Toy Storage Rotation~City Mom

I've been praying that God would give me the ideas for this blog. I do really like to "express myself" so I find blogging is a nice outlet. I'm hoping in the midst of my "self expression" that I can bring some kind of encouragement/help/hope/life/light to anyone who may stumble across my little blogspot. 

I've been hesitating whether or not to share my "toy storage rotation system" with the world. I finally decided I would share...with this caveat: PLEASE do not compare your own system to mine (unless you feel that yours is superior...than by all means...feel free). I do not want to share one.single.thing that will make you as a mom (or dad for that matter) feel burdened or less than. My point in sharing this TOTALLY SIMPLE MINDED system, is that you may see it and go "light bulb!" and let it be an opportunity to get your own creative juices for storage going. Or just copy it. Or, share an even better system. Just don't put yourself down or lift me up higher than I should be lifted.

Deal?

OK...so, here it is!

My cooler than cool friend Amanda asked me to meet her at Ikea one day. We had been talking about the Ikea Expedit for awhile and how she had put nearly ALL of her six children's toys in it. We ate meatballs and roamed the store for a few hours and by the time I left, I knew I had to get the Expedit. I sold my Trofast and was saving money...when City Dad came up with his brilliant idea: "Look for it on craigslist." Not only did that brilliant man save me money on taxes, we (he) didn't have to set it up the shelving unit. He simply had to borrow his brother's truck and pick it up. Much better!

***(in case you are wondering...the blue and pink bins to the left and right of the Expedit are the Target "Itso's" and I love them more than I should. They can be re-configured into different shapes for different spaces (and oh have they been through many different stages in our home) and they are so cute. (The kid's school stuff is in there, so I won't say anymore about them now.)

I have books in the upper three shelves of the expedit. This is nice. Books aren't ALWAYS thrown all over the place all of the time anymore (hint*toddlers can't get to them as easily~don't freak out moms...I make them available to my JoJo, just not ALL of the books at all times). The top three shelves will look different once I get all of our school things for next "year" ready, but for now, they are a nice book spot. 

The bottom two shelves are filled with gender biased colored bins that I got from the Target dollar aisle. Maybe they were $2.50/piece but that's still kind of a steal. The children VERY EASILY put the "girl toys" in pink bins and the "boy toys" in blue ones. I don't label them (and you'll see why in a moment). 

You would be A.MAZED at how many stinking toys fit into 10 bins! These bins are on the main level of our house and can be moved to the family room or office or a bedroom if need be. But for the most part these are the ONLY toys accessible to the children. They have special things in their rooms (American Girl stuff and legos mainly--that could be entire storage blog post in itself). There is also a play kitchen in the above picture which you can not see. And the basement has gross motor toys that are available at all times (but most stay downstairs). 

This lovely storage shelving pictured above is in the basement. I got it on (ta-da!) craigslist. It is STURDY. And it holds...a LOT! All the rest of the kid's toys are in these bins. The idea is that every two weeks or so, we bring the canvas bins from the main level, down into the basement and swap out toys. In each bin you see, there are toys (grouped in plastic Target bags). You empty the "current" week's canvas bin into a plastic bag and put it in a downstairs storage bin. Then you take out a plastic bag of toys from a storage bin, empty it into the canvas bin, bring it upstairs and wa-la! your toys are swapped! Simple, isn't it?

This is a LIFE saver for me. When kid's are home all day it is nice to change up the flavor of "tools" for them to use in play time. It is also nice to not always have access to every tool (toy). We value things being "tidy" while also valuing the idea of actually using what we have.

This is my way of "subduing" (as Sally Clarkson would say) our toys in the home. 

It is fun to go "toy shopping" with the kids and pull things out that haven't seen the sunlight in awhile!

How do you store/subdue toys? Do you have a "toy rotation"? How does it work? Just ask JuBe, I'll be changing this up in about four months (I have ants in my pants!)...so share your ideas so I can store them away for future needs! 

On another quick note...

I did wake up on Mother's Day to a BEAUTIFUL perler beaded heart. I've gotten a lot of perler bead hearts for Mother's Day over the years...but this one has such a special story attached to it (Mommy, she broke my heart!) that I had to share the pictures of the surprises I was blessed with first thing in the morning.

His Version of Four~City Mom

I got home from the gym tonight and this is how I found my Odes. Standing in the back yard, blue shorts too big for his body, a batman night shirt inside out, complete with bike helmet (he does not yet know how to ride). I felt a lump rising in my throat. I know exactly why.

There's just SOMEthing about a four year old.

Odes was an extremely content baby. He nuzzled into the Moby wrap and the Ergo carriers almost like an extension of the womb. He never cried. Ever. He laughed. He smiled. He let us pass him to nearly anyone at church. He began talking early. At a year he was a bullet running around the house and his mouth went faster than his feet. The pediatrician asked me at his yearly check up, "how many words does he say?" I laughed and said, "everything!" She looked at me doubtfully and then her jaw dropped when he began to sing, "The boys are back, yeah, the boys are back" (from High School Musical).

Years 1.5 to 3.5 were blurrishly exhausting with this boy. He'd say cute things like "Mommy, can you get my winter on?" when he wanted to go outside. But, I also had to come up with ways to keep him from destroying EVERY MOMENT of our homeschooling efforts. We'd put him in a gate with a snack and the ipod or a special toy. That worked for a short time. We tried to encourage him to sit on my lap. That never worked. He was often making some kind of offense toward me or one of the other kids. We'd strap him in his car seat to keep him in a "time out" (don't get nervous, I didn't leave him in there alone). I called my parents in Florida saying I simply did not know what to do! We'd school during his nap, but by then, we were all so exhausted by our attempts at "play" from the morning that none of us wanted to sit down and focus on anything. He got kicked out of the church nursery at the church we visited when he was not even two. The workers thought he'd do better with the pre-school aged class. We found him with the pre-schoolers, charming the teacher and participating in the little study.

I need to say...during this time Odes brought us delightful gifts as well. He decided at 2.5 one day when he woke up that he was "done" with diapers. He walked over to the toilet, used it, and never wore a diaper or pull-up afterward. Not even at night. He just potty~trained. The end. He made us laugh...unendingly. At DisneyWorld, he'd get measured to see if he was tall enough to go on a ride. After the ride, he'd beg to go on again and would go up to the worker to get measured again. When they said he was tall enough he'd jump up and down and say "I'm big enough! I can go on!"

But something happened when Odes turned four. First of all, his eyes began to open up to Jesus. During communion in church he began asking things like, "Am I *in* Christ mommy? How do I know if I am saved or not?" He told me he wanted Jesus to pay for his sins and to follow Him. Even tonight as he sat on my lap, he felt the need to check in with me again to make sure that it was simply Jesus payment for sin on the cross that helped him receive eternal life, and nothing in himself which he had to do. And whether it is his new found love of Jesus or turning age four, there is something in me that wants to slow down the clock a little and keep him right here...just for a little longer.

Life these days with my four year old Odes looks like this:
~When he got up just a little earlier than everyone else, and couldn't find me because I was in the shower, he sat in the play room, looking sad. When I found that he was not in his room, I searched and found him there. His tear stained eyes looked up at me and said, "I'm so glad you are MY mommy!"

~He runs to me when I come home from the gym or an errand like I'd been gone on vacation. He leaps into my arms and hugs and kisses over & over.

~Odes says, "please mommy, can we read "I'm Special, I'm Me" one more time? And will you change the names in it to our family like you do?

~When he goes to the Dr. and they offer him stickers he picks one out and then asks, "But would it be OK if I picked one out for my brother and sisters?"

~He curls up in my lap after naps, or any chance he can get and asks me to hold him.

~His heart longs to be kind toward others and obedient to me. When he messes up, he readily submits to a "do-over" as long as I am empathetic and understanding of how it is he is feeling.

~Odes was working on perler beads...his very first "big" project all on his own. He asked me not to look at it. I told him I *might* have to peek at it just a bit, if I was going to be the one to iron it. When he finished the project, he came up to me with the pink heart behind his back saying, "pink IS your favorite color, right?" and a few minutes later, "I have only ONE thing for you for Mother's Day mommy." And that night when his new little friend found the heart and it broke in her hands he came running to me saying "She broke my heart mommy!" He is still four, fortunately mommy can still take care of things like that. (At 10 pm I got out my iron, adhered the parts back together and left presumably my Mother's Day gift next to his spot at the table with an "I love you Odes" note next to it.)

~Odes asks me nearly every day, "Mommy, let's play guys, just you & me." And I do. Because, and oh, I'm getting choked up thinking this...but he won't be asking me to be playing "guys" for much longer.

You see...I didn't understand, when JuBe and Peebs were four, that there is some kind of turning point when a child turns 5. They begin to separate more. They begin to form friendships. They don't get quite as excited when mommy comes in the room. They don't want to be on my "team" anymore when we play Sequence. They won't put on silly clothes with no thought of what others think. They don't hold my hand quite as readily in public. They may still sit on my lap, but their long legs and gangly bodies don't fit quite as comfortably for long periods of time. They don't tell me EVERYthing on their mind. They don't like toys as much and aren't quite as enthralled with things like "Rescue Heroes" or stuffed animals.

But my little four year old...he's still all mine. At least for a little while longer. I plan to cherish each day of this year with my Odes...and all my babies and the sweet phases they are in. Today, I just can't shake "there's just something about a four year old." Makes me want to go run over and curl up next to him and cuddle him just a bit before I head to bed. These sweet days pass so quickly.

Is there an age or stage that you've really loved with your children? I'd love to hear about it!!!

Smiles & Laughter~City Mom

I laughed a lot today.

I remember when Jube was two, reading or hearing something about how many times a toddler laughs during the day. It's sad to think that you laugh less as you age.

As parents we have so many opportunities to laugh (these were from just the last 45 minutes of our day):

During devotions when JoJo interrupts over and over saying, "Ummmm, Daddy, I know! GOD! No, no, Jesus!"

When one kid repeats "shake your booty" over and over until the baby starts saying it but mis-pronouncing the word.

Hearing Peebs giggle uncontrollably.

Reading "Richard Scarry" books and watching Odes laugh hysterically when Ma Pig's car gets crushed in a construction worker's arms.

Putting JoJo to bed and listening to her saying "Buzz Lightyear, buzz buzz" and then letting out fake laughter 15 times in a row.

JuBe & Peebs sharing jokes: "Why did the Chicken cross the playground Mommy?" To get to the other "slide."

There are so many times to SMILE as well. The other day I was looking at my children as they were telling me little tid-bits of things going on in their hearts and I realized how sober my face was. Sober and maybe a tad "distant" as well. I shook myself and put a big smile on my face as I asked a follow up question to the story. Peebs face lit up and he kept talking and pouring more of his heart and ideas out to my softened face that looked at him with adoration. In fact, my demeanor change affected him so much, that he literally followed me around the rest of that day, talking, sharing, hugging, and engaging me.

When is the last time you evaluated what your face looks like to your kids? Try it! What kind of non-verbals are you communicating?

Here's a time when it's really hard to smile...but very important: when they mess up. I got this concept from Jim & Lynne Jackson from Connected Families: SMILE when they do something wrong? Yes! Smiling, hugging, getting down on their level when they've done something sassy or trying or frustrating.

I started doing this a few months ago. I remember one particular day, Odes was having a really hard time and every time I pulled him aside to talk about what was going on in his heart, he'd look at me a little funny until he finally said, "Mommy, why do you keep smiling at me when I mess up?"

Here is why sweet little boy: I sin in my heart often. I resist God's leading in my life. I think bad thoughts. I lose my temper. I make rude comments. And you know what? God looks at me, and through His kindness, draws me to repentance. God has a righteous anger toward sin...but Jesus lives in me and that's what He sees! He is ever so kind and gracious and merciful.

If God can look at me like that with my adult sins that should be more tempered...why should I look at YOU, precious little one who is still learning right from wrong, and scowl when you mess up?
When I smile at you, you open your heart to me. You feel safe. You feel loved. You feel like you can trust this Mama to process through the issue. If I frown and scowl, will that lead you to heart change? Or will you just simply learn to try to please me with actions? Or turn away from me because I never seem to have empathy or understand?

So, I smile. I hug. I kiss...when they are funny, when they are naughty, when they are silly. I hold them to a standard of high ideals...oh yes! After all, I'm looking to shape their hearts~not just let them have their own way without accountability. My goal is to accomplish that "shaping" with love & tenderness ~ (more and more every day...this is NOT easy for me and I don't have it down perfectly).

My questions for you today: Have you noticed your face while interacting with your children? Or spouse? Or friends? Or co-workers? Or acquaintances? What are you communicating with that face? What would you like to communicate? Try a smile and see how much of a difference you can make!

Homeschool Lyceum~City Mom

I need to preface this by saying, "yes, I know how extremely blessed we are!"
One of the things that can be difficult about the choice of the homeschool lifestyle is the perception of things missed. I have thought of the elementary school lyceums or little parties or holiday programs and at times wondered if my kids were really missing out. However, there are so many ways to make life "special" or "stand out" when your kids are home. Sometimes you need just a little creativity or ingenuity. Sometimes you just need some AMAZING parents/grandparents to kick it in gear!

Last Thursday was National Day of Prayer. My dad called early in the week and said he wanted to do an event with my kiddos and my brother's kids. We sat around our kitchen table while Papa taught us a bit about the constitution and the history of the day. We talked about our freedoms in this country and some of the beliefs of the founding-fathers. Dad came awesomely prepared and we enjoyed the content, with a few giggles inserted here and there from the little's antics. I think we all especially loved when little JoJo went on & on & on about President Obama. I mean, it really is fun to say his name!

 

Then...we prayed.

pre.cious

 I know many homeschooling families do not have the support of people in their lives. So believe me, it brought me to tears more than once, to realize that my children and I were sitting in my home with my brother's homeschooled kids and his wife, and our precious Papa & Nana as they poured their lives into us. I loved that dad picked the "National Day of Prayer" to honor...but to be totally honest, it could have been ANYthing and I would have been just as moved. To know we have their support is amazing. To know they want to pass on the legacy of Christ to their grandchildren is a blessing beyond the description of words.

The kids wore all of their new "Arizona" t-shirts they got in Easter baskets from Papa and Nana's recent visit.

Oh, I love these boys so much! 

Sweet cousins

 Mom/Nana brought over pre-made lunches for all the kids...complete with drink boxes and fruit leathers. First they provided us with educational material based on values we desire to promote and then FEED us too?!?!?

Thanks for lunch Nana/Nan/Nanny/Neena/NewKnee/Hannah

As I watch my parents interact with the world, I'm challenged. I want to look at their example and reach out and serve and give to others. I want to live selflessly in my home with my own children. Thank you Mom and Dad/Papa & Nana for shining your lights for us, for loving us, for encouraging us and investing your lives in us. It means more than you will ever know!

So, blog readers...I'd love to hear from you! What do you do in your home to make certain days stand out more than others? Are their significant people in your lives that give of themselves in your homeschooling efforts? Is this something you desire, but lack? How are YOU shining your light to encourage others in their home educational efforts? Share the LOVE ;)
Thanks for reading!

Kid of the Day~City Mom

Each day we have a kid of the day. This simple little concept, transformed the life of my homeschool. I'm not kidding. It COMPLETELY turned us around. 

Some time in the beginning of last year as we worked through our Calendar Board (which I will lay out in another post some day), there would be fighting & tears. I usually had JuBe do most of the work, because she was technically the only one in "school" and frankly at the time was the only one capable of doing pieces of it. Then, I'd let the littler ones do the simpler things on the board, but JuBe would then feel bad that she had to do all of the "hard" stuff and never got a chance to do the "fun" stuff. I was in one of those homeschooling mom funks. You know the kind where the yellow bus drives by and you don't even care that you haven't showered for 3 days and you look like you just got over a bad bout of stomach flu (even though you didn't), and you try to run after the bus, but it leaves without your kids, so you turn back around and start banging your head on the door before you go inside. You know what I'm talking about, come on...don't pretend like you don't! I just tried to find an appropriate picture to share of me in one of those funks, but realized...the camera doesn't come out during those kinds of days.

Anyway, during one of those funks, the Lord gave me this idea of the Kid of the Day...and it has been going strong for almost two years. Here's how we do it.

Each morning after breakfast, one chore, and getting ready for the day, we have Calendar Time.

We have a Good Morning song where the kid of the day is announced. I rotate them like this.

week 1: Jube, Peebs, Odes, JoJo

week 2: Peebs, Odes, JoJo, Jube

week 3: Odes, JoJo, JuBe, Peebs

week 4: JoJo, Jube, Peebs, Odes

then start all over again.

Rotation was key in our home. If we always started the week by age, it became "unfair" due to life's rhythms. For instance, if we always had, say "swimming" on Tuesday, and Peebs was always the kid of the day on Tuesday, he would miss out on some of the roles in which the kid of the day takes advantage.

We have a "name-o" song, which comes from here. We spell each other's names and then the Kid of the Day gets velcro'd on the outside of the envelope which contains our names after we sing/spell everyone's name. 

The Kid of the Day gets to:

complete all of the Calendar Time activities

be the first in each activity

lead the pledge of allegiance

pick a movie (if we watch one that day)

play his/her webkinz (if they play that day)

decides where they are sleeping at night (they like to rotate bedrooms and sleep together)

gets choice of where to sit during read alouds

gets to pray at meal time

gets to choose the first bite of a treat

...you get the idea...

The Kid of the Day ALSO:

is my kitchen assistant for the day...setting tables, vacuuming after meals

helps serve food

helps JoJo with different tasks (if the kid of the day is not Jo)

and is generally called on to be a "servant" for the day as well

You see the genius in this, right? They DON'T FIGHT over who gets to choose or who gets to do things. They don't buck me when I ask them to get out the vacuum or load the dishwasher. They know they have privileges, they know they have responsibilities that go with them. They look forward to it when it's their day, and they let it go when it's not, because they know their day is coming again.

What kinds of systems do you have in place to help your kids feel special? Or to minimize fighting? Or to help kids rise to responsibility? I'd love to hear about them!

To workbox or not to workbox~City Mom

A couple years ago I was introduced to Sue Patrick's Workbox System.
I really love the concept. I love boxes. I love storing things. I love the illusion of things being neat & tidy.

I did them for awhile. With my own little twist:

This is where I stored all of JuBe's work.
These bins are ITSO's from Target.
I heart them.

I labeled folders instead of "boxes" because
I wanted to use ITSO's in pink/purple and blue/green

The night before I'd set up the work for the next day
or sometimes I put ALL of the work for the week in the folders on Sunday.

When the kids finished their folders (boxes) they put their work on a clipboard for me to look at
and then they put the empty folder in a crate for me to refill at night.

This was fun for awhile...*maybe* three days. Then I decided I am not the kind of person that will keep up with the intensity of this kind of project with four kids.

I really like this new set up. Maybe some of you ladies who have similar temperaments to mine will appreciate this approach to our homeschool organization. I found this interesting mom's organizational tool here.

And now I will show you mine!

I got this great little tool at Staples for $25 (not $45 like it is online).
It spins. And you can fit OH.SO.MUCH.STUFF in it.

Inside is a file folder for each month of the year.
My school planner for 2012-2013 fits in the big top with a tray for supplies like paper clips, etc. as well.

Inside each file folder is a folder for each week of school.
For each week, there is a set of school work for each kid, paper clipped and labeled to whom it belongs. I simply tore out all of their worksheets and put them in the week that it needs to be accomplished. It is a little work upfront, but to have this done for next year, September-December feels like a huge relief to me!
There are also "thematic" to the time of year activities that we'll do as a group in the monthly folder. For example, in November, I have some Thanksgiving craft ideas I got from pinterest, printed out and sitting in that month.
My planner has labeled in it all of the things I'll need to have on hand in order to make those activities happen. 

On Monday morning, after our  calendar time, I pull out the "weekly" folder. I pass out the work that needs to go in the folder shown above. Each child has their own. They put math in one folder, spelling in another, handwriting in another, and so on. They may work at their own pace. If they want to get a lot done in one day, they have the freedom to do so, because they have all of their work for the entire week set before their little finger tips. But they file away their work for the week in their folders on their own. No more trying to get it done on Sunday nights (or scrambling on Monday mornings. We work together to get this done!)
One thing about the workbox system that was too hard for my abstract/random mind was that there was some "order" as to when someone had to do something. My two oldest "concrete sequentials" would get totally thrown if I went out of order and it made things miserable for all of us and we started to clash. Doing it this way, there is no set order for when something needs to get done. We simply work through our work and we flex around each other. I know workboxes are s'posed to work that way, but they didn't for me. Besides, when it was a box, I felt pressure to come up with things like a random toy or snack or whatever to put in the box. Now, I can be more spontaneous about that kind of stuff...because  hey! that's my personality!

When the kids are done with their work, the finished product goes into a section in one of these sturdy 3 ring binders. They each have their own color coded binder that goes in our big Expedit (which is from Ikea but I got on craigslist).

Is all of this making sense? Probably not. I should have split this into a couple different posts, but I'm going to keep going since I've gotten this far.

Want to see the rest of the spinny desk organizer that I love oh so much?

I can keep all of my teacher manuals in here. There are even spots for those supply items you need as you go about the day. My 3-hole punch fits in there. My special "sharpies~just for mommy" have their own home. Our Bible time materials, the math manuals...it all fits in this little special desk. No longer do I run around wondering where I put MY manuals and supplies. Have I mentioned how much I love this thing?

I sat down with my kids a bit ago and asked them if there were some areas where they wanted to GROW in their relationship with the Lord. I had picked out a hand full of verses that I thought might apply and shared them (Peebs was the only one who picked a different verse than I had thought through, so we used the one on his heart). We then prayed about some areas they thought they'd like to grow and then they picked the verse they wanted to focus on for the year and the areas where they wanted to actively pray and seek God in which to grow. JoJo was too little to confer on this, so I simply chose Ephesians 2:8-9 as her verse, so that we could pray about her understanding of the free gift of the gospel that Jesus has for her.
We're focusing on Ephesians 2:10 for all of the kids and we talked about areas where the kids wanted to serve God now. I have been explaining to them that they don't have to wait to become an adult to serve God and others. The big two picked areas in their live where they wanted to pursue service. I didn't pick anything specific for the littles, but wanted this concept in front of them during the year.
I typed up their verses and the areas of growth they shared they wanted to pursue and laminated them and attached them to my spinny desk. This will be a visual reminder of the ways in which each child wants to individually grow spiritually during the year. This is our number one goal in homeschooling and I wanted to keep it on the forefront of our materials so that it wouldn't get lost in all of the wonderful curriculum/ideas/plans that the Lord has put before us.

So...any questions? I'd love to hear how you are organizing your school. Share how workboxes work for you. Or what other system do you use to stay organized and keep on top of it all?