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Before you begin envisioning my kids looking like Violet from Willie Wonka, I should probably clarify that title.
Our kids have a specific color assigned to them. Does that sound a bit over the top? Maybe, but I can tell you it has helped SO much over the years having four little ones!
It all started out innocently enough with sippy cups ~ Laurianna had a purple lid and McKenna had a pink one. We always knew whose cup was missing and which one belonged to which kiddo.
When we added Zachary and Kaleb we added blue and green.
The coding has now spread throughout the house to include backpacks, pencil boxes, notebooks....but all for the sake of knowing who is missing what {and who needs to pick up what too!}. This year I bought colored Sharpies and added a color mark to the top of all the kids markers to help us sort them out a little easier too ~ because being able to stop one minor fight a day is worth it!
It might seem a bit over the top, but it is definitely something that is Working for Me!
I just read this on your workbox post last night--too cute, but a great idea!!
ReplyDeleteBTW, I finished reading the workbox e-book last night and am totally revved up to get this system in place!!
We did this with some things growing up. I remember it being in place more when there were seven of us, I don't remember the last three (when we grew to 10 kids) having a "color". Mom used the colors mostly to keep track of who's socks where who's! She or one of my sisters would sew a litle dot on the end of each sock with that person's color. I was green :) Color coding certainly makes things easier!
ReplyDeleteooo such a great idea. Do you and rick have colors ;-) hehe I definately think color coding will be in our future when we have more kids.
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea. With 3 boys, this can really help! Thanks for the tip.
ReplyDeleteanything to help mom's sanity works for me:0) dad needs a color in our house, as he leaves his stuff lying around as much as the kids do!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I do this and we only have one kiddo. But it helps him remember which stuff is his. I am purple, hubby is blue, and kiddo is green.
ReplyDeleteCome by and visit me!
:)
I so think this is a smart idea! I only have 2 and they're both girls, but I LOVE color coding. =) I know when they're bigger and keeping their things separate will matter - color coding is going to be my friend!
ReplyDeleteI love it- we just had our second babe but want to have a few more, so this tip will come in very handy!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! Anything to help kids to stop fighting over who's is who's stuff will gladly help.
ReplyDeleteLove and Hugs ~ Kat
This is a great tip... we could def use some color coding here...I tend to rely on the kids to know whose is whose.... this sounds much more peaceful.
ReplyDeleteLove this idea. I just have two children of my own but we have a few others over twice a week for learning time. This will definitely save the "mine" comments from our group of two and three year olds. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSo now I'm picturing your kids with little color dots on their heads. he, he.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea. I only have two, so it isn't a big issue, but I can see how it would make a big difference with four.
ReplyDeleteI love to see this post! My youngest four children are color coded and it started the exact same way! They have even adopted those colors as their favorites
ReplyDeleteI like this idea.
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog today! I have colour coded my 3 kids for the last 4 years too! My youngest dd is pink, ds is blue, and oldest dd is purple. We use it only for our homeschool stuff, but it makes it so easy to find everything!
ReplyDeleteI do the very same thing!!! My dd is pink. The big boys are blue and orange. The little boys don't technically have a color assigned to them yet, but I am thinking they will be red and green! :-)
ReplyDeleteWe haven't does it with everything, but each kid does have their color whenever possible when they get the same object. The other I did was made sure that each kid had their own initial - C, S, J. That has made it much easier writing on the calendar and marking objects that aren't color coded!
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