Anyone who has been to our house knows that we are 'particular' about where things go. Take for instance my SIL who humored herself during one visit years ago by randomly moving little things around the house. Well, she just got a kick out of watching us naturally 'put things back in their place' the second we noticed something had been moved. All this said, there's a reason E's toyshelf has baskets, a reason he has a cubby shelf for books, puzzles, and wood toys, and a huge closet to put toys in. At least, while E is still too young, he can throw his toys randomly into the baskets, put books back with the other books, and put the bigger toys in designated area, and instantly the playroom returns to Mom & Dad's pre-kid family room. I truly believe it is never too early to begin teaching kids how to clean-up, organize, and the responsibility of taking care of their toys- the expectations simply need to be modified to age and ability. I just hope I never have to use the story about the Toy Fairy coming and taking aways toys when he gets older ;)
Intro:
Ever since E was a wee newborn I have been singing the 'Clean-up' song as our pre-bedtime routine: 'Clean-up, clean-up, everybody do your share...' (of course at two months old this meant him laying on the ground while I picked up all his toys as he cooed in awe; 5months old, sitting and watching me clean-up; 7months old, walking his pushcart into the playroom closet; 12months, putting golf clubs, books, and blocks away). Every single night. For as much as some (read: most) nights I really just didn't/don't want to put away a single ---- toy, I did because I truly believe in setting this example for him. And, yes, I still use the silly sing-song that I learned as a babysitter to designate and motivate 'clean-up time' (no worries, my husband thinks it is just as ridiculous!).
Getting to the Point:
All my effort has begun to pay off!!!!
Tonight after our 45min park playtime, I flew E down to the playroom and told him it was clean-up time! (with as much excitement as I could muster), and ... before I could even begin my awful singing of 'clean-up time', lo-and-behold, the little guy just started picking up his shape sorter if on cue. Oh, and to top it off, after he picked up each of the blocks and put them into the cube, he picked up his golf clubs and marched right on over to his golf bag and put the clubs in. I was so speechless I couldn't sing the ---- song!!! Ha
Conclusion:
OMG-I couldn't be any prouder!
Pics from the other day at the mall:
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