Sure wish I had DIP instead!
It's OK, but a lot of work for you 
If you solder too long on a chip you can also overheat it, so solder quickly. Perhaps consider SMT adapters from Schmartboard?
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The Gadget Shield: accelerometer, RGB LED, IR transmit/receive, speaker, microphone, light sensor, potentiometer, pushbuttons
Well... You color code the wires, loop the wire <-- A good thing
SMT solder : Heat = may damage the chip. I notice those chips are HC4051 ? CMOS ? right ? ---> need anti-static precaution... may damage the chip cause of the static...
Can you get sockets ? Can you get DIP vesion ? Insert a IC in a DIP socket is safer than solder the chip directely.