Wash the Plastic Plates
What you need
- a bowl of warm soapy water in the sink
- plastic plates, cups and spoons that need washing
- a sponge
- a tea towel
- a low step for the sink
How to do it
- Stand your child on the step beside you at the sink, sleeves pushed up.
- Let them wash each plastic thing with the sponge, front and back, then dip it in the clean water to rinse.
- Stand each one on the draining rack, counting how many are clean so far.
- Dry them together with the tea towel and sort them into piles: plates, cups, spoons.
Why it matters
Warm bubbles, a sponge and a pile of plates that really need doing: this is the job they see you do every day, at their own height for once.
What they're learning
- Scrubbing
- Round and round, front and back.
- Checking it's clean
- Looking for the bits still stuck on.
- Sorting the dry things
- Plates here, cups there.
What to look for
Notice them checking a plate and washing it again if something is still stuck on.
A tip
Plastic things only, with no knives and nothing sharp in the bowl. Stay beside them the whole time the water is out, keep it just warm, and tip it away when you finish.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: cups only, and they wash while you rinse
Harder: sort before washing, so the cups go first, the plates next and the spoons last
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Everyday helper activities · Toddler activities with a bowl · Toddler activities with a spoon · Toddler activities with cups · Toddler water activities · Toddler activities with a towel