Getting ready house ready

Hi, we are in the same process looking for a boy, aged 6-12. I wasn't sure what to do either. I put a full size bed in one bedroom with a bookcase and desk, and a twin bed and futon in our other extra bedroom...also with a bookcase from Target and a desk. I put some drawer/storage things in the closet along with some hangers. I figure I'll just wait until the child gets here to buy some posters or things he will specifically like for his room. Our SW barely glanced in the rooms during the homestudy. She was counting beds...like as in how many children can we accomodate. :) As for the rest of our house, I've not changed anything. I think we will enact a "no food" in your bedroom rule since that's the only carpet we have left in the house. Good luck!

I have the beds and dressor ready too. I really am not sure what to do about some other things - like games and toys? We have several 'family' games, and a game cube, but that is about it. It seems so much harder when you don't know how old the kid will be. Diane

Yeah, I have no idea either. I really think I'll wait until the placement visits to get a better idea of what he likes, but the games idea is a great one and they can be collected beforehand. I was nervous about getting a gaming system because I didn't want him to spend some much time in his room....for the same reason, I didn't put a TV in the kids room. My parents said that I will live to regret that decision. :) You will have some notice before the kids come, even if you are fostering so you should be fine. KP

Hi, Some ideas may be board games such as Monopoly, Clue, Sorry, etc. Boggle, Jr. is good too, it helps learn spelling. Playing cards. Paint-by-numbers or those fuzzy posters you color with markers. Scrapbooking supplies, journals. Some other things you can have on hand are toothbrushes, hair brushes, toothpaste, deodorant (for the older ones). You could buy these ahead of time and they won't go bad. Many kids come into care with their clothes in a trash bag. You could start collecting gently used suitcases, gym bags, etc. so as you get a child they could have their own bag for their belongings. Hope these ideas help. Michelle

I would just have general things, toothbrush, bed, a few books to read before bed. You don't want them to have too many things to be distracting in the first weeks. YOu want them to concentrate on getting settled and start trusting and bonding with you. I'd also get generic games that are easy and educational like chutes and ladders, Candyland and such. You never know what they are ready for until after you have them.

I didn't put a TV in the childs room either. We have 4 in the house - I think that is plenty.

Scrapbooking supplies I have PLENTY of :-D I will start putting aside some personal care items too - good idea! Diane

screw the bookcases and heavier dressers to the wall-my kiddos climbed everything. (I had a nine year old flip a dresser completely upside down in a rage). As far as toys-not too many in the room. I kept a cabinet in the living room with lots of paper, crayons, coloring books and art supplies. In the rooms-a couple hotwheels, a stuffed animal, and cards or a game or puzzle. You can add stuff later.

Diane,Personally, I'd get the personal care stuff too but because of the age range you are looking at could be a big difference in wants. Where a 5 yo may be interested in match box cars or baby dolls, an 11 yo may think they are "too old" for baby toys. With our dd, we got her when she was 6. I did her bedroom pretty plain and for b-days and Christmas got her wishes for bedroom linens etc. For toys and clothes, etc, whenever I felt the urge to get something I'd set the money aside and we went shopping the first couple of days she was home. It was a bonding time and a chance to learn her tastes and desires too. We didn't go over board and buy a toy box full of toys but I allowed her to chose a couple of games and toys to play with. She was able to chose under clothes as well as a couple of "play outfits", "Church clothes", "school clothes", pj's etc. She was excited about a day in the mall. She opened up and had a good time. Then she was excited to show "Dad" all the stuff she got when he got home from work. It helped her feel like it was "her stuff". Just my opinion. Good luck!Vickie

Diane, All I did was pretty much get a bed and dresser. When my son came, he came with 8 toys and sweats. I agree with Vickie, the kids recieve such great joy in fixing up the room in their tastes and it is a great bonding time. Just make sure you go easy on the toys and it is so easy to go overboard as these kids usually appreciate anything.

Thanks for the ideas I didn't realize that the kids would really come with any toys. And I just didn't wan them to feel like kids didn't 'belong' in the house since we don't have much in the way of toys. Diane

I've had two long placements (3+ mths and 6+ mths) and one short placement (1 week), and what I've found that I wanted different in my house was more organization, a 3 or more month amount of supplies -- toilet paper, paper towels, and all of all the stuff I use myself, extra of my favorite lotions and makeup + mirror in order to have one set in the bathroom where I prefer to get ready for work and one set in the bedroom where I frequently found myself when a kid decided they had to take a shower before school (I only have one bathroom). The first experience made me realize the kid's stuff needs a place EVERYWHERE in the apartment. I had only expected the kid stuff to be in the kid's room. I now have a cleaned out empty drawer or shelf or plastic box in every room (including my room), so that there is at least a possibility of 'a place for every thing and every thing in its place'. Even my closet needs a container for when I have to temporarily confiscate items from the child. After the second kid I am now also stocking up on things like paper plates and plastic flatware. I'd prefer to use real dishes but my second child was extraordinarily needy for months, and in case I get another needy child I plan to use a lot of disposable stuff until life starts to get more normal. Because it would make one less thing to have to think about or try to get done at a time of high stress. It is hard to do dishes when there is a 7 yr old wanting to be carried all the time, and who gets distressed if your attention is anywhere else but on her. For the two longer placements I took the kids shopping for a comforter (spongebob), posters, etc so they would have the room the way they liked it. For the child I knew would only be here for a few days or a week, I ran out and bought some cheap animal posters and put them on the wall. He liked them so well that he asked to take them with him, and I was happy to send them with him because I hope the next kid will be long-term and so will decorate the room to their own taste. I go overboard on toys, but they are so much fun to buy. So far I'm the only one to have played with the legos! I have some Barbies and stuffed animals that I got at the used clothes store. And I have a few cars, a few toy tractors, playdoh, paints, paper, colors, coloring books, and a toy farm set (barn, house, greenhouses, windmill, silos, water pump, animals, little family) because we are in a rural neighborhood so it seemed appropriate (okay, I confess, I got it because I like it). The toys that have gotten the most use are some cheap animal toys that I found on Amazon in $10 buckets. I bought the bucket of sea animals which got lots of use in the tub (sharks, whales, dolphins, etc), the bucket of forest animals (deer, bear, moose, raccoons, etc), the Safari Bucket with giraffes, elephants, etc., the amphibian/reptile bucket with frogs, snakes, lizards, etc., and the dinosaur bucket. The two girls I've had played with all but the amphibian/reptiles, and the boy I had played ONLY with the amphibian reptiles (and requested and took with him one lizard, snake, and frog). One of the girls took a moose with her when she left. The other girl played with almost all of them in the tub but didn't express any interest in taking some with her. Oh, I almost forgot, sports equipment has been a huge favorite. I have a foam bat and nerf-like baseball that all three kids got a lot of use out of, and there are badminton rackets and birdies, plastic horseshoe set (not used much), foam football, small volleyball that mostly gets used as a soccer ball, and a light weight approximately volleyball size ball that is the only one I allow to be used in the house (we bounce it back and forth in the kitchen, doesn't do well on carpeting). Also balloons are used a lot as indoor balls to bounce back and forth. Board games have been popular with two of the kids. One favorite is Rocket Minds "Spin Spend and Earn" that I found in Walmart next to the flashcards. It has fake money and teaches kids (as a game) about how many pennies make a nickel, how many nickels make a dime or quarter, etc. Books have been very important, I'm up to a whole shelf full now, in spite of large predations made by two of the kids when they left. Some I bought new, but most I (or my mother) got at used book sales at the library. When books get torn pages they withdraw them and sell them, but they are still perfectly wonderful kids books. There are several kid books I bought that I think are important to have around such as "Zachary's New Home" about a kitten that goes into fostercare and then gets new parents, "Maybe Days" about being in fostercare, "A Terrible Thing Happened" about a raccoon who saw something bad (not specified what) and how it gave him bad dreams and tummy aches but how seeing a counselor to talk about it and draw pictures about it helped him understand that the bad thing was not his fault, the whole set of child self-help books like "Don't Feed the Monster on Tuesdays" (self-esteem book for children), "Don't Blow Your Cork on Mondays" (anti-stress), "Don't Rant and Rave on Wednesdays" (anger-control), "Don't Despair on Thursdays" (grief management), etc. I bought a book called "I'm Frustrated" by Elizabeth Crary, that doesn't have pretty illustrations but looks like it might be good because it is sort of interactive where the child chooses what would be worth trying and then you turn to that page and see how that choice worked out. I haven't read it with a kid yet, so I'm not positive it'll be good. If it is, there is a whole series of them. In addition to toothbrushes, hair brushes, cute bandaids, anti-itch cream, first-aid cream, etc., I have a "Lice Solution Kit" which is one item I hope to be able to waste! But I figure it is better to have it on hand 'just in case'.

Howdy- thanks for the awesome suggestions! I have a few books - but I will look for the titles you recommended! My mom also picked up a really really soft big teddy bear too - it pretty much screams HUG ME :-) Diane