Should I wash dishes?

 

Is there anything more fun than water for children? Frog's loves to play at the sink, to 'wash dishes.' Throughout the years I taught preschool, I searched for ways that children could just play with water. Certainly, it was a frequent find at the sensory table. I always included children in the washing of things at the sink, at clean up - and even in the midst of projects, there would often be a child or two just playing at the sink. But, nothing beats home for this kind of play - the ability to just linger there, playing in the water, making bubbles, filling cups, emptying, back and forth, fill it, empty it, over and over. This is where my children often were when I was doing prepping dinner, and now my granddaughter has this fun pursuit.

There is such learning in this simple joyous play! This last time, at the sink, Frog poured water out, ever so slowly,
slowly slowly slowly
she poured from a measuring cup, with a pour spout, directly into the sink, 
all the while, watching closely, and she narrates:

"this is like a waterfall, it has a pour, that's where the water comes from here"

These words tell me, she is connecting her play to the small waterfalls she sees all the time in our nearby creek, she is trying to figure out how water works, where it comes from, and more. So much to learn from water!

She is tireless at the sink. 

I am reminded of that colleague - they are in every work environment - who volunteers for extra work and never quite follows through, "Let me do that for you! Sure, I could take that on. Why not let me?" Frog says, over and over, "Want me to wash that for you?" (so polite!) and she'll name a new thing to have in the sink - mixing cups, a saucepan, a spoon. It's so funny to me that nothing ever really gets cleaned, there's just a lot of commotion! 

She is at peace with this play. And so am I.