Kelly Seeks

Okay, personal confession time.  Drum roll………  I do way too much for my kids.  It’s ironic because by profession, I am a teacher.  Come into my classroom and you would find that students were expected to be personally responsible for their belongings, tidy up after themselves, and pitch  in to keep the classroom running smoothly.  Alas, in my home as a parent I do not always practice this same set-up.  I tend to do things for my kids because it’s easier and faster.  Patience is not my strong suit.  

So, one day I was telling a friend of mine how much I hate putting away dishes, and how I always feel like I’m searching for sippy cups.  She asked me why I didn’t have my kids do it.  I responded with, “that cupboard is way too high for them.”  She was very sweet and showed me her own kids’ dish cupboard.  It was in a bottom cabinet, totally within their reach.  They had a basket for plates, bowls, cups, etc…  Each basket was labelled and they could totally handle putting their own stuff away.  Not only that, when they want a snack/ drink, they can get their own dish to put it in!

My wheels started turning and I came up with my own version, pictured above.  There is a spot for plates, bowls, cups, and a plastic tumbler for kids’ silverware.  It is not always a tidy cupboard, what with all the little hands in and out of it.  But, MY KIDS ARE HELPING AROUND THE HOUSE! It’s awesome!  The labels are done with words and pictures since my kids aren’t reading yet.  I drew them, but clip art would work great too.  Now that I have a handy-dandy dish cupboard for the kiddos, now I just have to consistently make them use it…I’ll keep you posted 🙂