Looking around the house, the most visible thing is probably toys. The positions of these things have changed greatly. Even though they were just packed up, they were everywhere the next day. For a family with children, good storage is necessary to keep the whole family in a peaceful and peaceful environment day after day.
Jiji's game room is located in a window partition between the living room and dining room, where he plays toys, games, draws, and crafts.
There are no picture books in the game room, so his books are placed in a window position in the living room, which has also developed the habit of reading in a quiet place and before bedtime.
A good storage system should be able to help children play and play independently, without the need for parents to find what they need, and provide a convenient space to put it back.
In our home, storage is based on children's interests, dividing toys into two categories: frequently played and infrequently played. Find these two types of homes again. I usually keep things in the storage cabinet that I don't play with very often, and when I need them, I take them out to play for two days, such as LEGO pellets and train tracks. Occasionally, I take them out to play.
Let's start with the toy cabinet.
Toy cabinet
Jiji likes to play with tracks and has many accessories. Their preferred choice is IKEA. Their kallax partition cabinet is suitable for making toy racks, which can be placed on the floor, hung on the wall, and come in various sizes and colors. The design is simple, the price is reasonable, and it is very practical.
We placed it horizontally on the ground, with track accessories and loose parts in the partition cabinet. Above the cabinet, it served as Jiji's own display cabinet, and nearby were various LEGO models and life scenes he built during the summer vacation.
One of the compartments contains a set of LEGO small particles, which is stored in an IKEA Sockebit storage box. Each set of LEGO small particles is placed in a separate box with practical handles, and the lid has a built-in lock buckle design, making it easy for children to open. If space is saved, it can also be stacked.
Influenced by the Montessori philosophy, I also hope to create an open room gaming area where each toy has its own place, one toy per tray, and each tray is placed on the ground or table for research before returning. But the space at home is limited, so we can only try our best to meet most of the children's needs in the limited space.
Like the several boxes placed on the ground above, if space permits at home, IKEA's TROFAST Shuffat drawer storage system can also be used. Its advantage is that any child's commonly used items can be well classified.
Frequent use can be placed in a better location.
Of course, each child's needs are different, some love LEGO, some love making clay, and so on. Choose a suitable storage system based on the space at home and the personality of the child.
We can also re-examine the furniture in our home and see if there are any that can be used as toy racks for children? For example, a shoe rack or something.
Currently, Jiji is accustomed to sitting on the ground to build, and the greater joy lies in integrating the built model into the play on the track. When there is one, and he falls in love with the process of building and creating, he can create a LEGO play table where the child builds on the table and places accessories at the bottom.
Handmade drawing area
This is a base camp for conducting experiments, handicrafts, drawing, and dirty play projects. Because these can all collide to create sparks of creativity and express thoughts.
For a while, Jiji liked Paper Cuttings very much. "Mom, where are the scissors?" It was like a magic spell, and she had to shout for five or six times. It seems that tools such as scissors and tape also need to find a home. I hung the SUNNERSTA hanging pole from IKEA kitchen on the wall, so that the child can see the color of the pen and the position of the scissors at a glance, with high utilization rate, and it is easy for the child to put it back after use.
At this point, when he needs to think of "scissors" in his mind, his first reaction is to locate the scissor box instead of calling out "mom".
We chose the IKEA Mamot children's desk for our handmade drawing table. By placing the drawing paper on it, children can create freely.
Of course, many times when he has big movements, he still lies on the ground and indulges himself .....
Stop using the cardboard boxes and paper cores for express delivery, and rely on them when inspiration comes.
Handmade miscellaneous materials, using IKEA's transparent sorting boxes, you can easily see what you want at a glance. This is a set of daily accessories for Jiji, such as glass balls, wire spools, rubber putty, tin foil, etc.
The key to high toy usage is that the box is easy for children to see and retrieve, so they can choose to play on their own.
My experience is that anything placed in drawers or cabinets often makes it difficult for children to remember to play and reduces its usage rate.
Of course, they are not always able to tidy up voluntarily, but after multiple reminders, he will have a concept in his mind that he wants to play the next one and end this game.
As children grow up, toys can no longer satisfy their desire to create. Children will spend more and more time in the handmade drawing area. As adults, we can prepare more open materials, and children will constantly challenge their creativity.
Theme Experiment Platform
Jiji likes to collect tree branches, stones, fruits, etc. outside. He always puts these small things in his pocket and brings them home like treasures. I leave the windowsill empty for his themed experimental platform.
This experimental platform can be any content that a child is interested in, such as his recent love for dinosaurs. We can use his questions to understand where his interests lie, and then use various materials to create his interests, such as using clay to make dinosaur egg fossils and clay to make terror dragon frames When the shelves are filled with works that represent his level of understanding, he is more willing to delve deeper into the topic.
Portfolio Showcase
In the folder, there are instructions for some files and children's works. After finishing the painting on the spot, leave the ones you really like and hang them on the wall. After a few days, take photos with your phone, only keep the selected ones, and throw away the others.
I feel that children are more interested in the creative process, and when it comes to works, they just look at them on the spot and become indifferent after a few days.
Board game storage
Because Jiji likes to play board games with multiple people, I set aside a space on the living room bookshelf specifically for his recent favorite games, allowing him to take whatever he wants to play and decide for himself. Other infrequently played items will be placed in the cabinet.
When it comes to nature, indoor plants are also indispensable. Placing a few plants in the game room can not only bring vitality to the environment, but also give children an extra responsibility to take care of plants. At first, they would casually damage plants, but gradually learned to water and fertilize them regularly.
Of course, it is inevitable that the lush leaves will be instantly scattered by the children's construction.