Organization is an important skill
to learn. By the time children reach
middle school they need to be able to organize their school materials, schedule
study time, organize their locker to store and find items, organize their clothing,
order their room, etc. By the time
children are in high school, they should be preparing for life on their own,
whether at university studies or out in the working world.
No one waves a magic wand to make
this happen! It is taught and caught! We
should be teaching our children as well as modeling for our children how to
live an organized life. The earlier you
start, the easier it will be!
From the time my children could
walk we would pick up toys together before lunch, before nap time, and before
bedtime and put them away. Even if I had
to have my hand over their hand while walking to the bookshelf together, they
learned that they were responsible for picking up their things. We often sang a clean up song, "Clean up, clean up, put our toys away. Clean up, clean up, play another day."
We also had a rule in our home: “When you are finished with something, you put it away.” This taught individual responsibility and kept our home from getting cluttered. It is not possible to play with twenty different toys all at once--my children were not allowed to get out a new toy for play until their other toy was put away! This held true for their parents as well—projects were completed or stored before starting other tasks.
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| You can Only play with One Toy at a Time! |
Everything has a place and if
everything is in its place, you know where to find it! For example, if you make a habit of putting
your keys on a hook by the door (or wherever you decide), then when you need
your keys, you know where they are. No
more endless searching for cell phones, coats, keys, shoes, etc. No more frustration, wasted time, and stress.
It is also far easier to clean a house (vacuum, dust, etc.) if things are put
away. When things are scattered
everywhere, one can spend tons of time picking up and very little time actually
getting rid of dirt!
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| Jungle Party Toy Chest |
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| Princess Toy Box |
One trick I learned for teaching
very young children organization was to place toys and books on wide, low
shelves within easy reach of little bodies and then to tape a picture of the
items on the shelves indicating what type of toy was to be stored in that spot.
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If you don’t have shelves, using tubs or baskets can work. Tape a laminated picture of the contents on the tub or punch 2 holes in the laminated picture and use tie wraps to attach them to the basket. This is actually a great way to practice matching and memory!
As an added benefit, when children squat to pick up toys and return them to their storage space, they are getting exercise! Placing a book or other toy in a precise place helps build the fine motor skills of eye-hand coordination, perceptual motor skills, and hand dexterity.
It may seem like a lot of work to start, but teaching children organization will actually make your life much easier while developing important skills that can reap a lifetime of benefit for your children!
Blog Administrator: Trisha Roberts
proeducationaltoys@gmail.com
Copyright © 2016 TNT Inspired Enterprise, LLC, All rights reserved.
Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.
Great suggestions!
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