Nursery World - In a lather

Cleaning all kinds of items around the nursery is a popular and beneficial activity for the children - and, says Denise Bailey, it saves the staff a lot of work too Washing may seem a mundane and tedious activity to adults, but to young children it is enormous fun. The children in our setting love washing all sorts of things, and learn so much from the experience that we now make washing a regular activity, both indoors and outdoors.

Washing may seem a mundane and tedious activity to adults, but to young children it is enormous fun. The children in our setting love washing all sorts of things, and learn so much from the experience that we now make washing a regular activity, both indoors and outdoors.

Learning

We find that washing:

* is a very sociable activity

* is equally popular with boys and girls

* is very involving and helps children concentrate for long periods of time

* encourages older children to work co-operatively and share tasks and materials

* develops children's hand-eye co-ordination

* builds up strength in the muscles of children's arms and hands

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