marydean
here's the words to the tidy up song - they're not rigid, so i just try to keep the theme of the song in the words- it's very sing song - very basic -

let's tidy up, let's tidy up
put all the toys away
let's tidy up, let's tidy up
everything in it's place

put all the toys away
everything in it's place
put all the toys away
everythin in its place

sung quietly and repetitively, it's a bit of a meditation. an end of one activity, before you start the next thing "it's time for dinner now" etc.

You can put photos or line drawings on the boxes to help your child know where to put things.
e.g a picture of a doll, on the tub or basket where you want the dolls put.
Depending on the age of the child, you will prolly do most of the tidying, but the important thing is to model the behaviour (tidying up) and normalise it, so the child associates tidying up, as a normal part of play. Eventually, they want to get more involved and they get quicker at doing it, the more you have the habit going.

not very long ago, we had heaps of plastic and battery operated stuff - i never thought i could change over - i have surprised myself - i had so many "roadblocks" in my head - it's too hard, bilby will whine for the old toys, etc etc. but i tried it, gradually (one thing at a time) and to my surprise, she hasn't missed the plastic or battery operated stuff. She is playing on her own alot better now, and making up songs, games to amuse herself - allowing me to do my stuff e.g cook dinner in peace - when before, she wanted me to entertain her more, and play with her. Now i play with her when i don't need to cook dinner, but she's much more accepting when i can't. About a year ago i stopped having the TV on in the late afternoon, and that really cut out the bad tantrums that HAD been happening. I think she was overstimulated by TV, at that time of day, was on overload and her way of telling me that, was to tantrum really bad. i never thought turning off the tv would help, but it has, so i've stuck with that pattern. SHe just has Playschool a few days a week now and is much happier for it.

she loves to be involved in what i'm doing too, e.g sorting and hanging out the washing (we have a clothes airer inside, cos nowehre to hang up clothes outside).

i forgot to say, she also has a basket of drawing stuff (wax crayons, no textas, paper) and a tub of playdough stuff.

What i want for her the MOST, would be outside play area, with sandpit, lawn, trees, but that isn't possible, so we make the most of what we do have. She goes to a childcare centre with chooks, rabbits, ducks, real grass, sandpits, wooden/rubber/metal play equipment (not plastic), a balinese hut, vegie patch - so that is where she gets most of her outdoor play needs. This is a community child care centre near us.

different things work for different kids/families - i'm just sharing what we have tried/are up to at the moment. it's always changing (as i learn new ideas, and get a bit braver).