mamamindy Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I question myself… Should I let go and not let these things bother me?? It bothers me! I am referring to kid messes. These kinds of messes: We have a "school room" that is sort of a play room as well. I like things rearranged in a way that the books are on the shelf, toys on a shelf in toy bins (and I have certain toys in here for my 2 & 4 yo to play with while we're having lessons with the bigger ones). We also have an awesome toy kitchen that my husband made, multiple pieces, that houses toys in it. (Modeled after an old one in my PS teacher MIL's classroom.) The closet has arts and crafts supply storage and an "off-llimits" set of drawers with supplies and things I don't want them to play in. Okay, my oldest DD likes to just move things all around and squirrel away things like (empty) snack cups from the (real) kitchen, toys from the bedroom, pillows and blankets, whatever to "play house" with her siblings. It's cute, but I just can't take it anymore! I can't find books…they're stacked up in the craft closet. Stuff like that. Then I feel like I walk in the room, ready for lessons, and I LOSE IT! ETA: I know a lot of this is MY problem. I let them play in this room when we're not officially doing school. They have bedrooms with toys, but the baby takes a nice nap in the morning and I encourage them to not go upstairs where they are likely to wake her. (We live in a very old, creaky house.) When I'm in the kitchen - my office - I cannot manage the schoolroom. Arrgh! Thanks for letting me vent. We'll figure it out eventually… :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 How about taking 15 minutes in the evening just before the kids start getting ready for bed and have them help you put the room back together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessed Mommy Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Oh my gosh, you totally sound like me! Haha! I do have to say that the more children I have, the better I get at "letting things go". I always feel better when I remind myself that after they're finished playing, the mess will be picked up and everything will be back in order. I have worked VERY diligently to train my children to put things back where they go after they're finished playing with them. It sounds like your oldest daughter may not be doing that since you mentioned not being able to find books and other supplies because they're not in their designated place. If you find that things aren't being put back where they belong, make your daughter put them back and give her a warning. Next time you find things out of place after she's played with them, give her some sort of consequence. It may be not being allowed to play house in the school room for a day or two, or maybe cleaning out and organizing some other area so she can have practice putting things back in their designated place. I don't think you're being unreasonable by expecting things to be in order and organized. It just takes lots of patience and DAILY training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I don't think it's unreasonable to help your dc learn to be tidy, but it does take time to instruct and train and re-train and model. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narrow Gate Academy Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I don't think you are expecting too much. I would either have a clean up time where everyone works together to clean the room, which helps the kids learn where to put things back, or have them play in a different room. Could they choose 1 or 2 toy bins to bring into the living room to play with while the baby is sleeping, and then clean them up and return them once the baby is up? I often have my youngest do this when he is playing with one of his siblings. If they play in the older one's bedroom, then too much stuff gets pulled up and the olders start trying to keep him out of their rooms altogether. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slache Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I taught my son before his second birthday to put all of his toys away in one bucket. They were all in one place and it took me 5 minutes every other day or so, to put things away properly. It was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I have a daughter around the same age who does the same thing. She just loves it and I like that she gets into her imaginitive play. It may look chaotic to me, but there is some organization in it from her perspective. It's developmentally appropriate, in my opinion. I generally let this go on for up to a week at a time before I move in and reorganize. Usually there are several "layers" of kid stuff in the play area and I will usually go after the older layers and leave out what the kids have most recently been playing with. But I require them to keep their stuff out of most areas of the house. There is one limited area where pretty much anything goes (assuming we are not having guests over etc.). I know it would probably be a good idea for me to make the kids clean up after themselves, but I like doing most of it myself. Eventually they will come to prefer some sort of order. It may or may not bear any resemblance to the type of order I like to keep. :P It won't be long before they no longer play with toys and make secret hideouts etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lots of little ducklings Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 I'm a little uptight about our tiny little "schoolroom" (really a glorified closet/pantry/mudroom in the basement).. It's just too disruptive to our school routine when items can't be found or things are a mess. So until my kids show they are more responsible (the oldest of 5 is only 6 yrs old), the rule is no playing in the schoolroom. I do occasionally break the rule- but so far I've always regretted it. Thankfully baby sleeps happily even with others playing in the same bedroom; if I had a light sleeper I might be forced to lighten up and let them play in the basement regardless of the consequences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel Yell Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 Find ways to store toys and supplies that are VERY easy for the kids to do, even if it isn't the way *you* want it to be done. And keep things where they are used, not just where they "fit". For example, I want all shoes neatly paired, toed facing out, on shelves in each child's closet. What really happens in my "Please leave your shoes on or your socks will get filthy I-hate-to-mop" house? Everyone ditches their shoes at the front door. So I have a basket to contain them. Not what I want, but looks better than a mess of shoes getting kicked all over the livingroom. So have a lot of clear open bins or bins with attached lids like this http://www.sterilite.com/SelectProduct.html?id=21&ProductCategory=255§ion=1 Clear drawer units of all sizes work well, too. Make it easy to see where things are, and easy to put them back. Funny thing is, I still need this system and my kids are all older! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamindy Posted January 13, 2014 Author Share Posted January 13, 2014 Thanks -these are great ideas! We've just simply implemented a school room pickup a couple times a day and I keep the toddlers toys mostly put away, pulling out only a few things to occupy her during a lesson. This has helped immensely. I agree with keeping things simple so they can help. I still don't let them play with most of the crafts unless they explicitly ask me. They just can't be trusted yet unless I'm monitoring, which I often can't. And yes, the baby is a TERRIBLY light sleeper so they really need to be downstairs for a good portion of the day. The upside to this is that they are excited to play in their rooms when the occasion arises. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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