So my LO loves to clean and I have set up a separate cleaning area for him as shown in the picture below. Well, he doesn’t quite do all the activities exactly as I would want it to be done, but he does a pretty good job. He does get stuck with the water related activities! He will just continue spraying the table and everywhere instead of finishing with wiping it… But we are working on it and I am sure he will get it soon, he is only 2!!
On the top shelf to the left I have a 'Fruit and Vegetable Cleaning Activity' shown below. We will name the fruits and vegetables, put it in the colander and hold the colander above the bowl that has come with the colander. We will then pour water from a pitcher on top of the fruits and vegetables and sort of wash them. Then throw away the water in the bowl and keep the washed fruits and vegetables back on the tray with the colander and bowl.
The next tray is a Folding Tray which simply holds two wash cloths to be folded. One has a straight line and the other has a diagonal line to guide the folding.
To the right of the folding tray is my son's Table Washing Caddy which holds a tiny dustpan and whisk broom, a water spray, a sponge and a washcloth. The sequence to be followed is sweep the table to remove any large pieces of paper or dirt, pick it up with the dust pan, spray water on the table, scrub with the sponge and then wipe with the wash cloth. Throw away the contents on the dustpan and put away everything in the caddy.
The rightmost tray on the top shelf is the Glass Cleaning Tray which holds a water spray, a squeegee or hand wiper and a washcloth. Simple sequence - spray, wipe with squeegee with an up and down motion and wipe with cloth. My son does this activity in school as well and he says 'up and down' in a sing-song sort of way while using the squeegee... He really enjoys this activity.
The bottom shelf has a tray with collection of brushes, which I plan to use for different tray activities over the next few months. But for now, I have just left it there to show him the different types of brushes available for cleaning!!! So there is a toothbrush, a feather duster, a dustpan with whisk broom, a floor brush and a dish brush.
The right tray on the bottom shelf has a 'Dish Washing Activity' which we haven’t attempted yet since I am still unsure about exactly how it should be done. I have put a stainless steel plate and a spoon and a little brush which holds detergent. There is a little button on the top which releases the detergent when pressed.
To the right of the shelves there is a bucket with numerous cleaning tools - brooms, mops and so on... At some point, I would like to put these up on hooks attached to the wall so that it is more organised.
On the side of the bucket there is a little teddy bear shaped dustbin and a cute pail with its own attachment to wring the mop. Mopping using the little mop and the pail is my son's current favorite activity.
We've also bought a handvacuum for him which sits in the kitchen, and he will also often use our brooms and mops which are three times his size!!!
I have also starting sending some activities to his school so that he can do more stuff there as well... I have created a number of printables about which Ill write in my next post. Recently, I send a 'Sunglasses Polishing Activity' shown below. Sequence - spray water, scrub with sponge, wipe with micrfiber cloth.
That's our little set up... Lots of improvements to be done and it would be great if you would post comments explaining your own cleaning or practical life setups and suggesting new ideas as well as ways to improve my current set up...
On the top shelf to the left I have a 'Fruit and Vegetable Cleaning Activity' shown below. We will name the fruits and vegetables, put it in the colander and hold the colander above the bowl that has come with the colander. We will then pour water from a pitcher on top of the fruits and vegetables and sort of wash them. Then throw away the water in the bowl and keep the washed fruits and vegetables back on the tray with the colander and bowl.
The next tray is a Folding Tray which simply holds two wash cloths to be folded. One has a straight line and the other has a diagonal line to guide the folding.
To the right of the folding tray is my son's Table Washing Caddy which holds a tiny dustpan and whisk broom, a water spray, a sponge and a washcloth. The sequence to be followed is sweep the table to remove any large pieces of paper or dirt, pick it up with the dust pan, spray water on the table, scrub with the sponge and then wipe with the wash cloth. Throw away the contents on the dustpan and put away everything in the caddy.
The rightmost tray on the top shelf is the Glass Cleaning Tray which holds a water spray, a squeegee or hand wiper and a washcloth. Simple sequence - spray, wipe with squeegee with an up and down motion and wipe with cloth. My son does this activity in school as well and he says 'up and down' in a sing-song sort of way while using the squeegee... He really enjoys this activity.
The bottom shelf has a tray with collection of brushes, which I plan to use for different tray activities over the next few months. But for now, I have just left it there to show him the different types of brushes available for cleaning!!! So there is a toothbrush, a feather duster, a dustpan with whisk broom, a floor brush and a dish brush.
The right tray on the bottom shelf has a 'Dish Washing Activity' which we haven’t attempted yet since I am still unsure about exactly how it should be done. I have put a stainless steel plate and a spoon and a little brush which holds detergent. There is a little button on the top which releases the detergent when pressed.
To the right of the shelves there is a bucket with numerous cleaning tools - brooms, mops and so on... At some point, I would like to put these up on hooks attached to the wall so that it is more organised.
On the side of the bucket there is a little teddy bear shaped dustbin and a cute pail with its own attachment to wring the mop. Mopping using the little mop and the pail is my son's current favorite activity.
We've also bought a handvacuum for him which sits in the kitchen, and he will also often use our brooms and mops which are three times his size!!!
I have also starting sending some activities to his school so that he can do more stuff there as well... I have created a number of printables about which Ill write in my next post. Recently, I send a 'Sunglasses Polishing Activity' shown below. Sequence - spray water, scrub with sponge, wipe with micrfiber cloth.
That's our little set up... Lots of improvements to be done and it would be great if you would post comments explaining your own cleaning or practical life setups and suggesting new ideas as well as ways to improve my current set up...
