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decluttering kids toys update

Nothing a few leftover Flor tiles couldn't fix.  Well that and the garbage bags seen in the lower right of the photo.  Ever inspired by Stimey's Junk Pyramid, I have been on a tear.  I do admit I stopped counting at somewhere over a hundred things packed away for donation/trash.   I still have  few HOURS of work left to tidy up the surrounding space in the studio, which is now overflowing with keep, sort, toss, donate piles. 

I'm not sure exactly what the lesson is in all this.  Stuff isn't so much the problem as maybe accepting they can be happy with less, MUCH less.  Somewhere along the way, it's become so common just to buy them what they "need" anytime because the money/credit is there and so are the opportunities. With Christmas approaching, I can't help but remember how much I loved the anticipation of it for the wonder and suprise of new toys.  I've taken that away from my kids and I want to give it back.  Maybe it's too late for this Christmas, but after spending hour after hour with a very first world toy problem, it's kind of absurd to do it all over again next year.  Here's the before decluttering post.

the real everyday math

Around these parts that means striking bargains about using the netbook to play math-related sites.  It's a little ironic that in my efforts to school her in the math basics, she uses Fact Dash on mhschool.com, a site run by McGraw-Hill, publishers of the beloved Everyday Mathematics curriculum used in our district.  

such small hands

 

dyspraxia, math and sequencing

Small steps make a world of difference in helping someone with dyspraxia.  I think now that it's coming up on almost three years since we got her dyspraxia diagnosis, I wonder how incredibly different I would see her if we didn't know.  Would I know to have her stand to do math problems, to offer only verbal or only written tasks?  Would I realize how hard it is for her even to visually track to numbers on the page at times? 

The answer is on the page.

The answer is on the page.

It sounds simple enough,

decluttering kids toys*

You find yourself halfway through the task at hand wondering how on earth your wood toy loving, natural plaything espousing, sanctimommy-ous self comes to be staring at this.   I'll give you a minute.

Okay and then the kicker is that