'I can take care of myself with help'....that is WHAT I CAN DO!

I do believe G enjoyed last week because she was able to be more involved in the caring of herself.

I thought about it and decided that although she will be doing some pretend play around this theme, the lessons will be more received and appreciated if I allowed her more freedom to carry out these tasks in reality.

To shed some light; I've been teaching her to brush her teeth as long as I can remember. I will give her the toothbrush to brush her own teeth but it is after I am sure that they were brushed properly, however I'm the one who usually squeezed the toothpaste on her toothbrush, turn the faucet, wet the brush, etc. Sooo can you imagine when I said 'you squeeze the toothpaste on'...her face lit up and she welcomed the responsibility. She took her time and sometimes she will say 'ohh ohhh' when too much paste was squeezed but I told her it was ok, took off the excess and we brushed. I enjoyed watching her as much as she enjoyed doing it on her own.

I applied this not only to her brushing her teeth but to everything else she can learn to do with my help....

So here's what she did last week, with my help:

1. Prepared her meals:

I let her helped with her breakfast

I let her practiced cutting with a buttered knife on her snacks 

2. Eating healthy: We went to the supermarket where she got the opportunity to choose her own fruits and veggies.

3. Brushed her teeth & cleaned her face:  Like I said before, she was more in controlled of this but I guided her to make sure it was done properly. We also watched Sesame Street videos about 'brushing your teeth' here. 

We also worked on our teeth brushing technique and grip, and some brushing art.

White styrofoam egg carton (cut in half) represented her teeth and she was given toothpaste and an old brush to clean it. We discussed what was involve in getting her teeth cleaned as she brushed. When she rinsed and it wasn't completely white, she shouted 'more paste!'.

She painted away that yellow tooth with a toothbrush.

4. Washed and comb her hair: On the day I was going to washed her hair, I let her washed her doll's hair as a part of her pretend play. We then went and washed her hair; she helped with the washing. Like in everything we do, we discussed what is involve in washing her hair.

5. Made her bed: She insisted on helping to make her bed, so I did the three corners and she did the fourth.

6. Cleaned her hands: I set up a table so she could be relaxed and have complete control over washing her hands (without a step stool and moving forward to reach the tap), and we went through the steps at her pace.

7. Breathing & Exercise: Every evening we do breathing exercises and stretches.

8. Bathe herself: After I soap her up I will hand her the rag so she can do it herself. This was a bit comical but she asked for help when needed, like to reach her back. She turned on the faucet and on some days I would let try washing out her rag (of course I have to do it after but she's learning).

9. Getting dressed: It will take some time before she will learn how to dress herself and so we worked on her fine motor skills by snapping, buttoning & unbuttoning, zipping & unzipping, hooking, clasping, etc.

Throughout her learning experience and growth I will continue to guide her; giving her just a little bit more responsibility than before.