Toy Cleaning Sensory Bin & Sorting Laundry

Good Morning families,

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.
Below are a few "practical life skills" activities that you can do with your children at home. Staying at home with family is a great opportunity for the children to learn how to help grownups with daily household tasks. Not only can they help grownups, but these life skills also develop the children's fine/gross motor, cognitive, and even social emotional skills!

Little Matisse Class (2 years old)

[Toy Cleaning Sensory Bin]

1. Fill a large bin with water and soap.
2. Ask the child to collect some of their favorite toys that they would like to clean.
3. Place toys in the bin with soap and water. 
4. Provide a toothbrush and sponge for them to scrub and clean the toys.
5. When they are done cleaning, help rinse the toys under running water.
6. Then, provide a dry towel for the child to dry the toys.

As you would imagine, the children will have a lot of fun playing with the water and soap in the process. Please take your time and allow them to play with the soap and water for as long they want! This is a great way to complete a practical task, like cleaning, while also enjoying a sensory activity. ​

Little Picasso Class (3 years old)

[Sorting Laundry]

1. Before putting clothes in the laundry, ask the child to help sort the clothes by color and/or category (socks, underwear, towels, etc.)
2. After the laundry is done, ask the child to sort and match socks.

[Folding Laundry]

1. Have all towels or handkerchiefs (anything symmetrical) in one pile.
2. Demonstrate how to fold them, in a simple and symmetrical manner. 
3. Ask child to fold the towels.

We have been noticing in clean-up times that the children are very interested in wanting to fold up all the fabrics to put away in the shelves. I think they'll have a lot of fun while also learning concepts like sorting, matching, and even symmetry!

Hope these activities will be helpful in teaching and engaging with the children in fun ways at home! I look forward to hearing/seeing how the children have been doing so far. 

Thank you,
Ms. Esther ​