Scrub-A-Dub-A-Dub
(Copyright © 1996)
Barbara F. Backer
This article originally appeared in "First Teacher" magazine.
Oh, the fun of it! Oh, the delight - to get thoroughly, messily,
dirty. To sift dirt and sand through your fingers; to scoosh your toes in
the mud. Oh, the pleasure of pushing paint with your fingers, pressing and
pounding playdough, glopping gooey glue on a self-made gift. And then the
reality sets in. Now you must clean up!
This can be a pleasure or a chore. It all depends on attitude. We can
help children develop positive attitudes by making clean-up fun. If we
approach clean-up the same way we approach other basic concepts -
presenting the learning through dramatic play, stories and songs, it
becomes another kind of dramatic play.
Gather "shaker" containers with holes punched in the top. Put baking
soda in these, and children will have a safe "cleansing powder" for
scouring tables and other grimey surfaces.
Mix two teaspoons of vinegar in one cup of water to make a safe
liquid cleansing solution. Offer this in spray bottles so children can
clean windows and other surfaces. Caution them to spray only the classroom
fixtures, not each other.
Children love to dust. Give each a soft cloth or an old sock to wear
over their dusting hand, and assign two or three children to each learning
area.
Add washcloths and small bars of soap to the water table so children
can bathe their babies. Put watered-down dish detergent (1 tablespoon
detergent to 1 cup of water) in detergent bottles so children can wash
dishes, pots and pans in the dramatic play area.
Once the room is clean, focus on getting the children clean.
Pantomime bathing while you sing this song:
Tune: This Old Man
Scrub-a-dub, scrub-a-dub,
Washing in my big bath tub
Scrub my fingers, hands and arms
Scrubbing in my big bath tub.
Scrub-a-dub, scrub-a-dub,
Washing in my big bath tub
Scrub my toes and feet and legs
Scrubbing in my big bath tub.
Scrub-a-dub, scrub-a-dub,
Washing in my big bath tub
Scrub my hair and ears and face
Scrubbing in my big bath tub.
Scrub-a-dub, scrub-a-dub,
Washing in my big bath tub
Scrub my back and belly, too
Scrubbing in my big bath tub.
Have the children suggest words for other verses.
For more fun, read some of these splash-filled books about bathing:
- Clean Enough by Kevin Henkes; Greenwillow 1982. A child tells how he
plays in the tub with soap and shaving cream. When it's time to end his
bath, he realizes he hasn't even bathed yet, but climbs out anyway,
deciding that he must be "clean enough".
-
Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion; illustrations by Margaret Bloy
Graham; Harper & Row 1956. When he hears it is bath time, Harry the dog
runs away from home. After a day of adventure he is lonely for his family
and returns home where he begs for a bath.
-
King Bidgood's in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood; illustrations by Don
Wood; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 1985. Despite pleading by the knight, the
queen, the duke, and others, King Bidgood won't get out of the bathtub. The
young page saves the day with a funny flourish.
-
Bernard's Bath by Joan Elizabeth Goodman; illustrations by Dominic
Catalano; Boyds Mills Press 1996. There's a tub full of fun when Papa, Mama
and Grandma all get in the tub to persuade Bernard, the elephant, to take a
bath.
Whether it's a messy room, messy hands, or a messy child, the fun
doesn't have to stop when clean-up begins. When children are in charge,
cleaning becomes child's play.
Read A Learning Center That's Big As All Outdoors or go
back to the article list.