Glass/mirror polishing

This morning's lesson just sort of fell into place as though Delores and I were in sync. Which never happens. Delores has a will and passion as strong as my own so we clash more than we get along. So, maybe it wasn't that we were in sync so much as it was that the subtle selection and placement of the material made us both think we were in sync. 

Last night I sat out a tray for mirror/glass polishing. The tray consisted of glass top stove polish found in the cleaning aisle of the grocery store (if you chose to get this see if you can find a small bottle. This will probably dry up before it gets used up).

The other materials in the tray were a couple of q-tips, a few cotton balls, a rag, a small dish, a small glass bowl and Delores' play makeup mirror. 

Not too long after breakfast she announced she was going to put on makeup. He he he. She then proceeded to put on makeup, but wait, where was her mirror? And the introduction for today's lesson began. 

The child puts two or three drops of the polish into the small glass bowl and then uses a Q-tip to dip into the polish and apply the polish in small circular motions from left to right, top to bottom (indirect preparation for reading) until the entire mirror is covered with the polish and they can't see themselves. They then have to wait until the polish dries which takes about 30 seconds to a minute depending on how thick they have put it on. The girls and I sang a couple of songs while we were waiting. 

After it is dry they use a cotton ball to rub off the polish. Wa lah! A nice clean mirror they can see themselves in and what child doesn't love to look at themselves in the mirror. 

Of course after they do that they have to throw all the used Q-tips and cotton balls away and replenish with new ones. Clean and dry the container holding the polish and replenish the rag used for drying. Put everything in the tray and put the tray back where they got it from. Leaving the material exactly like they found it so it is ready for the next person to use. The clean up in always more exstendive than the lesson and if you are starting out with a two year old it is best to start them out with clean up adding one step at a time until you feel they can handle doing it with just a small amount of reminders before you start giving lessons. 

But anyway, back on topic. So that seems like a neat way to keep some kids busy for a while, but what exactly is it teaching them? Well, several things. It is a practical life activity which means it gives the child a sense of purpose by having responsibilities and skills to help take care of his/her self, his environment and the world around him. This particular work is a care of the environment work and develops focus, concentration, encouragement to follow through with a task to the end, self control, fine motor refinement, respect for fragile objects and respect for those things in his environment. 

So here are some shots of the girls doing just that. 

Polishing the mirror

"I can't see myself!"

Wiping off the mirror

"There I am!" (Different mirror the second time around)

Lydia's turn:

There is always something I find that I want to change after doing a lesson for the first time. The polish bottle was a little heavy and difficult for them to open so I'm thinking I will find a dropper bottle to put a little polish in. Also, Delores broke the little glass bowl in her attempt to clean it so I'm considering a small metal bowl next time. Other than that the lesson was a hit and I'm guessing it will be on the shelf to be used over and over again for a while.