"Three kids, endless reminders: Wake up. Brush your teeth. Get dressed. Shoes. . One claims I never gave them their shoes. Another demands cereal right now. The third moans, "I'm dyyyy-iiinnng." We finally make it to the door-only to realize that, after all that, someone's still missing a shoe and someone else has to pee. Meanwhile, their teacher somehow gets 18 preschoolers to hang up coats, wash hands, and sit at a table without a single reminder or complaint."
"I started paying attention and saw the magic wasn't as mystical as it first seemed-it was, to a significant extent, spatial. Each child had a cubby with their name and picture. A tiny, clearly defined space that seemed to make them want to take responsibility. So I put my DIY detective hat on and grabbed my tape measure, hunting for space to create a cubby system."
A chaotic morning routine with three children produced constant reminders, missing shoes, and last-minute bathroom trips. Observation of a preschool class showed that individual cubbies with names and pictures encouraged responsibility and orderly transitions. A compact DIY cubby system was created by repurposing an overstuffed entry closet and IKEA TROFAST bins in a 650-square-foot one-bedroom. The setup provides stations per child: bottom bins for socks doubling as step stools, hooks for sweaters and backpacks, top bins for hats and mittens or seasonal items, and an opposite wall for shoes and scooters. The design fits narrow spaces and provides right-sized, kid-accessible storage.
Read at Apartment Therapy
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