DIY Lego Table!

If you kids are anything like mine, I'm sure they love building with Legos. It's good for their brain development, it teaches them math, architecture, and science, and it also helps build their imagination, social skills, and fine motor skills. Legos are great for girls and boys, and really all ages!

With that being said, my kids are pretty much in love with Legos. My son is obsessed. He has all the books, all the video games, knows all the videos on Netflix, and just started playing with real Legos (not Duplo). We saw the Lego Movie a couple weeks ago-- he just can't get enough. Which is awesome, because his birthday is this weekend.

While my husband and I were talking about what we wanted to get him for his birthday presents this year, he brought up the idea of a Lego table. I thought it was a great idea! Gives him a place to sit and play without having them strewn about all over the floor (hey, a mom can dream, right?), and a level place to build. I looked into them, and they go for anywhere between $40 and $300! You've got to be kidding me. That's when it hit me... I could totally do something like this. Or I could at least try! It might turn out pretty cool, ya never know.

I talked to my husband about me making him a Lego table, and he was totally into it. It's cool, I could make it custom, just for him, and know that no one else has one like it!

I decided to modify or "hack" the LATT Children's Table from Ikea, because it's $20, and comes with two chairs. I stuck with the primary colors, and used spray paint.

Photo step-by-step:

Ikea children's table comes with two chairs, $20

Lay down a plastic sheet (to protect your ground!), lay out your items, and group them how you'd like to paint them. It helps to keep it separated.

Sand all the pieces! I promise, it makes a big deal. There was one spot on one where I didn't sand very well, and the paint kept sliding off. I had to let it dry and re-sand that area. Don't go crazy, just take off all the "smooth" areas, and make it slightly gritty, so the paint will stick.

yellow, red, blue (and green, soon!)

It was so easy, and fun!

This is the paint I used. I got it at Michael's craft stores, but I ended up needing 2 cans of red, and 2 of the blue. The surface area was larger on those pieces.

I got the seats and table top painted green.

4 flat base plates from the Lego store. This was the perfect amount... the guy tried telling me to only buy 3, but I got 4 "just in case" ...I ended up using all but a couple strips and one tiny square!

***MOST IMPORTANT STEP***
MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS! Don't just line up the sheets and stick them together. There's a very small space in between each sheet, and it makes the difference of that area being playable or not! DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!!! If you attach Legos at the 'joints' it will line it up perfectly for you and keep everything attached.

Next, make a straight line of Legos where you will be cutting it, and use them as your guide. You will need a box cutter ($10 at a craft store, but probably WAY cheaper at Home Depot or Lowe's.), and to go over  the same area with a strong arm twice. That's all I needed to do, and it was VERY easy. Just be mindful and don't try to 1) cut it in one swipe, and 2) do it fast. Just take your time!

You can see the line I made above (the horizontal line) and that's what it will look like.

Then bend the sheet, right at the line. Bend it a couple times and it will come right apart.

The two lines and square I mentioned before. That's all that was left from the 4 sheets of base plates! 

This is how the chair turned out!

I sprayed the whole thing with a glossy clear coat spray paint, to help protect the paint. Then, I used some flat orange letters to spell out my son's name on the side, his Lego Table! After that, I sprayed the whole thing again, over the letters, with the clear coat... that way the letters stay put.

The guy at the Lego store suggested I used double sided tape, as opposed to adhesive spray or mod podge. He said the tape helps allow it to bend a little when the legos come off, and the adhesive tends to not work and crack off when it dries. The double sided tape was a great idea. HOWEVER, make sure you put Legos down the entire length of the joint, to help keep it attached when you flip it over, otherwise it will keep breaking apart and drive you crazy! It sounds funny, but I basically applied the tape in the "shape/outline" of the british flag. A few lines around the border, pay attention to each sheet (don't treat it like one), then put a few diagonal pieces in the middle. Flip it over carefully, center it, and press down firmly. Test it by attaching and removing Legos :)

Here's what it looks like up on it's legs!

And here is the entire table, finished, and set up!

All things considered, this was an incredibly easy and FUN project to do. It took a day for me to gather supplies, and a day for me to complete the project. And I'm so happy with how it turned out! I know he's going to love it.

If you have any questions, please let me know!

Pin this to pinterest, share it on facebook, instagram, and G+, and tweet it on twitter! @itslikemusic #itslikemusic #ILMlegotable I'd love to see your finished products!!

The "Good Job!" Jar

Last Thursday was a 'last-straw' day. My sweet, adorable, caring, and kind three-year-old son had turned into a little monster.

As most three-year-old's do, he really loves his independence. Especially since he knows his little sister can't do half the things he can. He understands video games, knows how to turn Netflix on, he can navigate through the XBOX 360 dashboard with ease, he can go to the fridge to get his snacks, he gets dressed all by himself, and has his own thoughts and opinions. He's still testing his boundaries, of course, and is pushing them as far as they will go... which we found out on Thursday, was saying NO! for the thousandth time.

I had seen a few ideas on Pinterest to help guide a child's behavior. Honestly, I was thinking about making a behavior chart for quite a while, but I just didn't have the time. And after thinking about it, what good would a chart do if he couldn't read it yet? Then I remembered another pin I saw... a jar with cotton balls.

This jar idea seemed like the perfect alternative to a behavior chart, without the necessity to read it.

I went to Target, and bought a $1.50 mason jar, a bag of cotton balls for $1.19, and some scrapbooking stickers for $1 each (I got two packs). I used a sharpie I already had at home. When I got home, I wrote on the jar using the sharpie, then I decorated it with the stickers.

Some people were creating a fill-line as a goal... but cotton balls are a good size when you put them in a regular mason jar. I decided to just go straight for the top as the fill-line.

How it works for us:

For every acceptable* thing he does, he gets to put a cotton ball in the jar. For every unacceptable* thing he does, he gets to take a cotton ball out of the jar. When the jar is full, he gets to do an activity of his choice. He doesn't get a toy or money or anything like that for filling the jar. Thursday morning, his ability to play video games was taken away. He decided that his reward for filling up the jar would be an hour of video game play time. 

(Before you jump on my case for a three-year-old playing video games... he loves his Lego video games, he is great at them, and we still do a LOT of different activities throughout the day. This happens to be his favorite, so that's what I "took away" when he demonstrated the unacceptable behavior.)

At the beginning, I was acknowledging EVERY example of acceptable* behavior with a cotton ball in the jar, and every example of unacceptable* behavior with a cotton ball removed. This way, he learns what is acceptable* and what is not in a way in which he can control it. He is making the decisions himself and is learning what works. Also, by acknowledging every acceptable* behavior, and filling up the jar faster, he can see that his goal is attainable. Eventually, as time goes on, I will start acknowledging extraordinary and exemplary behavior instead of just everything acceptable*.

We started this jar on Thursday afternoon, and Saturday around noon, he got his hour of video game play. Today, he got one more hour.

He already is knowing when he does well and when he doesn't, and is more aware of how his decisions affect him, and us! He doesn't emotionally explode like he used to, and he is a lot quicker to recognize and remedy his poor behavior.

I can't say this is the easiest thing to maintain, because after 3 days, even though he's done well, we still have hiccups. But we are going to "stick to it!" It was, however, very inexpensive, and soooo worth the little peace it's already brought!

I definitely recommend trying this out with your toddler.

If you do, please let me know by commenting below! I'd love to see how your little one's jar turned out, and how it worked for you and your family! You can also post a picture of it on Pinterest, Instagram or Twitter, all with: @itslikemusic & #goodjobjar!

*I use "acceptable/unacceptable" because it is a relative term. What may be considered acceptable to me might be considered unacceptable to others. You decide what is acceptable/unacceptable for your family, just as I do with mine. :)