Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Works for Me Wednesday


There are many times in a mom's life where she just needs "5 minutes" to get something done. I always find myself saying, "Just give me 5 more minutes and then I will..." Meanwhile that sweet child follows me around driving me crazy begging me to do...whatever. Or how about those days that you need to clean, write a note to a friend, make a phone call, change the sheets on a bed, clean out the fridge, make a grocery list or just go to the bathroom - and the natives are wanting attention because they are bored. Well, do I have an idea for you!!!

I have this kids craft bin:


...and in it are all sorts of fun, crafty things for the kids that keep them busy for hours. When I am at Walmart, Michael's, or (my most favorite store in the whole wide world!!!) Hobby Lobby I always check out their clearance section in the craft department and find all sorts of fun stuff for the kids. Googly eyes, feathers, stickers, paper, pens/markers, craft kits, beads, you name it and the kids love it. Love it! I put all my finds in their craft bin and on the days that I need them to be occupied, I put a plastic table cloth on the table and let them go wild. They are allowed to use anything they want, in whatever manner they want, in that particular bin. (Side note: I do not have paint in their craft bin. They are still too little and need supervision, so that is kept in another bin in our craft closet...oh, yes - you heard correctly CRAFT CLOSET!) It stays fresh and new to them since I am always adding (and trashing) things on a regular basis.

Seriously, this keeps my kids busy for hours. And I love it because I can get something done and don't have to park my kids in front of the TV or feel bad for ignoring them for a few minutes! You can make your bins age appropriate and even have different bins for each kid if you wanted to. That would just be one more thing for mine to fight over and then there would go that peaceful time I need for getting things done.

Works for me, Baby! For more ideas, head on over to Rocks in my Dryer!

1 comment:

Michelle@Life with Three said...

This is really smart -- I could definitely use this with my kids. I'm going to need to pay a little extra attention the next time I'm perusing the clearance section! Thanks for sharing! :)