Sponge Transfer

Ahhh, things are back to normal in our household, and a bit earlier than expected! This morning I rotated books, toys and works, put a new twist on some others, and completed a new woodworking project. What a glorious feeling! Now to begin the daunting task of writing the fourteen blogs I currently have under my hat, starting here with the Montessori sponge transfer work. It's difficult to know where to begin!

To set-up this activity I used two bowls, one empty and one with a small amount of warm water, and placed them in a shallow pan. I cut a clean sponge in half to ensure it would fit well in his hand. You could cetainly use more water than I did; I didn't want to trigger Ty's dumping instinct!

I then used a silent demonstration to show Tyler how to dip the sponge into the bowl with water to soak it up, and then squeeze the water out into the empty bowl.

Soaking-up the water

Learning to squeeze

Oops! On the floor.

Noticing that holding the sponge closer to the bowl results in better aim.

Got it!

Squeezing water is a practical life activity that prepares a child for other activities such as wringing out a dish cloth and washing a table. It is also a bit of a science and math experiment! Next time I will use a full-sized sponge so he can practice using two hands to wring as well. Adding a bit food color to the water is another fun option!