living in a sea of crayons and glue sticks

Things are nutty around here. That baby is 10 months old now and into everything. The girls had to move their entire paper doll stash from the floor, to the small table, to the big table all in about 10 minutes yesterday after the baby doggy was tearing them to shreds. We moved onto other activities, this one being a favorite—it's called Shopping List.

Here's the 3.5 year old version. It involves the morning newspaper paper, glue sticks, scissors and paper. What's awesome is they take these with us when we go grocery shopping. I had all these big plans this week to try some projects from this lovely new book you surely are all familiar with—

The Creative Family: How to Encourage Imagination and Nurture Family Connections, by Amanda Blake Soule, but life got the better of us. But, I have been able to put Amanda's wonderful ideas into good use around here in the form of making it easier for all of us to make a mess. This means changing around tables, making it easier for the girls to get out their own supplies and facilitating a quicker clean-up, which is the real clincher. We live in a small house and there is a lot of bumping and tripping on chairs, crayons, and papers, and it can make me crazy. My parenting style is following the path of least resistance, so if it's hard for me to set up the girls to get crafty—things need to be organized differently. If I'm thinking "if I trip over that flippin chair one more time, I'm gonna chuck it outside"—yeah, that's a clue it's time to rearrange the furniture.

Amanda has this brilliant setup in her book with this huge table next to an armoire with all her family's craft supplies tucked inside, and it has doors. Thank god for doors. Two of the projects/ideas I want to try first in her book are the henna tattoos and providing photo albums for the girls and letting them have at it with the camera. I can't believe they don't have their very own photo albums yet, I think this is such a great idea. This book is full of ideas like these— very, very cool.

In my constant attempt to keep the girls involved in decisions about their creative areas, I did have them help me rearrange the coloring station and put their names on boxes so there are fewer coloring book infringements (middle child running amok) and because they helped with it, they seem more interested in taking care of the area. They also insisted that the boxes have not only their names, but princess stickers adoring them, of the Disney variety. Not my first choice on the lovely unfinished wood Ikea boxes, but hey, whatever works, man.

Congrats Amanda! I wish I could bring you a cake. No, make that pie!! Your book is wonderful.

Comments

[Vera]

I love that Amanda Soule book! She has me thinking of all sorts of ways to use readily-available resourses! Also check out this enormously validating article from the Telegraph UK:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?xml=/education/2008/02/16/faidle116.xml

Now I don't feel like a bad mommy for letting him play with the cardboard boxes while I knit.

[Anneke]

I read the book too, and it brought me back to the path I once followed (before we had more than one child... days were a lot more easier then...or at least in my mind!) 'The creative family' could have been written by me (but I didn't because I lost track) so I'm very happy to be back again, following that 'good old road' again! If you'd like you can take a look at my blog to see what she did with my house!

[Anna]

I hear you on the baby proofing. Before I became a mom I thought it was all about covering outlets and such, then after the 1st child I realized it was about saving my stuff too, now with the 2nd becoming so much more mobile it's moved on to a whole other level. I had just gotten the art supplies so that my 3 yr old could reach them, now the 11 month old is pulling them off the shelf. Crinkling paper is so much fun, ya know. On to the next plan...

[Melanie O.]

You mean I'm not the only mother in the world constantly saying, "if you don't want the baby to play with it (ruin it, eat it, rip it), move it to the big table!"?

[Megan]

I love the shopping lists-what a great idea. I'll definitely try this with my 4 and 2 year old (at the big table while the baby drags herself through the crumbs underneath).

[Knitsational]

There is no keeping my 1 yr old out of anything! She will find a way to get what she wants whether I like it or not!

[Five Flowers/ Emily]

my son is wall drawing master, where as my daughter always seemed to keep it ot the table at least. the whole access thing is what i am working on with this book too- my daughter is 3.5 and my son almost 2 and needs supervision, so just a minute with him and a tool can mean anything goes! ah, what to do?

[katy]

ha - often times for me there is a fine line between "faciliating" my children's creativity and my sanity (or insanity.) Amanda does have some very useful ideas on the organization of materials.

Love your grocery shopping idea - clever!! No doubt it'll be right up my 4year old's alley.

[Jennifer]

Thank you for writing about how you are getting things to flow better in your space. Love the idea of using IKEA boxes/storage and letting the kids go for it and decorate them. I truly believe that if they care about how things are organized and put away, it makes life easier. *pop* (that was the sound of me stepping on and snapping another stray crayon in the living room in half)

[Wendy]

Henna is so much fun, especially with kids. The best time to do it is outside on a warm day because the hotter your skin is while it's curing, the darker the color. My hubby once did an Om sign on his hand and I used the blow dryer on it. It was almost black.

I love that Amanda included this activity in the book. More people should try it.

[Jenny]

My mow eight year old used to love making his own shopping list with cut out pictures! It kept him busy, interested and involved in the whole shopping experience. He now loves to cook. I wonder if there is anything in that? - Jen

[Jenny]

aaaahhhh, hhhaaa haaa! That should have read my NOW eight year old! Dear me! I am off for a cup of tea! - Jen

[kate]

thanks for the book recommendation - I just went onto my library's website and they have it on order. I'll be the first to get a peek at it, I am so very excited!!

[amanda]

oh, you sweet thing, you. Thank you. And I would love some pie. I suppose it wouldn't travel across the country so well, though. Dang.
"Grocery List" looks like SUCH a fun game....we may be implementing that one!
xoxo

[Sachi Smith]

I can't wait to get this book. I am dying for it. Going through a month of a retail fast but will pick it up next month.

[heather t]

I will definitely look for this book. And please show us (with photos) how you arranged your space. I need visuals!

[jessica (formerly of kerflop.com)]

Amy, would love to see pictures of your craft set up! AND the disney boxes... ;)

[kari]

I totally relate to the "if I trip over this chair one more time..." After 8 years of constantly bumping into furniture, appliances, having to move the kitchen table to get into the pantry,etc., I finally gave in and moved to a bigger house. Oh sweet relief of these little frustrations.

[jill]

I have a 15 month old and we're now at the point where he climbs onto the table to get at whatever my 3 1/2 yr old is into. So now we're in the "oh look, here's a marker and some paper for Aaron, too. No, use your (one) marker and leave big brother's (ten) markers alone." Let's just say that painting has been temporarily put on hold unless its nap time . . .

[Sara]

Love Amanda's book! Our family has been trying projects out her book. Family drawing time has been popular.

[Rachel]

I've heard so many great things about this book...and I love the "grocery list"!

[Nevis]

Love the grocery list!

[lisa brown]

I'm going to attend a baby shower in the up comming month...this book sounds like a great present!

[Ani]

This is a great book! My kids are 2 and four.5 and of totally different personalities so it can be hard to bridge the age gap, the interest gap and the oh my god seriously not another five messes in nine places gap.

[drizzle]

I'm not a mom, yet, but the organization and furniture arrangement reminds me of setting up my classroom at the beginning of the year. Imagine the mess and furniture with 10 times as many kids in about a fourth the the space. It's all about kid-friendly access to materials and free flowing alleyways. What really helped me when I was setting things up was to actually get on my knees and try out the space. Can I reach it and put it away? Can I see what's available? Can I work in this space without hassling my neighbor?

[Amanda]

When my sisters and I were kids, maybe more like kindergarten-age, my mom used to let us cut out the diamond jewelry from the inserts in the Sunday paper. She would keep the ones we didn't like in a plastic baggie in her purse and then when we went to restaurants WE could tip the waitresses too, with our sparklies.

It was great.

[Kelly]

this is so cute and awesome!!
My favorite part is that your 3 year old has a six pack of Bridgeport IPA on her list. HA. so funny

[elizabeth of course]

Ha! that's so great, I wa just searching my house for my book this morning! I've been hounding the hubby for days: Where did he put it? And it was found this morning in a box only he could have put it.
Those tails are adorable. I love the pee comment.

[Siri]

I was just lamenting, too, that our craft-supply organization "system", which was SUPPOSED to be kid-friendly, no longer was or maybe never was, when Amanda's book arrived.
Then, I was just downright jealous of that big cabinet, realizing that we'd never have anything like it in our world, at least not anytime in the next 5-10 years, anyways.
And then, WHAMO, PRESTO, without my ever expressing any of the above to him, within a couple of days, DH started doing some remodeling and suddenly I found myself with this EMPTY new/old/repurposed cabinet with slide out drawers RIGHT NEXT TO the table where we do all of our school/crafting/eating.
It was like magic!
And get this: another bonus is that the phone book has a home in a drawer RIGHT BELOW THE PHONE instead of across the room. Almost too good to be true.
NEXT UP: building benches for the table so I'm not always tripping over all those #$%@^&! chairs.

[wesleyjeanne]

I, too love Amanda's book but I also have a small hosue and a very very active fourteen-month-old. Like you, I was drawn the to photo of the armoire mostly because of the doors, thank God for doors.
I absoolutely need to rethink the craft supply thing...

[Melanie]

You crack me up!!! It sound like me and my kids--the mess, picking it up (usually me), the bickering over crayons, etc., etc. I know. I wish I had a place for a craft armoire, too. That would be fabulous, wouldn't it?!!! I have a "craft drawer" at the moment. Plus, they have their own supply box and tote bag. I bought/ Santa brought my daughter her own Art Bin/ tackle box, because she's fascinated with mine that I had when I was in interior design school/ college. She loves it! Hers is actually bigger than mine, too! My son's bag is a bag, because he could care less about how his supplies are stored--Thank Goodness!

Take care.
Melanie

[Criss Cross]

Hi, Haven't seen the book yet but will try to find it now! I always have trouble getting creative with my daughter (5) due to the mess (plus my son (1) needs so much attention) so any tips on getting organised to make it easier is great! Love the blog!

Kaz

[City Farm Girl (jenn)]

I loved your comment about the middle child running amok! My kids are the same ages as yours and we suffer the same situation. Glad to know that I'm not the only one that can't leave the crayons/markers/paints and #2 child unattended. Love the mermaid tails too! Keep it up!

[Momto2Boys]

I am really enjoying your blog! Such great ideas and my littles are around the same age as your so Thanks! And I also cannot wait to get Amanda's book.

I am currently participating in the "What I Know Now..." bloggy bash and would love to have you come sit at my "table." Take a look at my blog for more info.

Thanks!