Animal Bath

Monkey has had a bin of farm and safari animals in his room for about a year. He's recently been pulling it out often to play with the animals after basically not touching it at all, so I thought it would be good to do some activities with those animals while he's really interested in them. 

I got the idea here: http://whereimaginationgrows.com/toddler-animal-washing-sensory-play/

Supplies: water, bucket, toy animals, dish soap, spray bottle, brushes, cloth, sponge 

We did a car wash in the spring and it was a big hit. I'm sure I've said it before but you can't go wrong with water play. And it doesn't hurt that the toys get a little cleaner, either. 

Monkey helped squeeze the dish soap into the bucket before I filled it with water. 

Maybe a bit more than I would have used but I'm working on giving him (some) control and independence. 

Now everything was ready to go. 

I always love watching Monkey in those first few seconds when he's diving into an activity. Today he was so particular about getting started. I thought he would pick each animal up one at a time and wash it, but instead he took each animal and found a spot for them in the water first. Even when I think I know what he'll do, he goes about it another way. I love it! 

Once all the animals were in their bathtub, he started washing them. 

Each animal got a scrub from the sponge, cloth, or brush, and then he washed the soap away with the spray bottle. 

He liked using the brushes and the sponge, but the spray bottle was definitely his favourite. 

I wonder what toys I can convince him to clean for me next? ;)

Mar