Saturday 9 July 2011

Kitchen organization part 3 - E's space

E's newly acquired independence is one of the biggest factor that motivated me to do this move. I realized that our old setup was not safe for him since he had easy access to glasses, and breakable plates and bowls.
But what really got me going is the fact that I realized that he was sometimes thirsty, but failed to ask (or to make us understand that he needed a drink). And so came the idea of having a spot just for him. At first, I thought about giving him the entire drawer that was devoted to my 2 oldest. But because of the very nature of a drawer, he couldn't see his sippy, and was asking for a drink, rather then go for himself. I wanted to find a way to display his things, so he could see them easily if he needed them. And so came the idea of the shelving.

My objectives here were to have him be able to help himself for a snack and a drink, and put his plates and utensils within his reach so that when he is able to walk, he can star helping us set the table with his own thing.

E's shelf now reside under our kitchen counter. This was a lost space. And as you can see, it is really near his independence chair and our kitchen table. At the same time it is just at the entrance of the kitchen, so I am really happy with this emplacement. (the kitchen is behind me in the photo)

1. étagères sous le comptoir


On the shelves I added the bare minimum. His bowls, and utensils on the first shelve, his sippy cup on the second and a soon to be ready pile of little cloth to clean the table. Finally on the third row, there are his snack bowl, and a spot lest empty to put a basket for carrying once E starts to walk.

2. Contenu des tablettes


A word on snack bowls and sippies:

E learned to use a sippy a few weeks ago, when we left for our trip. He had never used one before. And he still doesn't use one 99% of the time. The only time he does is when he drinks on his own. The sippy will dissapear as soon as he is able to pour himself a drink. But at the table, he drink using the gin glasses shown here

Snack bowls: There are 2 of them. The one with the handle contains cereals. There is a lid on the top that is slit many times to retain (well as much as it can) the food within the container. It does work to minimize spills. But again, I only put cereals in there. The second container is a bowl with a snap lid that is rather easy to open and close. I showed him how to open and close it before I left it on the shelf. I usually put finger size bites of veggies and things that can be there for a few hours at a time. When it is empty, (I normally) don't leave it there.


L'indépendance que E démontre et qui augmente de jour en jour est la cause principale des modifications que je devais apporter à la cuisine. Puisqu'il avait accès au tiroir que j'avais organisé pour les plus grand, et que celui-ci contenait de la verrerie ainsi que des assiettes en céramique, je devais déplacer le tout pour assurer sa sécurité. Par contre, une autre point a été la goutte qui a fait débordé le vase: le fait que E avait souvent soif, mais ne demandait pas à boire (ou ne parvenais pas à se faire comprendre). J'ai compris qu'il était donc important qu'il soit en mesure de répondre a ses besoins lorsque ceux-ci se faisaient sentir.
J'ai tout d'abord voulu utiliser le tiroir pour y mettre ses choses. Mais un tiroir étant ce qu'il est, il ne voyait pas en permanence son gobelet, et l'oubliait lorsqu'il en avait besoin. Ça devenait donc évident que je devais trouver une solution qui permettrait que ses choses soient à sa vue, d'où l'idée du meuble.

(Voir image no 1)

Le meuble est sous le comptoir de cuisine. C'était un espace perdu de toute façon. Il est situé tout près de la table à manger et de sa chaise. En même temps, il est juste dans l'entrée de la cuisine, donc un emplacement parfait.

Sur les tablettes, j'y ai mis le minimum. Sur la première tablette, ses bols et un panier d'ustensils en bois. La tablette du dessous est pour son goblet d'eau et les chiffons (qui ne sont pas encore tout à fait prêts). Et finalement, la dernière tablette loge les collations et un espace laissé libre pour un panier d'osier a poignée pour transporter ses choses à la table, lorsqu'il sera capable de marcher.
(voir image 2)

Une note sur les collations et le gobelet.

E n'a appris a boire au gobelet que tout récemment. Le goblet n'est utilisé que pour être laissé sur la tablette et lui permettre de prendre une gorgée lorsqu'il a soif en dehors des repas. Au repas, il boit avec les verres en vitre vu au dernier billet. Sitôt qu'il sera en mesure de se servir lui-même à boire, le gobelet disparaîtra.

Il y a 2 contenants de collation. Celui avec les poignées a un couvercle coup en forme d'étoile qui permet a une petite main de rentrer dedans et prendre une poignée du contenu, sans que celui-ci n'en sorte si la tasse est échappée. Ça fonctionne relativement bien. Ce plat là contient seulement des céréales. L'autre est un contenant avec un couvercle hermétique qui y est fixé. J'ai montré à E comment l'utiliser avant de le mettre sur les tablettes. Celui-ci contient généralement des petites portions de nourriture à manger au doigts comme des légumes, qui peuvent rester quelques heures à la température pièce

8 comments:

  1. You have been so busy! It is great to get a glimpse inside your home. I really liked in these posts to see how you have been able to include all three of your children. Now that I have two children I have so much more to learn. I really like your little shelves, they are gorgeous, I could do with a few of those in our house! As for the aprons - I had to check my cupboard, I recently ordered the exact ones!!

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  2. Thanks Kylie
    Indeed, with school being out, we have been busy! But I see this as an investment of my time. First, because they see me organizing the house for their needs, and I think that shows them that I do care for every one of them. Also, they are also implicated in the process, so it keeps them busy, but they also think of solutions and idea to a particular problem. And finally, I think that all this time that I take to really organize these areas for them, it pays back when I don't have to serve them a glass of water because they can do it on their own, when they can prepare their own snack, then they don't get frustrated in a world of big.

    Do sweat about having to learn to plan for 2. It will come gradually, and naturally.

    As for the aprons, why I am not surprised??

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  3. You have a beautiful home! I noticed the chair at the end of your table, is it a high chair?

    I've been looking for one that will sit up to the table and changes with the child's size.

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  4. Your home looks so beautiful and organized. My major Montessori failing is that I am terminally disorganised in my living spaces. However, one of my successes has been communicating with my children. I see you mention that you noticed your 11 month old's frustration at not being able to communicate his needs - we noticed the same thing with my first child as an infant too, and at the time a baby sign workshop was running locally, which I attended. It is really, really worth doing with your little one. As Maria Montessori stressed, we must do our best to be translators for our children, and baby signing is one of the best things I did as a parent. There is a lot of free info, so you shouldn't need to buy anything. You are already increasing their independance remarkably through their physical environment, this would allow you to effectively assist your youngest to achieve the major milestone of two-way communication. The Wikipedia article on baby signing has some very nice links if you are interested. It's easy too :).

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  5. Jessica
    Thank you!

    It is a high chair, it is a Svan chair. The best baby purchase I have ever made IMHO! Do check them out, they are perfect!

    Montessorimusing
    Thank you for your comment! Signing is something that is on my mind. I have started last week with signs for potty. It is not easy to incorporate, (well, maybe more for me then him lol) but I am starting to get the hang of it. I'll certainly check out the wiki link and do more searching on the topic. Thanks very much!!

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  6. This is EXACTLY the post I needed to read. Today I spent the whole day re-organising out kitchen to accommodate my 2 and 3/4 year old and my 14 month old. I was having difficulty as I needed to give my older daughter space for her bowls, plates etc but found it difficult incorporating my younger daughters needs in with it. I have a perfect spot, easy to reach and see for my youngest. I can't wait to set it up. Thanks

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  7. I love the little shelves. They are open an accessible for the little ones. Could you please share where you got them? Also, I notice the baby's bowl are wood. When do they transition to ceramic plates?

    Thanks!

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  8. E has always had access to ceramic and glass. At mealtime, we was eating out of ceramic bowl and plates. But I just didn't want to leave them out while he was very little. to avoid accident. Now that he is able to manipulate glass and ceramic, the shelves are filled with his glass and plates. On the picture you see here, he was 11 months old. (he is now 21)
    I got the shelves on Etsy, but unfortunately, I am not able to find the seller anymore. :( Sorry about that.

    I hope that helps!

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