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Spray Bottle Splashdown!
Posted Feb 10, 2015 by Jacquie Robison
MATERIALS
~ Foam numbers, shapes or letters 
~ Spray bottle 
~ Window or sliding doors

One afternoon, when Sofia was a little over four years old, she and I were hanging out upstairs. We have a small deck and both of us love the fresh air and the ‘outside time’ it allows. So, there we were,  and I was encouraging her to draw me some pictures on her art easel. The real goal was to have her work on activating her legs (‘turn your legs on first’) to help her understand that if she built a solid base with her legs by pushing down on them, she could then use both her right and left hands for an activity (instead of steadying herself with her left hand, as she often did). Well, as is the reality with little ones, this held her focus for about 11.3 minutes before her attention wandered to the windows. The sun was shining and she started to protest, ‘Oh, but I just want to look at the beautiful trees and birds.”

Really?? Where do they get this stuff? And, how do you counter that: “NO. Keep staring at a cold, dry easel. Forget Mother Nature.”

I remembered that I had just picked up some foam numbers. My inspiration had been that her pre-school was spending time on numbers and I thought we could use them in the tub at evening bath time to reinforce what she was learning in class. Instead, I ran downstairs and grabbed the numbers as well as a water spray bottle we had under the sink (both items were purchased for no more than $2).

Racing back up the stairs, I announced, “Great thinking, Sofia. Let’s count the birds we see outside the sliding glass doors.” She loved that this was her idea and started to step slowly over to the deck doors. For the next hour, she squirted the spray bottle on the window and peered out to count birds…bending down to choose the correct number and placing it on the lightly wet window…then went on to count the leaves…and tree branches…and clouds in the sky. Thanks for the assist, Mother Nature.
This entry was posted in Adventures and tagged #ShineBright #GrossMotorSkills #FineMotorSkills