Montessori Sunday: Table Scrubbing

So I know I've done this activity before, but it's a good one! Plus this time I have two stories to go with it!

Table scrubbing is in the area of practical life, meaning is is usually introduced to younger children. However, because it's  a longer process and is usually pretty messy, it's necessary to make sure the child has mastered some other presentations first. Especially the act of pouring water!

Possible set up for table washing

With table scrubbing the guide helps the child put on an aprong and find a table that needs to be cleaned. The child will bring a small chowki next to the table to put the materials on, and move the chair to the side. The bucket with materials is brought over and the child is given the name of each object. In this case there is a basin for water, a scrub brush, a bar of soap, a sponge, and cloth for drying. There may also be a bucket to empty the basin in to, but in our classroom the basin has handles so we use just that.

The guide has the child fill the pitcher with water and empty it in to the basin, until there is enough water to wet the brush. The child is shown how to apply a small amount of soap to the brush and then the washing begins. The guide demonstrates how to move the brush in circular motions, starting at the top left of the table (the same place you start writing on a piece of paper!). After the whole table has been scrubbed, the sponge is wet and the guide draws in a slow strokes across the table, showing the child the collected soap. The sponge is rinsed as needed, and the teacher draws the childs' attention to the process of squeezing out the sponge. (I feel  like quite a few of our children have missed this part!). After all the soap is wiped up the table is dried with a small cloth, again using circular motions.

Now the materials for table scrubbing make is pretty obvious what the activity is for, that's actually part of being a practical life material: the purpose is clear to the child. In fact it's so clear that S decided she wanted to take it out, even though she hasn't had a formal presentation she figured she knew enough about it. She put on her apron, got a chowki and took the bucket out. She brought the pitcher to the sink and filled it up.

Then she dumped it into the basin....with everything else still in there. Ooops! While the purpose may be obvious, the proper presentation is still important. Eventually I saw that she had way too much water on the table and noticed everything floating in the basin when I went to help her out. I asked if she needed help and S (who is normally very shy and does not like to talk at all) nodded vigorously. Together we dried all the water up and went back to the beginning of the activity to begin a proper presentation.

A vigorously scrubbing a table, note the blurred hand motion!

Table scrubbing is an activity that involves the child's whole body. They stand while doing it, and the act of scrubbing across the table engages a lot of muscles. As a result it's a very calming process, and if the child is focused on the activity they may end up scrubbing the same table over and over again!

Fortunately table scrubbing is also a potentially messy process. Yes, I said 'fortunately', not 'unfortunately'. After all it's just soap and water. Spills can be wiped up, clothing can be changed, and the child can learn to be more conscious of their movements and the consequences of those same movements.

Take A for example. She is a child who is always in a rush. She's the one we are constantly reminding to walk. She always wants to know what everyone else is up to, and constantly leaves her own work out to investigate. Table scrubbing is perfect for her. She gets so involved in using her whole body to move that brush around that she isn't distracted by anything going on around her. Well...usually. She also is in such a rush that she forgets to squeeze out the sponge. In fact she forgot this part so much the last time she scrubbed a tablet that she went through our entire supply of drying cloths moping it up. On the other hand, she was very focused on what she was doing, and new exactly what she needed to do to clean it up. Improvements from the start of the year.