Some parents do not like messy play in the home.  That is ok if this is how you feel!   Why? not try water activities and messy play in the bathtub!?  Adding a special activity to bath time can also get you through bath time hurdles when your child has suddenly decided they don't want to bathe anymore, or they decide to fight you to take a bath in the first place!

Here are some ideas to make bath time fun while promoting Montessori practical life learning at the same time!  These are bath activities that are also great for sensory exploration AND they keep the mess contained!

Pouring Activities

Pouring is a core Montessori activity for young children but it can get a little messy when your child is first practicing. If you want to avoid the clean up, you can do this activity in the bath or outside. 

Just bring 2 stainless steel or plastic jugs in the bath so you don't have to worry about broken glass.

Other toys & tools that would also teach water transfer and develop fine motor skills are watering cans, eyedroppers, funnels, or regular cups from your kitchen cabinets. 

Making Bubbles

Add your bubble bath AFTER the tub is filled and the tap is off. Then use a whisk or your hands to make suds. This is a fun gross motor activity to help children understand cause and effect - I move and the bubbles form.  We have an activity like this that we do in the classroom too!  Of course it can get a bit messy, but we don't mind!  We call it "whisking."

Bathing the Baby

Bring dirty toys, a brush or sponge, and soap into the tub to get them clean.  Most children enjoy the satisfaction of cleaning their toys and seeing the before and after.  Some children love the role play of washing their own baby doll and pretending to give the doll a bath!  You can even introduce a wash cloth and show your child how to wash the doll like you are washing your child!  In this activity you are teaching what we call, "self-care" and you can teach body parts while you are at it! 

This one will likely require you to fill the tub twice since the water will be all dirty after you wash the toys. 

If you don't want to fill the tub twice, you can wash the toys in a small basin in the tub to contain the mess and then do bath time after. 

Painting The Tub

They carry washable tub paint and crayons made for the bath tub at the toys store.  You can use those or just use some washable paint and let your child paint the inside of the tub, either with paintbrushes or their fingers.  The child can practice their name, name recognition, draw, doodle - the possibilities are endless!

It's such a fun sensory activity and you can practice clean up of the tub once you're all done.

Sink or Float?

Do a science experiment to test out different objects or toys to see which will they sink and which will float. 

This is so easy and you can do it with virtually anything.  This is one of my absolute favorite topics to teach.

I do this all the time with my children. It's fun to do in the sink, bath tub, or a kiddie pool during outside playtime. 

Sponge Play

Strengthen the hand by squeezing a big sponge, filling it with water, and then wringing it out again.  You can add bubbles and they will get foamier as your child squeezes, teaching cause and effect.

You can also wash the walls with your foamy sponge, a great activity to do after painting the walls - yet another practical life activity at the tip of your fingers!

Spray Bottle

What child doesn't love to use water pistols or spray bottles?  Either outside to spray flowers / water flowers in the garden, or to use in the bath tub, children love to use spray bottles.  The child has to exercise their gross motor by squeezing the handle to expel the water which is great in itself.  They can spray themselves, an item / toy floating in the water, whatever they desire!   You can also colour the water in the spray bottle with some of colourful bath tablets for extra fun!

Foam Toy Fun

If you have foam toys (shapes, letters, puzzles), they’ll stick to the walls when wet.

These are great because they don't take up a lot of space in your bathtub and they can be put away for a bit when your child gets bored of them.  Of course, it provides a variety of learning opportunity! 

The best thing about any of these activities is that the child thoroughly enjoys these activities and is learning at the same time. 

Dina