small play // toy rotation

as i put together chase's play space, i knew i wanted to start rotating his toys. this post is a peak into my take on toy rotation, which is pretty simple. at any given moment, a big portion of chase's toys are hidden so that he only has access to some of them at a time.

then, when there's a need for something 'new' to spark curiosity, excitement and energy, 1 or more toys in 'active rotation' that have gotten 'stale' get swapped for something that was hidden. sometimes the 'something hidden' is a new toy altogether, such as a gift that we saved for later. and sometimes the toy is an older toy he's had all along. in either case, he's excited because they both feel new.

my approach

the first thing i did was remove toys that chase has outgrown. some of those will get passed on to others and some will get saved for the next little peanut. then i started to take inventory of what was left by grouping like toys with one another. puzzles got grouped with other puzzles, books with books, moving vehicles with moving vehicles, etc.

then, within each group i selected toys for active rotation. these were organized in chase's play space, accessible for him to play with. the rest were hidden. i only left out enough toys that would fit into the shelves and bins of his play area. it was important to me that the space did not looked cramped, that there was plenty of open space. for me, ample open space allows positive and creative energy to flow.

i left out a decent selection of puzzles, shape sorters, stacking toys, etc. at the moment, these are toys that i want chase to spend more time playing with. not all the time, just more than he was before we started toy rotation. i also left out toys that he plays with consistently - like his basketball hoop.

(this b-ball hoop gets the most play time so imagine it'll be a permanent fixture and won't be rotated out anytime soon)

rotation

rotating a new (or new again) toy every now and then adds a dimension of discovery to chase's day. it's always fulfilling to see him get reacquainted with an old toy or to become familiar with a new one. either way, i watch him tinker and figure things out. i'm analytical myself so i love to observe him in these moments.

i don't have a schedule, per se, of when i rotate. i really just pay close attention to chase's energy each day - as a whole or towards a specific toy. i rotate as i start to notice that he's gotten bored with certain toys or when his overall level of engagement with play in general seems off for extended periods.

what i've learned

i've realized that a big part of toy rotation is the excitement that accompanies that sense of newness. when toys aren't getting much action, my toy rotation more often involves presenting them in a different way. i move a toy he doesn't play with often to another area within his play space.

(toys that were on his tv stand a couple of weeks ago)

usually, if it's a toy that i would like him to play with more, i place it on the tv stand. he tends to gravitate towards this play surface so the toys on top always get tons of his attention. sometimes i pair an unloved toy with one he spends a lot of time with. i love that these little things allow me to guide his play while still allowing him to make the choice of what he plays with.

(pooh bear was getting a lot of play time a couple of weeks ago so each day i placed him next to another toy that i wanted him to play with more)

(i tend to leave some sort of puzzle on top of the tv stand [his play surface] where he gravitates the most. i move the puzzle pieces out of place so that it's already ready for play. as his skills have developed, the puzzle pieces have moved further away from their slots or have rotated more)

(when i rotated in this new stacking toy, i placed it on the tv stand to spotlight that a new toy had made it's way into his play space. chase was thrilled to see it as soon as he entered his play area)

some things i might try

he has such a short attention span at this age so i might try hiding all toys one day and only leaving out a variety of one type of toy/activity. so, for a day that i might want to designate for arts and crafts, i might only leave out things that support that type of activity (paper, crayons, fingerpaint, coloring pages, stamps, etc. or when i want to foster imagination, i might only leave out things that generate that type of play such as a stuffed animal, his toy kitchen, puppets, etc.

what i love so far

what i love most about toy rotation is how much more meaningful play has become. maybe it's just me reading into something more than what's actually there, but it feels like he's learning more. because there's less stuff to distract him he spends more thoughtful play with each toy. some other reasons i love the system...

1. less clutter [can i get an amen?!]
2. less things to manage
3. it's easy for chase to see what he has, which makes it easy for him to make decisions about what he wants to play with
4. chase learns to value what he has
5. chase learns to take care of his possessions

i hope you found something here that sparked an idea for your method of play. be sure to share! i'd love to hear about it.

small play // intersection

our unplanned 'field trip' today was to an intersection. okay...that sounds very dangerous. but it wasn't. ;) we had so much fun. it was a nice unexpected playground. for a little guy obsessed with all things that move, there was so much to look. we were both so intrigued that we hung out for a little while to see the everyday things that were happening around us.


in the pic above - chase loved pushing the crosswalk button, esp. since it makes a sound when you push it and makes an even better sound to tell you that it's safe to cross.i love that he looks at me when things like that happen, waiting for me to explain what it is. :)

we saw a bazillion buses, trucks (including fire trucks), airplanes and bikes. buses and trucks cause him to breathe very heavily. he points at them, s.l.o.w.l.y. pants 'bah' 'bah' 'bah' for bus (or 'tah' 'tah' tah' for truck) in a soft whisper and then blows kisses to say bye as they drive by. it's precious. i want to bottle this reaction up and save it forever!

there was even a fountain near by, which he happily stared at for a little while. he loved feeling the water spray on his face when the wind blew. he stuck his hands in and giggled a little. *eww* - but, that's what little kids do right?

a picture of one of the flags we saw and touched (don't tell the store owner). i had to yank it (just a little!) so chase could reach it. he seemed to enjoy it so it was worth it. the second pic is of chase waiting for more buses to drive by. such patience when it comes to those big moving things. ;)

gift wrap fun

just sharing another take on gift wrapping with craft paper, this time embellished with some scrapbook paper and yarn.  if you don't have access to scrapbook paper, embellishing with gift wrap works just as well. happy wrapping!

macaron love

i loOoOOOoOove macarons! this was a lil treat to myself for getting chase's play room up and running. yum yum yummy! making good on my 2011 resolution. oh yah! 

small play // living room play space

around here, we're creating a play space where chase can best learn, grow, be challenged and have fun.  a couple of weeks ago, we started to create this space for him in our living room (where we spend 90% of our awake time). 

                        

it's a work in progress, but i wanted to check in with a 2 part post.  for this first post, i'll share some pics of the space so far as well as thoughts on my approach.  in a follow up post, hopefully sometime in the next few days i'll share my thoughts on toy rotation (i'm a huge fan already!). 

before

no i won't be sharing any before photos. that would just be too scary. just imagine a pile of toys in the corner of our living room, right next to that fireplace. definitely not conducive to learning and developing.  kids, just like adults, can get overwhelmed with chaos.  we definitely don't want anything distracting chase from learning and growing so we quickly got rid of the madness! - in his space anyway ;)  

the living room

we chose our living room because we spend most of our time here. chase is still too little for me to want his play space in a separate room.  our kitchen, eating nook and small office is near our living room.  we talk here and spend a lot of family time here. i didn't want to fight the natural flow of our daily activity so it felt right to carve out an area for him here.  

in the picture above, i was taking the picture from where our small office sits.  our 'normal' living room space now sits to the right of what you see above.  if i panned out, you would see our tv on the right. so his place space sits right in the corner of our living room.

shelving

                       

we opted for open shelving. @ his age, it's really best that he sees his toy options.  he forgets what he has when they're not visible. we chose the expedit shelf from ikea.  i like that the sections allow me to compartmentalize his toys easily.  every toy has a designated home. i think they also help prevent the open shelving approach from looking too messy. 

sometimes he plays with these toys right on the shelves within the cubby that they're stored.  i'm reminding him that he can take them off the shelf and onto another play surface. 

right now, the top shelves on the expedit house some of his regular sized toys and the lower ones hold books and smaller toys. the baskets also came from ikea.  i opted for short (versus tall) baskets - again, the idea being that they allow him to see his toys easily.

                        

we also picked up the mosjo tv stand from ikea. it's job is to give chase a surface to play on as well as provide some add'l storage. right now it sits against the wall. eventually, we'll be putting it on wheels so that we can move it to wherever he might want to play. i'm thinking this will come in handy in the kitchen for days he doesn't want to leave my side when i'm cooking or doing dishes.  

the rest of the play space & what's left to do

                        

so let's call this phase 1. chase has a functional play space. it's organized. it's definitely not overwhelming. he can see all of his toy options. he has fun. every morning before heading out and every late afternoon, when we come home - he enters his little area, spends a minute to look around, carefully considers what he wants to do and then plays away! it's priceless. he used to roam the living room playing with random things, things we didn't necessarily want him to play with. he still does a little bit of that, but not as much. he's plenty occupied by his own stuff. 

aside from putting that tv stand on wheels, we are also planning to:

• assemble the activity table we got (i'll be sure to post when we get to it). this will go where the tv stand is
• create an inspiration wall that will sit above his activity table
• install open book shelves underneath the window
• look for comfee seating for reading (right now we use his old tummy time mat - see pic above - kinda like circle time @ schools

toy rotation

i'll be back soon with my thoughts on toy rotation. we've been at it for a couple of weeks now and i'm loving it. i really feel like chase is thriving within that system. i can't wait to share what i've learned and my plan of attack so far. 

2011 goal

photo by lizzi

the goal for 2011

i've written this post with some question prompts along the way to help you with your own goal setting for the year. so let's get started. what are you hoping this year will bring you? i mentioned in this post that I'm striving for balance. for me it's is all encompassing. it means so many different things.

how i chose my goal
spend some time thinking about and then documenting how you chose your goal. you might be surprised at how writing it all out can help empower you to take action. here's the story behind mine....


we all wear many hats - each with its own set of responsibilities. i'm no different. i'm a wife. a new mom. a daughter. a sister. a friend. a training consultant. i also have a lot of passions, interests and quirks. i love creativity. i love art. paper crafts. performing arts. i'm a self help book junkie. i'm analytical. i'm a ponderer. i'm a dreamer. i love taking photos. eye candy. i love the idea of meditating. i love the idea of picking up acting classes again. i love the idea of learning to sew. it goes on and on and on.

when i'm interested in something, i tend to pursue it passionately. i throw myself into things - always with the goal of exceeding all expectations. these things tend to consume me. these are work projects, marathon/triathlon training, scrapbooking, wedding planning, doing the nursery, etc. etc. etc. @ the end, i love looking back and feeling that sense of accomplishment. that i kicked butt. it feels good. it's definitely rewarding to do something so well that you astound yourself.

now though, i want more balance. this means making time for the different aspects of my life. this means not putting parts of my life on hold while i'm attending to the project of the moment. sure the scale can be tipped, just not tipped over.


the plan
how do you plan to accomplish your goal? for me, it's simple. change the way that i allocate my time and attention in a way that i'm continuously nurturing all aspects of my life - my hubby, baby, home, family, friends, personal needs, etc.


there are a ton of things that i want to do. be a kick ass mom. read a bazillion parenting books, spend more time with just me and the hubby. cook more. craft more. spend more me time. get the house in order. do a better job of connecting with family and friends. finish a bazillion house projects. etc. etc. etc.


there's just not enough time to do all of these things to the degree that i would want to. if i did, the scale would tip over. i'd have to put other things on hold. things that can't be put on hold. things that shouldn't be put on hold. so i need to restrategize.

i know that an overall goal and a general plan is not enough. we need to identify specific actions that when completed together will help achieve our goal. hold on. there's a rule. pick actions that you know you can complete. we're not looking for a list of challenging items. we want to feel good by increasing the likelihood that we'll meet or even exceed our expectations rather than guilty that we didn't.


here's my list...

1. every weekend, work on at least one house task (this can be small, like replacing a light bulb or big, like creating a play area for chase)
2. every weekend, do something fun for chase (park, children's play place, swimming, etc.)
3. every weekend, go one place fun for me and paul (sometimes this will overlap with #2). this doesn't mean without chase - that would be too challenging to schedule.
4. every 2-3 weekends, see friends or family
5. once per month, spend some me time (borders, quiet crafting, etc.)
6. get a massage once every 3 months
7. try one new recipe a month
8. hire a maid at least once every other month
9. reward myself for accomplishments
10. before buying something complete a task first before i allow myself to buy it

for some of these goals, i would love to do them more frequently. and, maybe i will. but i tried to stick to a frequency expectation i know i can meet.



eliminate obstacles
the next step is to identify any obstacles that might be standing in your way. if you're like me, your goal might be something you've been wanting for yourself for a long time, but you just haven't had the success you've wanted. chances are, there are obstacles in the way that we can eliminate. here are 2 of mine:

1. i spend a lot of time dealing with things - putting things away, cleaning things, looking for things, finding homes for things, going through piles. this takes away from other uses of my time.
2. unnecessary steps or other inefficiencies in some things that i do. this also takes me away from other things i could be doing.

to address this, i plan to be stricter about things that i buy so that i'm not bringing in more things that i'll ultimately need to manager. i also plan to get rid of more things around the house. i also plan to create some simple systems, processes, routines for things that i/we commonly do with the goal of improving efficiency.




Good luck!
i feel good about getting this all written out. i feel super motivated, encouraged, planful, hopeful and excited about the year. good luck with your goals. please let me know how it's going from time to time. :)

looking back on 2010

we're looking back at all of the wonderful experiences that 2010 brought. here are some highlights...

chase and i joined stroller strides and an awesome mommy meet up group before going back to work in march. hey new mommies: i highly recommend doing both! stroller strides helped get me back in shape while having fun and it, along with the other mommy meet up group, put me in touch with such awesome mommies!

during the spring and summer, we spent as much time as we could @ different parks. it was fun watching chasey explore the outdoors. he loves soaking in all that mother nature has to offer. we rolled around, played with grass, sang songs and practiced walking.

chase's first swing ride and first time sitting up on his own

a star is born. chase becomes a celebrity and plays bambu's son in the old man raps music video

a sports fanatic is born. this lucky kid has gone to see the giants, lakers, clippers, angels and dodgers (& this mommy forgets who they played)

chase falls in love with faith, my brother & sister in law's dog

in july, we headed to hawaii for charles/joanne's wedding. we spent time with friends traveling from northern cali. chase did great on his first plane rides and slept most of the way.

chase's 1st birthday party @ san mateo was a robot themed shin dig at the park. it was creatively fulfilling - diy elements came in the form of a banner, cake, cupcakes, chocolate dipped oreo cookie pops, personalized bubble and mini pillow giveaways.

thank you 2010. you were a great year. it was fun looking back at photos and reminiscing.here's to an awesome 2011...i feel like it's filled with so much promise... :)

feeding my creative soul

i'm rejuvinated. days off are usually spent taking care of chase, the hubby, the house, or doing things - lots and lots of things. busy busy busy. that's my life these days and i embrace that. today though, i opted to spend my day off from work by feeding my creative soul - after all, creativity is a big part of what fulfills me as a person. it's a part of what makes me feel balanced. that's what i'm striving for in 2011 - balance. expect another post later this week on my thought process behind that general goal as well as the specific actions i plan to take to meet it.  i'm also excited to share some question prompts to help you focus on your own goals in 2011.