Seashell Scrubbing

After our visit to the beach I invited Ava to rinse the shells we found. I am going to use the shells for a counting work so I needed them cleaned. Ava used just a simple nail brush and water. Ava had a tray of water, nail brush, shells and a towel. She took each seashell and gently scrubbed the sand off and out of each seashell. She then placed it on a towel beside her to dry.

Lucy watching big sister while sucking on an orange slice.

This work brought to my mind the seashell scrubbing work I had in my classroom one year. This work allows the development of order, coordination, concentration and independence. Children really love this work because of the water play and of course the bubbles. Not to mention the wow factor from taking something dirty and the pride they feel once it's clean. Table Scrubbing is one work the children do in the classroom, but a child can use these same steps to scrub anything. (rock, pumpkin, dinosaur, chair)

Picture borrowed from Just Montessori