Material Description:
Have a light child sized bucket made of plastic or metal and a child sized heavy duty floor cloth, 28 cm2 with a colour coded tag to match the broom and dustpan and brush set. Display it by suspending it to the left hand side of. Cloths used for other purposes (e.g. dusting, polishing) should be kept elsewhere. A dry cloth is needed to wipe the bucket if it is to be stored in a cupboard.
Presentation:
- The child prepares a swept area and a bucket half filled water and a few drops of cleaning fluid from a bottle with a pipette
- Put the floor cloth into the water and squeeze it out, leaving the floor cloth wet but not dripping
- Place the floor cloth at the far right corner of the cleaned area (later the child can work from the farthest to nearest area of access so that she does not walk on her cleaned floor)
- With the right hand move the floor cloth in comfortably large clockwise circles
- Lift the floor cloth and show the child the dust
- Bring it back to the right, overlapping it with part of the area that has already been cleaned
- Dip the sponge in the water and squeeze
- Continue in the same manner until the entire surface is clean
- Inspect the floor bending down and looking for any marks
- Dip fingers into the bucket and wipe them around the water edge, show the child the scum that has accumulated.
- Show the child how to rinse the bucket, checking that there is no scum around the bucket or on the bottom of it. Wipe the bucket dry with a dry cloth.
- Let the child get a fresh floor cloth and a bucket of clean water and repeat
- Tell the child to wash her hands
Points of Interest:
- Draw the child’s attention to the dust-line
- Be careful to keep the bucket at such a distance that it is unlikely to be knocked over
- Squeeze the sponge well
- Be careful in this area until it is dried, if it is very wet wipe the water away with a dry floor cloth
Purpose:
- Co-ordination of Movement
- Independence
- Concentration
- Social Adaptation
Age at Presentation:
Two and a half years
Footnote:
- If the area to be cleaned is large the same technique can be done using radial movements
- Practice cleaning a chowki with a sponge as a preliminary activity
- To add complexity use a child sized mop with handle to squeeze the water out over the bucket