It's NOT just a Pot!

We've started giving Q her bath in our bathroom so we can multitask and put away laundry or clean up our bedroom while she bathes. This means stepping onto a mob of bath toys every time we want a grown-up shower, though.

We've tried the bags that hang on the tile with suction cups....they stick about 2 weeks, even when we clean the suction cups frequently. I think it's the bumpy texture of our tile. We've used a big colander to corral the toys, but I don't like it sitting out beside the tub when we shower to leave a puddle on the floor and it was too wide to sit on the tub ledge/corner.

I am also a little protective of the little "me space" I have, and don't want my shower decorated with a giant frog toy holder or the likes....fine in her bathroom, but not for ours.

So....today I finally HAD IT with the toys littering the bottom of the tub. Time for some googling for creative bath toy storage. And, as Google never fails me, I found the perfect solution for me!

Lindsay, smart online poster, suggested a plastic flowerpot (YES!! I already have one!!) with holes drilled in the bottom (easy peasy). Decorative enough to meet my requirements, perfectly functional to hold and drain toys, and best of all, it fits on the corner ledge just so! Lindsay added a stand to hers, but for me just the pot was enough (and metal puts rust stains on my tub).....

AND....because the pot I happened to already have wasn't super huge, I had to practice one of my mantras and limit the number of bath toys to fit in the pot. What? Limit bath toys, too? Yup, just like any other play area, there can totally be too much of a good thing, and I was noticing this happening lately. Q spent the whole bath time just knocking all her toys into the water or fishing them out of the bubbles to see what was there. She had stopped the imaginary play we'd been seeing via her "tea shop" or "ice cream making" or other imaginary games of the like. So I scaled back the toys and put the excess away in the linen closet to rotate through in good time.

Just in case bath toys are taking over your world, thought I'd share today! (that's mine, pictured. Hers is prettier!)

Washing Baby

Doll washing is a classic toddler/preschool montessori activity that is a big hit with little ones. Q was gifted with a hand-crocheted washcloth (it is actually a potholder for her little kitchen, but she decided it was for washing pink baby...works for us!) and she wanted to give Pink Baby a bath with it. I put about an inch of water in the bowl of her sink (or any bowl would work). We get a towel for drying ready and then a washcloth. I love this crocheted cloth because it doesn't soak up too much water. Regular washcloths get too soppy for my little one, who doesn't know how to squeeze out excess water yet. She LOVES this activity.

For older infants, give them a moist washcloth or a wipe and let them wash their baby.

For preschoolers you can add more elements. Provide a very tiny bottle of soap. Teach them to pour out one drop into the bowl of water, mix to create bubbles, and then wash and dry baby. They can be in charge of filling and emptying the bowl themselves, if taught the steps. I often drew a line on the bowl for my preschoolers so they knew how much water they could put. They always got to pick if it was hot or cold. Big decision. :)

This activity teaches direction following, practical life skills and enhances sensory exploration as they play in the water.

Trucks, toy dishes, and plastic animals also like baths! And the best part--it's just water. Even if a mess is made, a quick sponging takes care of it!

Brrrr! at Bathtime

Spotting all of Quinn's little plastic creepy-crawlies around the house reminded me of this great activity. I used it to bribe the two little boys I nannied for in college to take a bath at least once a week back in the day....so I figured it was time to introduce it to Quinn.

You can use either a dab of paint or food coloring to make the ice colored. I just add the color (paint) and try not to mix it around too much when I top it off with water so the ice has a splotchy coloring.

It melts in about 2 minutes, releasing the bugs or toy cars or whatever you hide inside.

Great opportunity to talk about the change from a solid to a liquid, to introduce vocabulary such as "melting" and "frozen." It's also a wonderful science lesson just to let the kids enjoy for the fun that it is!

For the record, Quinn was not at all interested in the ice when I put it in the bath. She instead wanted to wash her Papa's duck decoy she keeps in the bath. She's a stinker, this girl of mine. :) Of course we'll repeat soon and see if it peaks her interest.

Daddy time

Daddy does Q's evening routine--bath, books, and bedtime. I have to brag on him a little bit.

He is so good about encouraging Q to be independent and he practices this with her while they get ready for bathtime. While she's in the bath he is great about giving her all his attention. They "chat," he practices different skills she is learning such as counting or letters or kicking her feet in the water or blowing bubbles. She learns so much from Daddy during bathtime. After bath, he lays on her bed with her to cuddle and reads her 3-4 books. I always tell him he could be in a how-to video of how to read to your baby because he stops and provides opportunities for her to interact as he reads and always makes books interesting to her. After books he sits with her for just a minute or two to get her settled, and then leaves her to fall into dreamland.

I love that he makes the most out of the time he has with our little one every night, even though it's not that much time. I know this is a struggle all working parents face, and I am proud that he has found his groove and made time with her a priority. He's used the routine activities that must be done every night to teach her, love on her, and show her she's important to him.

Way to go, Daddy!

NEVER THROW AWAY AN EMPTY SOAP DISPENSER!!

...as they can be repurposed as teaching tools! Two ways I use them:
-in the bath. I fill them up with water and have been teaching Q how to pump the water out of them. We also shake them up and bubbles form on the inside from the tiny remnants of soap still clinging to the bottom.
-as a tablework* activity--fill dispenser with water, put a washcloth inside a cake pan (spread out flat to keep soap dispenser from sliding around as child pushes on it), show child how to hold dispenser with one hand and push down on top with the other. As they get the hang of it, supply a small bowl and see if they can direct the water into the bowl (all of this stays in cake pan to keep from getting water all over the place....)
-could also be used outside!

This activity helps children learn how to integrate the use of both hands, encourages motor skills and introduces early science as they begin experiencing properties of liquids.

In the above photo I drew a face on an old bathroom soap dispenser. Makes it more fun. :)

*(tablework is any activity that is kept on a shelf and taken to a table to be completed....)