Dress Up and Snow

Our collection of dress up clothes has been slowly growing over the past few months. My daughter discovered some old Halloween costumes of mine and we have acquired some from my mother. There is something very post-modern, disjointed and all together fantastic about the outfits that the kids put together on any given day. Recently, my middle child insists on wearing our green flowered mini-skirt (mine from a mystery dinner night long ago) over his fireman costume on any trip outside in the snow.

Oh to be three again...

Reorganizing Our Play Space

I have been doing some thinking lately about how to best organize the play area for the kids. We have so many toys that get forgotten--lost at the bottom of a basket or hidden in a corner. Our sunroom which serves as a playroom is a long narrow space where toys seem to spread out uncontrollably. In Sharifa Oppenheimer's book Heaven on Earth, she describes a number of essential elements for indoor play spaces, including having "homes" for all play things--baskets for doll clothes, for example. Children then know where to go when they want to dress their dolls, rather than sifting through an enormous basket filled with miscellaneous junk.
I decided to break up the room by dividing it with our long, low shelf. We now have two play spaces--one focused on "homey" play with a kitchen, table, doll bedroom, potty, etc.. and one focused more on "school" play with our books, games, an easel, a train set and other toys. I was worried that this might be too directive and limiting, but so far we have really enjoyed it. Not only have we seen a renaissance of the train set and the dollhouse, but we also have two "rooms"--one for each child when there is strife. A little more playing and a little less yelling--this makes for one happy mama.