TheBanyanTree: Lego logistics?

[tobie at shpilchas.net]

	Well hello everyone.  I am here, yes.  But observing and nodding and then smiling and then weeping a bit every once in a while.  Sometimes the smiling and weeping doesn’t have much to do with Banyan Tree posts, as you see, I’ve got my own flourishing inner lego mountain coming right up out of my core soil, like Paricutin. 

	But about the legos and Max and the hazardous obstacle course that is (or was) your house:  Why not ask Max, the lego toreador himself, if he needs the kits kept separately?  If Max wants mix and match (say it ten times fast) then one bin will do it.  Lego table?  OH GOSH! What happened to the good old days when my mother handed us a few frayed pieces of string and a knuckle bone, then patted our tuchases and told us to go out and play?  We were busy all day.

	When my twins were little, I’d include them in decisions that affected them, when I could.  My ex-husband came from the, "you’re grounded; no TV; go to your room," school.  (Of course I was supposed to be the one to administer the blow so he still looked nice).  But I never did that kind of stuff.  I never had to and maybe it had something to do with what kind of people they are, just naturally.  But when they did something hideous (chase the cat, attempt to kill one another, etc.), they knew what they did was outside the acceptable parameters of behavior, though not in those words of course.  I’d present the situation to them in age appropriate terms  ("Ugg!! Me big Mommy; you little shitholes! BAD BAD!") and ask them what they thought should be done so they wouldn’t do that again.  The punishments they came up with were so many standard deviations from anything I would ever have invented! Often it was difficult not to laugh.  

	Feyna:  Lock us in our room and we can’t eat for two days.

	Meyshe: No love.

	Feyna:  If we ever __________ again, we have to go live someplace else without you.

	Meyshe: Crying forever.


	Just discussing it was enough.  They were so grateful for their kindly benefactor not packing them up without love or food, and shipping them off to un-Paradise while they wept forever.  It put things in perspective.

	How old is Max?

Your usually silent friend,

Tobie




> On Jan 13, 2018, at 2:09 AM, Laura Hicks <wolfljsh at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Yep. I have. I have indeed discovered the perfect Lego containment system.
> It's a giant purple storage bin. :)
> 
> The lid snaps on and off easily, so the kids can get it on and off by
> themselves. Organizing by set, color, size, shape, whatever ... USELESS!
> Give it up, Mum. If you can get him to put them in the box when he's done,
> you're doing better than I ever did.
> 
> I had to have "clean-up" days, which meant, either the kids clean it up, or
> Mom throws it away. I did actually have to throw away (donate) a couple of
> toys to get the point across, but once they understood I wasn't bluffing,
> it worked out ok. Of course, all kinds of other stuff got in the Lego box
> eventually - tufts of dog hair, paper scraps, bits of other toys, etc. But
> at least all that wasn't on the floor. ;)
> 
> I'd give you a link to the kind of bin I mean, but I think TBT strips links
> and pictures for safety, and besides, I suspect you know the kind I'm
> talking about.
> 
> I think one of the big building tables with the surface covered in Lego
> plates would have been awesome, especially one with a place underneath for
> the boxes, but we didn't have room for one.
> 
> Laura
> wolfljsh at gmail.com
> 
> On Sat, Jan 13, 2018 at 2:03 AM, <anita at redpepper.net.au> wrote:
> 
>> On a completely different topic - have any of the parents out there
>> developed the perfect Lego organising system??
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I am struggling to control the tsunami of small bright plastic pieces that
>> emanates from Max's boxes whenever he builds something. Some kits are
>> intact, but most are starting to blend into each other as he exercises his
>> creativity and mixes and matches to create grand new machines and
>> scenarios,
>> which is fabulous.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Do I construct all the sets to collect the pieces then try to keep the sets
>> separate? What hope do I have of that lasting more than a day? Or do I sort
>> them by type and colour into small containers or bags? Pinterest has
>> variations on these two themes but I'm struggling to find something that
>> really grabs me AND is something that a 5 year old boy will stick to.
>> (realistically it will be me doing it for a few years)
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Has anyone tried the Lego construction tables, which seem to be pretty
>> handy
>> with a contained construction surface and drawers? Surely it would be
>> pretty
>> easy to make one or repurpose something else?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> With love and traumatised feet,
>> 
>> Anita
>> 
>> xxx
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 

"Kafka is in his grave, but still collecting royalties."    THS   2017




Tobie Helene Shapiro
tobie at shpilchas.net