Let me preface this by saying, if it weren't for so many people's generousity & thoughtfulness, I wouldn't be posting this. Really, you've been too kind in gifting the girls with so many things. Don't doubt for a minute that we appreciate deeply every gesture of affection for the girls. We could never repay your kindness.
That said, here is the latest saga. After 3 days, I can finally see the playroom floor again. Yes. 3 days. The last whirlwind of activity in there left me wondering if I even wanted to attempt cleaning. It seemed perhaps the best course of action would be to just bag EVERYTHING & start anew. Suffice it to say, I was so averse to the idea of cleaning the mass chaos that I put it off for 3 weeks. The girls would go in periodically & bring out something to play with &, at the end of the day, it was chucked back into the abyss.
This recent cleaning & sorting has led Garrett & me to establish some new toy parameters.
The girls have so much, so many toys. We're really trying to teach them to think about how our actions affect other people & the environment -i.e. plasic throw-away mentality, sweatshops, etc. -yes big concepts for little minds but we're working on how to best convey our concerns in an understandable to preschooler manner.
The Corbett-Martin new toy parameters:
*No battery operated toys.
*Minimal plastic, or none if at all possible.
*No Disney characters nor other cartoon characters.
*No more stuffies.
*No happy meal or dollar store toys. We're also trying to impress upon them the idea that quality is better than quantity & just because something is on sale, doesn't mean we should buy it.
*These girls LOVE paper & every time we go to the store they each want a new notebook. Right now we have journals to last a couple years.
*We actually prefer Bratz to Barbies, if that is a "must buy" plastic, because the accessories don't get lost as easily.
*No new babydolls. Babydoll clothes would be excellent!
*No junk books or dvd's -newberry & caldecott & other book award winners are okay, as are major motion pictures.
*Playdough is ALWAYS welcome -it's inexpensive & it needs constant replenishing.
*Art supplies we have in abundance, (until further notice -'cuz you know they run out eventually).
*Video games, gameboy games, etc are okay as they teach hand/eye coordination.
*AND finally, no duplicate toys -i.e. one for each girl- it's not necessary because they inevitably only want to play with what the other one has anyway and we're teaching them to share -at which they are surprisingly good, thank you...pat on the back for G & C.
It's not too much to ask, really. True, it may be a little more difficult to find other suitable toys, but it will be worth the effort knowing that the girls will be more appreciative in the end.
In all actuality, the girls don't really "need" more toys. Memberships are excellent as are contributions to lessons (they get to be costly & they ARE necessary; the girls may not appreciate the fact of who paid for it, but they do enjoy & will benefit from lessons, be they art, music, sports, whatever)(when it comes down to it, they don't really remember who buys what toys either). Life experiences are far greater memory makers than toys. Even better is your time spent with the girls. That happens too few & far between. How can they have fond memories of growing up with their favorite people if you don't help to make those memories??
We -and the girls- thank you for considering our family choices :)
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