As part of our Tools unit, I thought it would be neat to experience sawdust, from start to finish. One morning before leaving for work, Daddy started up the table saw and produced a little saw dust for us to play with. Caden thought the saw or “machine” as he calls it was “loud” and wasn’t interested in watching or hearing the action for too long. But he hasn’t stopped talking about the “loud machine” since that morning. Now every morning he goes downstairs to check on the “machines”.
The first activity we did with the sawdust, was practice Caden’s sweeping skills. He enjoyed sweeping the dust around and making a big mess with it. But he was also receptive to learning how to properly sweep the dust into the dust pan. He did a pretty good job sweeping if I held the dust pan. A lot better than the first time I set up a sweeping activity!
The second activity I set up with the sawdust was a simple sensory bin with construction vehicles. (Note: Sawdust is not edible and I wouldn’t recommend this sensory material for toddlers who still like to explore with their mouth. Please use your better judgement when playing with non-edible materials.)
I was so excited for Caden to wake up from his nap and discover this fun sensory activity! I thought for sure that he would love it! And at first he seemed excited to play!
But then he became disgusted that his trucks were dirty and removed them right away.
Then he went to fetch the vacuum.
Help! I feel like I’m being punished with a clean child, because I was such a messy one! LOL! But I won’t give up, I will keep encouraging him to embrace the mess! Do you have a child that prefers to stay clean? Do you encourage messy play? What do you do to help your child overcome their clean tendencies?
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My son never wanted to be dirty — our first time with shaving cream, he kept screaming that his hands were dirty — then after the third time, he started loving it and getting real messy — it’ll come ๐