Kidtivities - Washing the baby

I mentioned earlier here that I am enrolled in an online Montessori training class. Montessori lessons are broken up into different categories or areas of study. One of these areas is called Practical Life. Practical Life is just that really - activities to teach children how to care for themselves by doing normal everyday life things that help instill confidence and well-being in a child.

I came up with this activity which we call "Washing the Baby" after seeing several other blogging Montessori moms sharing similar lessons.

First off, we gathered up a plastic washable doll, baby wash, lotion, baby powder, bath tub (which in this case is the small dish pan that we use for our sensory tub), wash cloth, towels, and some bath toys for the "baby".

I placed everything on a tray and showed Bean what do do with each item and how to wash the baby. Bean had a great time with this activity and asks to do it again and again. We have the cleanest baby doll in the neighborhood.

After Bean finished washing the baby, we moved the tub off to the side and she dried the doll off.  She loved applying the lotion and powder.  This doll is clean and smells so good!

We have to work on the proper handling of a baby but that's another lesson.

This activity is designed to teach children how to properly wash their bodies.  By learning how to wash the baby, they see how to care for themselves.

After the lotioning and the powdering, Bean diapered and dressed the baby, too.  Then she promptly put the doll head first into a bookbag and started carrying her around.  Like I said, proper baby handling techniques will be taught later.  One step at a time.