Visual schedule

One of the things we are working on with Alligator is transitions. They are just really hard for him. So it was suggested that a visual schedule may help.

Wow, what a lot of work.

 

I found 2 great sights that had some cards premade.

http://printable.tipjunkie.com/daily-schedule-pictures/

http://www.communication4all.co.uk/Early%20Years%20Themes%202/DAily%20Routine%20Cards.pdf

I also made some of my own, like the ones with our pictures on them.

So the idea is that I will have the schedule up in the morning. Then Alligator and I can talk about it, and what our day looks like. As we complete items, he gets to take the cards down, and place them in a basket.

Some that need some explanation.

Mommy Time- This will be time that Alligator will spend with me, we might to a gross motor activity, we might do a game, or a printable. But it will be time specifically that I have devoted with him.

Room Time- This will be about 15 minutes (for now) that Alex will play in his room. I will bring up an activity bin, or he can read. But it is time for him to play by himself in his room. I will check on him occasionally, but mainly he will be playing independently.

Home Work- This is time both Alligator and Monkey will work on activities at the table. I will help them both but it is table work time.

Bucket Time- This is a time when I will set out 3 different buckets of toys. We have so many toys, and so few of them are played with. So he will have the option of playing with these toys. Things that he might not choose himself, but will enjoy being re-introduced to. This is a little more independent time. I will get him started, then do a bit of housework, then check on him here and there to  help guide play.

So far this is really helping. We have a lot less tantrums, since he knows what is coming next.

We’ll see, how next week goes.

Home Routine App

This post is completely my own, I was not compensated in any way!
I am totally in love with an App for my new i-phone. I totally love it.
You can check it out here! http://www.homeroutines.com/
There are many different sections, as you can see from the picture below. This really helps me remember things to do, and also to really get my home in order. I am totally loving it.
This is the main screen.

MORNING ROUTINE
Here is my morning routine. After taking Monkey to school, I come home and do this before we do anything else. The only thing I might put off till later is the 15 minutes in a focus zone.

EVENING ROUTINE
It has a setting for evening routines. Again you can easily adapt it to fit your lifestyle!
Here is mine.

TO DO LIST
You can add things to your to do list for today, this week, and later. Again you earn stars as you do them. You can add things quite easily or move or delete them.

ZONES
One of the sections it has is zones. If you have ever read anything by Flylady, zones will be familiar to you. Originally I used the app to break my house down into weekly zones. But then I realized you can work on one zone each day. You can choose to take the weekends off, or use the option for 7 zones, for me the weekends are spent between cleaning out my car, and yard work.
If you were to click on a zone you would see a list of things to do in that area. As you complete them, you earn a gold star…LOVE IT!

De-cluttering the play room

Having 2 boys about three years apart makes toy storage and organization a challenge. Having 2 boys that have very different interests makes it nearly impossible!
Here are some tips for trying to organize/de-clutter your play space.
1. Don’t do it with your children.
Seriously, are you really going to get anything actually thrown out or donated if you enlist there help. Suddenly, the toy that has not been played with for 2 years will become something they can’t part with. DON’T DO IT! Wait till there at school or napping and try to do it then. You’ll get so much more accomplished!
2. Set a timer!

I am a big proponent of using a timer. Set it for 15 minutes and then get to work. When the timer goes off,  you can stop and have a break. You are much more likely to begin a task it you know you don’t have to do it all day. But, as Flylady says, you can do anything for 15 minutes.
3. Have 3 bins, okay maybe 4,  ready to go.
You need to have your materials with you, so you don’t inadvertently mess up your whole house while trying to complete this project. You will need a trash bag, a box for donations, and a box for items that you want to sell. I also like to have a box for things that belong somewhere else (more about that on number 4). This way you don’t end up with a tidied playroom, and piles of stuff everywhere else!
4. Don’t get sidetracked.
If you have to leave the playroom, you are going to find something else that needs doing. And if you are anything like me, you will end up completely forgetting what you are supposed to be working on. So instead, have a box for things that belong in another place (like your son’s underwear that you find in the car bin…don’t ask…just put it in the bin, and when your timer goes off, you can take these items and put them away).
5. If it is broke, nobody wants it.
Seriously, GoodWill does not want a toy that no longer works or doesn’t have all the pieces. Throw it out, don’t waste their time! And don’t keep things that don’t have the pieces, you can not play checkers without the red pieces!
6. Playrooms need storage!

You can’t store stuff and keep it organized without storage (think about it, that is why we have cabinets in the kitchen). We bought ours from Target, and we love it!
7. Sort like things together.
This is probably a given, but it is important. Put all things that are alike together. Animals, cars, trains. Sort them and put them in a bin, or a box or a shelf, together. Farm sets, or matchbox car sets should be stored together, so when the kids want to play with it, all the pieces are right there. If they pieces are lost or broken refer to number 5 :)
8.Label Label Label
The kids are never going to find something, or keep the room semi-straight if they don’t know where things go. So you have to label. Use pictures, or words or both…this is a must do! So do it!
9.Hide it
Now that you think you know what you are going to donate, or sell. Put those items in your garage or attic for at least a month. If the kids never mention an item go ahead and get rid of it. If you have inadvertently  gotten rid of a favorite toy, you can pull it out and no harm has been done!
10. Spend 5 minutes a day keeping it up.
Here is a trick find a cool song (we like “Who let the dogs out”) and play it. Then have the kids help tidy until the song is over. You will probably do most of the work, but at least your trying to get them involved.

Now that it is all organized, sit back and enjoy. Aren't you glad you started this project!?!?!

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Daily Checklist

I have recently discovered the website, Life As Mom. Not only does it have great tips for organizing your home, and homeschooling, she also offers a e-book called Organizing Life as Mom.
Well, I had to buy it. Anyone that knows me knows that I love to make list and (at least on paper) get organized.
My favorite sheet in the planner was the Daily Checklist. You can view the sheet here, (scroll down and you’ll see it as a picture).
This list has really helped me.  I used the e-book, and created my own list of things that I need to do. My list is in order of when (theoretically) I would accomplish each task. But I also like that I can do them out of order.
Here is my list:
Up and Pretty
Make Bed
Kids dressed
Breakfast
Unload dishwasher- and load
Clean counters and black table
Sweep
Gym
Lunch
Kitchen cleanup
Naps
Tidy playroom
Get laundry on
Daily chore
Get Jack from School
laundry to dryer
Dinner:_____________________
Kitchen cleanup
Make Jack's lunch
fold laundry put away
Run dishwasher
Tidy living room and play room
Set out clothes
Once I updated the checklist to make it my own, I printed 5 of them, and laminated them. This way I have a week’s worth, and can write on them as I think of things I need to do. (I have them for Monday through Friday, weekends are a different schedule…maybe eventually I will make a weekend one).
I use a dry erase marker to cross things off as I do them. I love the sense of accomplishment I feel for scratching things off.

15 Minute Makeover-#3

Today I decided to do some work in the playroom. Monkey was feeling sick, so he spent much of the day in front of the TV, and Alligator was busily eating his lunch.
Here is the corner that I started off in.
After 15 minutes this is how it looked.

I was making such progress I decided to continue and work on the top of the shelving unit for 15 minutes.
  
After 15 minutes I got it down to this:

The cup on the top shelf next to our puzzles holds puzzle pieces that are found. Alligator loves puzzles, and he gets a little carried away. So our pieces tend to walk away.
Speaking of puzzles, the puzzle stand on the shelf, is the best purchase ever. I didn’t think I could use one, but don’t doubt just buy. It is truly awesome.
After that 15 minutes were up I continued working, the room was looking so good. I think I worked for another 15 minutes. And am so pleased with the results.
I bagged up 3 garbage bags worth of stuff to take to goodwill.

I cleared out some of the bins, and reorganized others. So excited about the transformation.
Still a work in progress, but so happy it happened!

Playroom Declutter

Lately our playroom has felt a bit cluttered. In the past when it felt cluttered I added more storage. But I realized that hasn’t helped much.

Here are the photos:

This photo is take from the entry way into the playroom.

After:

I have switched the couches around to give more room for play. I cleared out underneath the train table     

This  photo is from another door. You can see our storage bins straight ahead. My goal was to go from 3 storage units to 1. (plan changed later).

 

Before:

After

I cleared all the clutter from the top of the shelves,

Here is the art corner before:

 

After:

I moved the plastic storage to my upstairs supply closet. I moved all the art supplies into a red bin on the first shelf, so that visually it is much less cluttered.

Here is our train table, which also has storage underneath.

You can’t tell from this picture, but I combined some storage bins in order clear out underneath the table. Here you can really see the change in the corner of the room though.

What I really wanted to accomplish was to make the room feel less cluttered. I wanted less visual clutter. I also wanted more space to play. The room was just feeling so dark and over crowded.

I am really happy with the result. Monkey even said “Wow Mommy, I am so proud of you!”

Closet Clean Out….number 3

Here are links to my first 2 posts. First and Second

I am so excited….I know have a craft/learning closet. Which houses all my materials!!!!!

These are my before pictures….

Here it is after 3 days of work!

Here is the closet~

 

A place for everything and everything in its place.

I repurposed the shelves from our playroom. The top shelf has all of our art supplies.

 

The second shelf has my laminator and pouches, and a tub for things I want to laminate next time I decide to laminate. It takes a bit of time to get the laminator warmed up, so when ever I have spare time, I will laminate the things in my bin.

The Middle shelf has a big bin that houses all my paper, and folders. So they are ready to go. I do have a bag that has a car craft in it, a big dice, and 2 tot activities also on that shelf right now. But I think I am going to move them downstairs.

The bottom shelf has a box with stickers, one with stamps, and our pompoms, recyclables (things like jars, clean plates), and then a tub with pipe cleaners, string and popsicle sticks. I got the green shoe boxes at Target in there dollar isle. Oddly enough they were $2.50 each (not a dollar, as I am learning not everything there is a dollar) but they were 50% off. They are awesome. I am going to buy more if they are there next time.

I bought this giant shoe organizer and the boxes from them at Amazon. Each drawer has a holiday listed on it. And inside will go all materials related to that holiday. I am also going to make a list of the activities we do that are related to that theme, so I can do them again next year. Most of the stuff in these drawers I can use years down the road with my own boys, or when I go back to teaching.

I have room for another in the closet. I might use it, for separating out activities. For instance, have a drawer for Color activities, or shape activities…I am just not sure yet if that is what I want to do. We’ll see!

 

The first closet shelf has all my kits that I have gotten from Time for Tots, of that I have made up myself. They are all labeled individually, but I also made a sign that is hanging, to let me know what kits we have. That way when I am trying to find things for the boys to do, that will jog my memory.

     

And FInally my top shelf has a box of playdough, activity bags that I made a while ago, some books, and a tub of our sensory bin materials.

I am really thrilled. It is so much easier to find things.

Possible Solution—part 2

Here is the original post.

I didn’t realize when I posted the original that this would be a 2 parter, however now that I am into it, it may be even more.

I am trying to organize for Tot School, in order to better utilize the items we have. You see, I am a bit of a shopaholic. I don’t obsessively buy anything for myself per-say, but I buy crazy amounts of stuff for the kids. I did the same when I was teaching, and now that I am home I have accumulated tons of stuff for activities with the boys.

Our formal living room is now our playroom/totschool room. I have tried and tried to come up with a workable solution and so far I am getting there.

I have pretty much reorganized the playroom. I am trying to reorder it into centers or areas.

I removed the shelves from this area, now this is our song/magnet area.

 

Because I took away the shelves (to be used in organizing a closet, you’ll see pictures of that in a post soon. I needed a place to put just 4 toys for Alligator. I cleared out 4 spaces in our existing shelving unit for these trays. These are toys that he can play with independently. They will be rotated at least weekly, if not sooner. I have 4 Tot trays on them. As you can see, he jumped right into these toys. You can’t see it, but he is playing with his Tag Junior.

As I said in my previous post. I can’t have out activities that I want to supervise Alligator with. So those activities that I want to work with him on in the coming days will be in the green drawers  you can see in this picture. This is our Art area. You can also see our Karaoke machine. It was a gift to me a few years before we had kids, I love it. But it is also great for the kids to try to sing along with music (we have a wiggles karaoke that is a huge hit), or to just vocalize.

Just to the right of this picture is a couch, but under it is a storage bin (the bottom of the couch is open and I found bins that fit under it perfectly, almost like a giant drawer). It houses our musical instruments, which is a huge hit.

I cleared out another area for our Little people sets.

This is the most comfortable chair we have in the house. I put a little bin of books. Alligator loves to sit on my lap and read books. He will say “mama” and point to the chair so I’ll sit with him. It is so wonderful to snuggle with him!

     

As another part of the organization I am working on setting up a closet in our guest room to house all of my learning materials. I am going to organize them so they are easy to use.

Here is the closet before I pulled everything out:

I already have everything out, and the new shelving unit placed in it. Now I just need to organize.

I took a trunk full of clothes and stuff from this closet to the goodwill this morning, I am sure there is more to go!

I also plan on making a list of activities for his trays and activities for his and Monkey’s drawer so that I can remember what we have, and remember to use it. Those will be in posts to come.

Linked to totschool….

Possible Solution—part 1

As many of you know I love to do activities with my boys. My oldest goes to preschool 5 days a week, and my youngest goes 2 days a week. So I don’t have to do a whole lot of planning since they do attend school. But still,  my favorite way to spend time is to do structured activities with them. I love planning for them, finding them, making them or buying them.

I started off with Tot Trays for Monkey. It worked great. I kept them high up, so that he would need help to get them down.

But then our shelves got overcrowded so we added this book case to house the trays. The problem was that Alligator and Monkey have access to this area whenever they are playing, so they would take down parts and things would get lost or misplaced.

So I think I have found my solution!

I baught this at Walmart for 9 dollars.

In the top drawer I have activities for Alligator, the middle is for Monkey, and the bottom is for activities that they can both do or an art project.

 

Each of the activities in bagged with all the necessary components, so when I want to play something with Alligator. I can go straight to that drawer and pull something out. Also, this helps me to organize ahead of time. So this morning, I went through all my Valentine themed activities that I have either made or bought from Time for Tots.  I sorted them based on who will play with them and now they are in the correct drawer.

So here is an example.

Here is the bag which has our muddy pig activity. This is an art activity that I will do with both boys. All the materials are in the bag. Including the glue, scissors, crayons, paint, a paper plate for the paint to be put on, the pig printable, construction paper, and paint brushes.

 

 

This way, when we have time, we can get out the bag and do the activity. The set up has already been done!

Oh, and I bet your thinking, but can’t they just open the drawers and pull out your stuff. Well, I have 2 solutions to that problem. Number 1, the cart has wheels so I and stow it in a closet if I need to. The other solution is a piece of tape. If they are messing with it, a pieces of tape on the side of the drawer will stop it from opening (Hey, it worked for the manufacturer!)