Hookin' It!

On Baylor's first day of school I was prepared for him to be unready for the social aspect of it, I was prepared for him to be way more than ready for the academic aspect of it, but I was not prepared for him to be unready for the practical aspect of it.  As he went to hang up his backpack, jacket, and hat, he basically tossed them at the hook and turned away to go.  I had to help him all along the way, correcting him when he tried to hang up his backpack by the shoulder straps, his coat by the armpit, and his baseball cap by the bill.  (None of which worked, by the way.)

I quickly realized, as the same problems cropped up every time he had to take care of his things, that I had to work on this with him at home before he was going to get it at school.  Unfortunately, we had no hooks on which to practice.  Impulsive as I am, I thought up a plan, fixated on it for a few days, frustrated I couldn't get to work on it as quickly as I wanted to, and finally pulled it all together into one gloriously simple spot for the kiddos.  (Thank you for your help and your awesome drill, Dad!)

Introducing the hooks!

Awesome, right?  It's just a piece of trim (pre-primed composite wood) painted with black, satin spray paint, drilled into the studs, with two hooks attached.  And I LOVE IT!!  The kids are now responsible for taking care of their things!  Seriously, I really don't have to hang anything up for them anymore.  I really can't fathom why I didn't do this sooner ...

Anyhow, if you have small children, I totally recommend putting them to work taking care of their own things.  Not only does it free up time for you (in the long run, anyway), but it'll get them ready for school.  Win-win!!!