Tuesday, June 2

Toddler Activity: Using A Strainer and Water

Catching Rubber Ducks With A Strainer

I put this activity together for my youngest daughter. The materials needed are shown on the tray, in addition, we use an apron and two towels (one for under the tray and one for under her chair). The strainer/sieve comes from Montessori Services (sidebar of blog) and I must say if you happen to be looking for a strainer, I highly recommend it, it works well for a variety of activities. An older child could use smaller objects and if you don't have a strainer, you could always use a fish net, or slotted spoon.

After setting up the towels and putting on an apron, I showed my daughter how to carefully and one at a time, place the ducks into the water. (I do keep towels and the apron in an accessible spot for her, so that she can get them by herself when needed.)

I demonstrated scooping up one duck and putting the duck into the bucket with the strainer. Then, I offered my daughter a turn. She really enjoyed it and the activity was just at her skill level.

This picture shows how I typically set up for a water activity. When she is done, we clean-up together by dumping out water, drying materials, returning the activity to her shelf and hanging up the apron.

3 comments:

Cori said...

How did you get her to do this? I tried with my 14-month old and all she wanted to do was scoop the water out with the smaller container and taste everything! Is she still too young for this activity?

Amy said...

I would start with a basic scooping/transferring water activity instead (if you haven't already). A couple months ago my daughter really enjoyed (and still does) a larger container, a scoop and a small bowl (I have a pic on the blog under toddler) She just scooped and poured and loved it. If your daughter is still developing those scooping, pouring skills she may want to concentrate on that and experiment with it more. Observe her during these activities and adjust activities for what you think she needs/wants. So many times, I show my daughter something and she does it differently so I adjust the activity again. Reintroduce it around 18 months, she would probably be interested in it then.

Jess said...

I love this idea!!! I have a similar bucket that we could use for this!!!! Thanks for the idea!