Leave-Behind Trays: Making It Easy

Over the Christmas break, my sister said that my post on leave-behind trays made her feel like an inadequate mom.  I felt really bad about this, because the point was actually to share how working moms can fulfill their need to be more hands-on through play.

If it didn't look easy then, I thought maybe it would be helpful to share some really simple things that work for me.

Get ready to be underwhelmed, sissie.

First: an irresistable invitation to draw with googly eyes.  Prep time: 3 minutes.

I used black paper and colored gel pencils only because I had those on hand.

Chalk version.

Next: setup puzzles to build up confidence and skill.  Prep time: 2 minutes depending on the puzzle.

We'll gradually build up to more and more pieces out of the puzzle frame

Next: a nice tip to use up all those workbooks we get as gifts: tear a page or two a day.  Makes it a lot more manageable to do.  Prep time: less than a minute.

Ladybug Girl loves these so much they only stay on our shelf for a day.

Last:  the easiest setup that works is leaving toys out as invitations.  Great way to use up the kind of birthday giveaways and craft gifts from classmates.  Prep time: almost none.

This only works with the accessible shelves set-up mentioned in my first post about leave-behind trays.  Otherwise these invitations get lost in the toy jumble.  For messier trays, yaya helps the clean up.

We usually do some trays together on the weekends for our regular floor time so I can see her 'at work'.  Having this image of Ladybug Girl's enjoyment to take with me during the long workdays at the office helps keep me motivated to keep the trays up:

She drew "Santa Claus" on a spare mirror.

After that I left behind a similar activity in a tray.

Easy-peasy and infinitely DIY-able and customizable.  Hope this sets the record straight, sissie.

DIY Labels for House Help

I went ahead and dived into organizing the bed linens drawer without too much thought.  And I must remember that this method often works best over my usual analysis paralysis.

I purged down to 2 stored linen sets while the other is being used.

I also realized that every new yaya inevitably brings chaos to the old system (which is why it was a mess), so I decided to label them.

Again my laughable DIY solution:

DIY labels on a notecard was the simplest method

I deliberately did not brief my housekeeper on the new system.  A week later I checked the drawer, and there were fresh linens, properly put away, with the notecards back on top.

An upside to DIY labels is more reader-friendly solutions:

I doubt "bolster" would have been as universal.

And finally since I wanted all the linens for the room to be grouped together, I had to concede that a certain small person would probably be co-sleeping with us for the meantime.

At least I can tell myself that we'll be more organized while living in this "temporary" shared bedroom status.

By "temporary" I mean four years.  And counting.

Play With Leftover Holiday Cookies

Do you have cookies at home after Christmas gifting season?  I have tons of those familiar butter cookies.  I found a way to use them for zero-prep playful learning that's great for a weekend play idea.

I stayed home from work to watch Ladybug Girl's on/off fever like a hawk.  I hadn't prepared anything special to do together, so she was just on the iPad -- too much.  So I had to scramble an idea together.  Luckily the preps were easy and Ladybug Girl even helped.

Materials:

Cookies (preferably the light ones)

Baking tray (or any work surface)

Milk

Food coloring

Little cups for mixing

Spare and sterilized paintbrushes (we have unused ones)

Cup of water for rinsing colors

___

First pour milk in each little cup available.

Good practice for pouring too, one of Montessori's practical life activities

Then mix in chosen food coloring to make the 'paint'.

Fine motor skills practice right there.  This could even be a color mixing lesson for secondary colors.

We spent a lot of time on this part alone.  I was impressed at how her hand control improved.

Lastly, dip a paintbrush and paint away!

She asked for a cup of water for rinsing after -- smart girl.

Hey, she's finally using a big girl grip!  For toddlers, this should still be fine though bigger cookies may be better.

She launched into a how-to spiel, like the hosts of the  cooking or  art shows she loves.

She was so into the activity, I expected her to keep painting other designs, but my little attention-span-challenged daughter wanted to stop after just one because she thought of another 'how to recipe' she wanted to narrate.  Decorating was "just too long!".

Sigh.  

I tried, really did, until it began to be a sore point and we were both tense.  So I remembered reading that you mustn't force learning at that point and dropped it.  

I may have grumbled a little bit more.

Mental note.  Now that I think about it, to her the magic must have been more about playing TV show host rather than playing bakeshop.  I should have encouraged her to record a new how-to for other kinds of cookie designs, rather than just ask her to 'finish painting'.  

So to bring back the fun, we had a little color mixing with all the milk paint left over.

First on our tongues

And then the inevitable mess.

And so in the words of Mister Maker:  Our making time is over, but yours is just beginning!

Or as Ladybug Girl puts it "mix, mix, mix till everything's a blur!".

That's definitely like play time around here.

Squeezing in Play During the Holiday

Having zero vacation leaves left for the Christmas season is a grave mistake I hope never to make.  How on earth do working moms manage to care for sick kids, attend school activities, do home errands, and travel while keeping Christmas leaves intact?

I've had to let go of my visions of of baking, crafts and a lazy holiday of play-filled floor time with Ladybug Girl and get help from these:

Where To Donate The Baby Stuff and Recycled Gifts

At our company Christmas party, St. Rita Orphanage was one of our chosen charities, and seeing babies with few toys filled me with shame at how shallow my Christmas spirit had deteriorated.  And so I filled an entire balikbayan box with baby clothes and toys and sent them to be delivered during the post-holiday work days.

St. Rita Orphanage just after Loyola Memorial Cemetery in Sucat.  Website here.

The hardest thing was thinking "will I need this for the (fingers crossed) next baby?".  But I decided that our second child should be getting new onesies and lampins all her own.  These are, after all, the cheaper baby things to get.  In hindsight, I only just needed a dozen onesies, too.  So off they went.

Next was easy.  Stuffed toys of which we were never a huge fan of, yet managed to amass quite a collection.  A lot went into the donate pile, but how come we still have too many??

I'd still like to get rid that annoying Baby Alive doll.

Lastly books and more "durable" things like rubber mats, baby plates and toys.  If it's cheap or plastic, which most are, it will never survive a couple years of storage and still look new.  At least if donated now, kids can appreciate them more.  So off they went too.

(Why yes, I am a second child myself with hand-me-down issues.  How'd you guess?)

For toys for preschool kids and up, another option is the Philippine Toy Library, an org with a brilliant idea of collecting toys and books to build play spaces in poor areas.  That sounds like a good home for the birthday and Christmas gifts that kids aren't interested in.

Ladybug Girl just isn't into gifts yet.  Here we are on Christmas morning where her dad was opening presents for her.

Finally an upside to a home purge during Christmas!