordered day. But does it have to be such a struggle? Is it really an impossible feat?

I can't remember a time in my married life when I haven't had young children. I have my older set, 13yr. old daughter, 11 yr. old son, and 9 year old daughter. Then I have my younger set, 4.5 yr. old daughter, 3 year old daughter and 10mo. old daughter (yes, that’s not a current picture—I’m working on that—lol.) I’ve learned a few things over the years and have come to appreciate and love being a mom of toddlers.

Being a mom of a toddler means we must...

"Absorb the chaos, create calm, and provide hope"
 Dr. Eugene B. Habecker @ Christian Leadership Alliance

I first heard this quote from a Christian referee. He talked about how his job in the middle of  possible volatile sport interactions was not to join the chaos, but to dissipate it, make peace with both sides, and provide a resolution. I think this quote is a good job- description for mothers of young children too.

Absorb the chaos.

 
I’ve been told many times, “Oh, you must have your hands full,” or “Just wait until the terrible 2’s hit.” In our society, toddlers are expected to be chaos-makers. They are known to mess up our routine, our idea of a clean house, our quiet-time. I believe though, when God spoke the world into being, He took chaos and created order. Since  little children are created in His image, I know the “chaos” label is not an inherent character quality.

As moms, when our young child has a melt-down, creates huge messes – create chaos – we must absorb it, not join in or make it worse. How could we make the situation worse? Well, if you are like me, when my child decides to explore her surroundings, practice opening and closing lids and then dumps a whole container of flour all over herself and the floor, my natural tendency is to speak harshly and be highly annoyed. This  doesn’t make the situation calm when I react like that. It usually makes it worse. I’ve found that I cannot absorb chaos in my own strength. I’m constantly asking God for help---that He’d help me see the root cause of what’s going on with my child and how to best help him/her. I’m learning with His help to react calmly and even treasure some of these memorable challenges. I try to identify (if possible) the reason for the chaos:

1. Was the chaos caused by lack of sleep?
2. Was the chaos caused by what was eaten? (i.e. too much sugar, allergic reaction)
3. Was the chaos a cry for attention?
4. Was the chaos just their way of trying to be independent?
5. Was the chaos deliberate – an act of disobedience?
6. Was the chaos a way to cope with feelings of being overwhelmed or afraid?
7. Was the chaos because I neglected to do what needed to be done that day? (i.e. stick to the schedule, get off the computer, play with my child etc.)

When I have an idea why my child might have acted/reacted the way they did, I can work on ways to help both of us have better success at a well-ordered day. Of course, there are still those times where I say to myself, “What were you thinking!”  :)

Create calm.

I am not a very strict scheduler. You might say that I tend to go with the flow of the rhythm of our day more often than following the clock. One way to help create calm for my toddlers is to establish daily routines. Young children like to know what to expect. Least you think I’m some sort of super mom, I’ll let you in on a secret--- I struggle with keeping schedules. I’m a mom of young kids which requires me to be flexible.  I finally embraced the fact that for me, time schedules don’t work at this stage of my life. Instead, I focus on developing routines—which in return end up functioning like a general schedule.  Click to see my family’s chore chart and routine, but here’s the basic flow to the first part of my toddlers’ day:

1. Wake up.
- Get dressed.
- Make bed.

2. All eat breakfast together.
- Family Bible time.

3. Help with morning chores.

4. Do some educational activities w/ Mom

5. Free-play (Specific choices of activities and toys are available. This is not a free-for-all.)

6. Lunch

When we follow our routines, my toddlers are more likely to have a good day. When I find that I’m lax on implementing them, I’ve increased the likelihood of chaos occurring.

Provide hope.

My kids are a blessing. I want my young children to know they are not a hindrance, a pain, or something to deal with until they get older. They have value now. How I relate to them is going to have an effect on how they view their Heavenly Father. I want to take this precious time in their life when they have such a love of learning to instill the reason of  hope in their lives--- Jesus. So what I’ve learned is that a well-ordered day with a toddler is possible, but it usually has little to do with my toddler and everything to do with me.

 
Check out what these other fabulous bloggers have to say about Well-Ordered Days:

Jimmie's Collage- Meal Planning for Well Ordered Days
Raising Arrows- How You Spend Your Time Matters
Somewhat Crunchy- Chores 'Round Here - The Teen Schedule
A Slob Comes Clean- Creating a Schedule for the New Normal
Finding Joy- The Flexible Schedule. It's Possible.
Spell Outloud- Do Toddlers and Well-Ordered Days Mix?
Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers- Scheduling Time with Your Husband
Many Little Blessings- Finding time for Creative Endeavors
Catholic Icing- Creating A Schedule Your Family Can Thrive On!
Get Along Home- How I Stopped Dithering and Learned to Love the Schedule

If you have a scheduling post feel free to link up!

Playful Learning Giveaway

Yesterday I shared part 1 of the interview I had with Mariah Bruehl from Playful Learning. Today we finish the last couple of questions and share the details of  the Playful Learning giveaway.

4. What two tips would you give to parents and educators who want to start implementing more play-based learning experiences in their homes or classrooms?

First and foremost I would recommend slowing down and to just spend time listening to your child. Follow his lead and do whatever he wants you to do with him. It is during these times, when your child has you as a captive audience that you can learn a lot about his interests, questions and skills. When your child feels listened to and seen, they are far more receptive to your ideas and invitations.

After you have gleaned some information from your child about what her current interests are, it is helpful to do a bit of preparation. Take a trip to the library or do some research into activities that may extend or deepen that interest. I enjoy leaving little clues around the house like a book or a craft supply to catch the attention of my daughters.  Once they ask about them and find out that there may be more involved, they are eager to participate in the activity!

5. Tell me about the most memorable learning activity for your family that you included in your book?

That is a really hard question! Each activity in the book holds such fond memories for us. If I have to choose one experience that has had the most profound impact on us, it would be the lesson on Put-Ups and Put-Downs. I feel strongly that if every parent and child were introduced to this concept the world would be a better place! The idea is simple—put-ups are things that people can do or say that make you feel good and put-downs are things that people can do or say that make you feel bad. Yet, by identifying them and giving children simple vocabulary to use to talk about situations as they arise, they become very aware of their actions and the actions of others. Having an understanding of these simple terms has helped us to better communicate as a family and to discuss and work through a variety of social situations that have come up for our daughters over the years.

6. How has this approach to learning with your kids changed you?

My children have become my greatest teachers. I learn so much about how to best work with them when I take the time to pick up on their cues and follow their leads. Before I had children, I had strong views about the "right way" to teach children. After becoming a parent I realized that the best way to teach children is by seeing them for the individuals that they are. Now I realize that there is no "one size fits all" solution to education. We have to do what works best for each child and that may be different for different kinds of learners.

Guess what…

CLOSED You can win a copy of Mariah Bruehl's book, Playful Learning: Develop Your Child's Sense of Joy and Wonder as well as a space in her 6 week fall e-course Playful Learning Spaces

The Details:
Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment! (see that was easy :) )
Optional entry:
Share on Twitter or Google+

*Giveaway runs from Aug. 25th – August 28th. 
* U.S. residents only
*Winner will be drawn by random.org and will be emailed.
*Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.
*Please leave your email address in a comment or visible on your profile.

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Time 4 Learning: Online Homeschool Curriculum - Student-paced program for prek-eighth grade. Get language arts, math & more.

A Work in Progress: Homeschool Room Organization

Doesn’t this homeschool room look so neat and organized? Yes, it looked this clean for about 2 hours –lol! Last year I had a problem figuring out how to organize our homeschool room. I wrote several posts about how overwhelming it was to figure out how to incorporate everything I needed and make the room function. The photo above was the end result. For the most part it worked well this past year!

This is still one of my favorite organizing tools from last year. It is a magnetic knife holder from IKEA. I would put all the sharper scissors toward the top and the kid scissors at the bottom. All my kids (for the most part) put scissors away! Yeah!

I tell you, I love my Expedit bookshelf from IKEA! Seriously, this wall unit holds so much! On some of the shelves I added the white split-lid boxes from Target to hold craft supplies. On top I purchased bins from Sterilite. I made tags and used a dry-erase marker to write what was in the bins. This worked so well---in fact, I have another Expedit bookshelf on my wish-list.

In-Progress Part:

If you would peek behind that blue couch right now, you’d find this mess. Yep. A mess. Each basket/bag has either curriculum to be planned for this year, curriculum to be put away from last year and other odds and ends. I really have no clue where to put this all—hence my wishing for another Expedit unit. :)

I had high hopes of using this bookshelf for my toddler/preschooler. We hardly used it at all because the floor-length curtain behind it in the picture were usually covering it up. I have moved this unit out in the hall and am reworking the toddler/preschool area. I’m not sure exactly what I’m doing yet.

I turned one of the walls in the hallway into a giant chalkboard. The girls love it (quote from Sally Clarkson.) I’ll post more of my hallway-turned preschool/toddler area once it is finished.

I have quite a bit of work on my hands trying to turn my chaos into completed projects—but it’s not nearly as bad as last year. :)  My biggest problem is where to store works in progress. For instance, where do I put things I’ve printed out but need to be laminated and cut? Or where do I put curriculum that I’m in the process of planning? Right now I have them stored in bags or crates but have no shelf space. I could use some ideas in this area.

You Might Also Like:

My Craft Stash Organization
Preschool Planning: The Art of Winging- It

Homeschool Planning Tips

Last week I hosted a giveaway for The Weekly Homeschool Planner by Homeschool Creations (aka Jolanthe). I’ve been printing out pages and inserting them into my binder for next year.  I love that this planner is editable! I can type what I need in the fields and it prints so nicely. Jolanthe graciously allowed me to give one of the planners away and the winner of the Homeschool Planner is:

Jeanine from Blogging and Bored :)  I hope this tool helps you with organizing your upcoming school year.

You can pick up your own planner for $20.00:

As part of the giveaway, I asked for you to share some of your homeschool planning tips. There are some great comments there and I thought I’d highlight several of them.

10 Homeschool Planning Tips
(in no particular order)

1. Faithflower said...  Always jot down ideas or input them in a note on your cell phone. Inspiration can be hard to come by so don't let it slip away! :) I find including a short break mid-day for purposeful laughter or recess to get energy out is a must have in any planner for homeschooling. The laughter factor is especially important with older students & teens who tend to take their work more seriously or have tougher assignments & truly need a break to refresh their spirits. It goes a long way to happier kids too!

2. Danielle Leigh said...   My homeschool planning tip would be that planning too much can be good in a way. If you plan too much, you don't have to do it all. But this way, you are prepared to do more activities on the subject that you are learning about if your kids want to. It may also leave you ideas if you come back to the subject the next year as the kids are older.

3.  Kirsten Hill said...   I like to plan...so far I have found that what works for me is to plan about 9-12 weeks at one time. When I plan the whole year out at once, it is bound to get "messed up" as things change through the year.

4.  Carpenters said...  One thing I have already learned the hard way is to relax and not push certain activities if no one is enjoying it. Perhaps if we revisit it later, we'll have more success.

5.  Cynthia said...  I love to plan! I try to keep everything I'm thinking of as a possibility for future years in one binder, so when I am planning the next year I can pull out my wish list and goals!

6.  Michelle said...   The best tip I could give is to plan something you enjoy ~ that helps me. Then my enthusiasm rubs off on my kids. If I'm not into what we are learning, chances are they aren't either.

7.  Caterina said...   It really is so helpful to have a place to organize lesson plans. But through teaching in a school classroom and now my own children-- flexibility is key. Sometimes things go wrong or take longer to accomplish. Take hold of those teachable moments.

8.  Mandy said...  I have to at-a-glance calenders. They both have all 12 months on them. On one I write each lesson number on the day I'd LIKE to have it done, i.e. "L.45." On the other, I fill in lesson numbers as we go. So it's the "actual" calendar. It helps me see where we are and where we need to be, if we're ahead or behind of where I want us to be.

9.Louanne said...   My best advice for planning is not to be so rigid that you miss amazing moments in your day that are spontaneous.

10.  Jeanine said... My planning tip is to have a specific day and time set aside to do your weekly planning- and stick to it!

Preschool Co-op Planning

I've been in preschool planning mode the past several weeks and am finally seeing an end in sight! Actually planning curriculum/lessons is something I enjoy doing. I like pulling things together from various websites and resources and seeing it all come together. Since I'm expecting right at the beginning of co-op, I have been trying to make everything super easy for the mom(s) who will be subbing for me. It should pretty much be grab-and-go! I've organized and sorted craft kits, laminated and cut-out materials and filed under the appropriate heading. I plan on sharing all the links for each theme during the month of September.

1. Colors
2. Numbers
3. Shapes
4. Pets
5. Houses and Homes
6. Pumpkins
7. Thanksgiving

At the beginning of co-op we will have Bible time (30min.). I've planned the lessons around Songs for Saplings. Of course I don't want to reinvent materials so I am using the printables that Carisa from 1+1+1=1/ Totally Tots has made that go along with the CD.

 I've put my Xyron 900 Creative Station to good use these past couple of weeks! I was able to quickly turn all the verse cards into magnets with it, and I laminated the posters for each verse. I also tried to come up with an easy object lesson/explanation for each verse. I'm excited about getting the word into our little ones' hearts!

Publish Post

Progress with the Homeschool Room

In July I posted the picture above lamenting the fact that I had no clue what to do with my homeschool room since adding all the contents of my office into that room. Well I'm not finished yet, but I am thrilled that everything is kind of coming together now! :)

On a whim I decided I wanted an accent color wall, so my son was nice enough to paint it for me. :) Then this past weekend my nice hubby took me to IKEA for our anniversary! He even let me get the big Expedit shelving unit, when I had planned differently. I love it! I just started getting things organized in it and hope to have it done by the end of the week.

I need to go back to Target and get one more fabric Itso bin and maybe a couple more smaller ones. Since I'm not sure what I'm putting there, I'm going to wait a couple of days.  The whole top row are photo albums. I haven't even printed any albums from the last couple of years!  I need to get caught up.

I put our workbox stations behind the couch. I originally didn't think I'd be able to get them to fit back in the room again, but by rearranging the couch, it works perfectly!

 My mom gave me her old craft cabinet which is perfect for all our little crafting supplies/scrapbooking stuff.  Thanks mom! :)

So I still have a way to go, but I am excited that there is a plan now! I'll be working on putting together a little toddler/preschool area where the big mess is. Hopefully I'll be able to find a place for everything. :)

How We Will Use This Room:
Basically this room will be homeschool central. We'll meet here in the mornings and do Bible and go over expected assignments. The older 2 have desks in their rooms, so they will most likely work there. My 8 yr. old usually works on the kitchen table or will work at the computer station if there is no one using the computer. I have set up my computer and the kids' computer in this room so that it will be easier to monitor computer usage and whether or not they are staying on task with computer assignments. There will also be a toddler/preschool table where my little ones can be working on their own toddler workboxes.

Homeschoolers with Messy HS Rooms Unite!

I know that when some of you see the pictures that I'm going to post below, you are going to get nervous, sweat and want to come over and do an intervention with me! For my daughter's 12th birthday, I told her that she could convert my office into her own bedroom. My office was over-stuffed to begin with, but my dd and my MIL managed to pack it all up and move everything to our front room aka school room. Before all my office stuff came into the school room it was a mess. So basically I've combined two big messes into one big mess---and I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. :)

Yes, this makes me sweat and nervous and feel very overwhelmed! Right now there is no way I can plan my school year or do anything creative. I really am an organized person at heart and this discourages me greatly. Thankfully I do have several friends that are going to help me go through things and brainstorm on how to make this room work for our homeschool and my office.

I "think" I would really like this unit from IKEA:

I  saw it in this room on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pip33chi/2905238443/in/pool-unclutterer
and think that with some bins it would make a huge dent in organizing the mess. The only problem is that the nearest IKEA is a little over 2 hrs. away. I just might make a road trip though! I'm having a hard time figuring out what furniture pieces/storage pieces I need for this room. If you have any ideas I'd love to hear them---especially with product links or pictures!

So since I have an overwhelming need to get something in my life back in order, I headed to Staples and Wal-mart for some of their back-to-school deals. I love feeling like I'm getting organized for the new school year and I love the prices!

Next I decided that since overhauling my schoolroom/office is too big of a task, that I needed to clean up some things on my computer. I'm organizing files, printing things and creating a binder to house all my blog/online deadlines, commitments, ideas and so forth. Next is to do the same for our homeschool, but I'll tackle that one later this week. :) Oh it feels good to have something in my life organized! :)

P.S. Earlier this week Michelle from Best Toys for Toddlers asked to interview me for the blog.  I am honored to be featured there today! :) Feel free to check it out!


Advertisement

Too Many Shoes --WFMW

This is a repost of an article I published this past summer. I wanted to update it with how this shoe system is working for us now that it is winter. I still love the whole crate system! It really has helped our family keep our shoe clutter under control. For this winter we have basically kept up with the system except we don't put our boots in the crate. They are lined up against the wall by the door (I didn't want melting snow to mess up other shoes.) Each kid (usually) puts their gloves, hats and scarf in their shoe crate. This is the first winter where I'm not going crazy either trying to find snow-gear, or finding it all over the house. I've also added two laundry baskets. One outside in the garage next to the shoe crates and one inside the house next to the door.

 

Yes, it's not pretty nor does it look very organized but it is working for us! This is the first winter I'm not tripping over snow pants, boots, hats mittens, and winter coats! In the past I have purchased at least 4 wall coat-hooks. The coats never made it on the hooks. Or they would fall off. It just wasn't working. So a friend mentioned that when her kids were toddlers, she just put a basket in the coat closet for them to put their coats in. I thought that was a great idea! At first I used the basket only for the two little ones. But the older kids found it much easier to just throw their stuff in the basket too (which is why I have now have 2 baskets).  It doesn't look pretty, but it is keeping all the stuff off the floor.  So I'm happy. :)

Original blog post:


With seven members in this family, I often feel like we are over-run with shoes. Not only that, but several members, who will go unnamed, like to not put on socks while wearing their shoes. Oh.the.stink!

So after having to endure another round of trying to get out of the house but can't because no one can find their shoes, I decided we needed a new shoe system.

We have tried:

--shoe racks--kids had a hard time understanding that they are not for standing on or climbing.

--shoe cubbies --a unit that has individual slots for pairs of shoes. I thought this would work so I put it in the laundry room where we come in and throw our shoes. Each kid was given one whole row to put their shoes away. They never did. The cubbie holes went too deep, or it was too hard for them to put both pairs in the same slot--always some excuse. The shoes ended up on the floor, usually buried under dirty clothes, while the shoe cubbie unit held old shoes, missing shoes or other odds and ends.

--one big basket---no one could find their shoes.

--in their own closet--now you think this one would have worked, but nope, it didn't. Basically wherever they took their shoes off is where their shoes ended up.

So now we are trying the shelf/crate system:

I know, so original. I decided that we are going to take our shoes off before coming in the house. The added benefit for me is not having to smell those horribly stinky gym shoes. Each kid was given their own crate. The older 3 have their own shelf to also put whatever junk belongs to them in addition to their shoe crate.

I just couldn't stop there. The blank space on the front of the crate was begging for something, so I decided to go through my digital scrapbooking supplies and make crate labels. [In Photoshop open a new canvas 5.5 x 2.5" at 300dpi]

Doesn't it look so nice and tidy? And because it's in a crate, I don't even mind that there is a football in with the shoes. All I see is the cute label. :) Like his cheesy smile? It was a toss-up between this picture and one that looked like he was mad as all get out. Gone are those days where he would willing pose for a picture.

I'm highly optimistic that this system will work for my family. One week and counting...trying to hit 21 days to make it a habit. :)

For other Works for Me Wednesday Ideas click here

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