More Freedom

This week I reorganized Sammy's toys and play area.  I put away a lot of baby toys for SS (Sammy's Sibling) and bagged up all of the Happy Meal crap that had accumulated to give away.  I also moved things around.  Her dolls are on a shelf instead of in a drawer.  Her easel and table have switched places.  Almost all of the stuffed animals are in a trunk and their old places on the shelves occupied by games and puzzles.  I do a playroom reorg every couple of months or so, but this was a major one.

The biggest change I made is that I brought all of Sammy's art supplies - scissors, crayons, glue, paper, clay, markers and paint - out from the high places I used to store them, and put them in a set of drawers that she can access whenever she likes.  She's pretty responsible with these things, but I haven't been willing to monitor her closely enough to allow her free access until now.  I've noticed such a huge change in her since she started Montessori that I thought now was a great time to give this a shot.

She's been spending a lot of time with her washable markers and the glue.  She had never used glue at home before now, so it's new and exciting.  This is great because she gets very involved and I get lots of time to do my own thing.  She has shown no inclination to draw on the walls or glue the cat to the dog, so I haven't had to do much monitoring.  I do have to interrupt my own activities, though - not to stop her from doing something wrong, but to respond to the constant cries of COME LOOK, MOMMY!  I GLUED IT BY MYSELF.  COME LOOK!  I MADE A TRIANGLE.  MOMMY!  MOMMY!  I MADE YOU A PICTURE. 

That reorg was a couple of hours well spent.