I am getting a smidge frustrated with some of Lizzie’s favorite toys. I know I am not alone in this.
She is in love with Thomas and Friends. She is currently working hard to collect all of the little trains from Thomas and Friends. I am thrilled that she is so into these trains. They encourage her to use her imagination, I can teach her different values by playing with her and her trains, and it is something that her brother can play with too!
The only part I don’t like is when she loses one of them. You know, because she is still learning how to put them in one spot when she is done.
So goes our conversations throughout the day:
“Mommy can you find Henry, please?”
“Just a minute Lizzie, let mommy finish washing the dishes. You know, if you put your trains in their box when you are done you will always know where they are.”
But it is lost on her. I think I need to watch her very closely and when she is starting to get distracted – every time she is finished with her trains – teach her to put them back.
Yeah right. She isn’t my only child and I don’t have a house keeper. But it is my never ending goal to teach her to put her trains back where they go.
I felt like I was finally getting somewhere with her when she was picking up her jewellery and putting it back in her jewelry box. I was finding necklaces and bracelets everywhere and then she started to obediently pick them up.
But these trains are more personal than a necklace. She carries them around with her everywhere and as soon as she gets distracted she forgets where she left Emily or Victor.
As with everything in parenting, this will take some patience. I was able to teach her how to pick up her jewelry and I know I can teach her to keep her trains organized. You know what would be a really fun project to help her do this?
Mod Podge/ Deco- Podge a Box!
I am totally going to Hobby Lobby tomorrow, buying a simple wood box, some mod podge glue/glaze, then heading next door to hastings to buy a Thomas & Friends magazine. Then we will cut out pictures of all the different trains and I will let her glue them to the box with the clear glaze! It will me unmistakable where the trains go, since the box will have their pictures on it. Oh she will love this!
I just love creative ideas that burst in my mind!
I got this cool toy organizer/whatever thing from Target. It’s normally 50 but it was on sale around college back to school time for 35 I think. It’s a closet maid product and it has 9 roughly 11 inch openings. You can buy fabric buckets that go into the holes (square) from closet maid, or there are others. I found ones that are circo or something that have animal faces on them and a mesh flap, so you can ‘feed’ the animal your toys without taking the bucket out of the shelf. It has coverage for 5 of the cubbies and so you could feasibly use the 4 not ‘backed’ with buckets and leave the other ones for free standing toys. It works REALLY well for us. Granted, there are toys all over the living room, but I didnt’ ask K to pick them up, but she’s learning to put things away as she goes, since they do have a ‘spot’. Good luck and I hope that your idea works as well for you as the cubbie system did for us.
good luck … this is a life long skill i’m still trying to teach and learn.
Mine loves things in order…but not the way I want.
Toys lined up on the floor is her idea of orderliness.
we get off easy here because of the dog. whatever is left on the floor ends up chewed so she knows if she wants her things to remain unchewed she has to put them away!
When you learn the trick let me know…my daughter is like a Tasmanian devil, a whirlwind of tornado mess!!! LOL – But that box looks cute!
Ahhh yes the TRAINS! They are everywhere in my house, and even my MIL has a set of them upstairs for Hunter lolol. I get asked where Dash is, or Salty and than it’s time to go hunting. He is getting better about putting some stuff away so that we can semi find them.,
I need to get better at organizing but there is only so much places where I can put toys. One day!
Good idea! I want to see pics when it’s done!
I wish I could teach my girl to pick up her toys, I had sorted them all and put labels on all her bins and she did well.I fine fine that she plays more with her toys when they are sorted and easier to find.
I saw this idea on tv once for getting kids to put toys away… Make it into a game! Put a toy box on the floor and a small kid basketball hoop over the box, and kids will want to put things in it. Not sure how it would really work out though. =p Might not work out if they start throwing toys at the wall. haha.