This morning while I was nursing Parker, Avery made a bit of a mess at her art table. She ended up taking the inside ink tube of a marker out and then getting blue ink all over herself and her table. Without even thinking I helped her clean herself up and then I cleaned up her table. As I was cleaning the table, it dawned on me...why not have her clean her table herself? While I don't think she is ready for the all out out table scrubbing work, I did remember another version of table washing we did when I was an aide in a Montessori classroom. It involved shaving cream, a sponge, a towel, and a bowl of water. So, when Parker went down for her morning nap, I scraped my tot school plans and Avery and I got to work!
First, we covered the table with shaving cream and Avery spread it all around (and then played for a while of course). She was a little hesitant at first, which totally surprised me cause she usually loves shaving cream.
But then she got into it!
Once the table was good and covered, it was time to wipe it up with the sponge. She would wipe the length of the table with the sponge and then rinse it out in the bowl of water. Then she would wring it out before wiping the table again.
When all (or almost all) of the shaving cream was gone, it was time to wipe the table dry with the towel.
And then we had a nice clean table!
Avery is 31 months old
Aww! It's nice that you taught her to clean up :)
ReplyDeleteThis is great! My son loves cleaning up and wiping down tables, but I never thought of intentionally making a "mess." I love the shaving cream idea ;)
ReplyDeleteMy daughter is the same way! She loves cleaning up and she loves shaving cream so it's perfect for her! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteLove this!
ReplyDeleteI love the shaving cream idea for toddlers! Awesome sensory experience and great way to introduce table washing! Thanks so much for linking up with Montessori Monday. I featured your post at the Living Montessori Now Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/LivingMontessoriNow
ReplyDeleteThanks, Deb! She had such a great time doing it! Also, thanks for featuring it on your Facebook page, I got a ton of hits from it!
DeleteHi, I saw this activity on Montessori Monday and was inspired to try it with my son! He loved it and it was a great way for him to practice his table washing skills. I wanted to share our experience with you at http://monkeytoesmontessori.com/?p=493 and also let you know that I linked back to your original post as our activity inspiration!
ReplyDeleteYour blog is really nice and interesting, You have maintain it so beautifully that I truly like & enjoy it.
ReplyDelete