Gracen loves “helping” wash dishes so much, I decided to turn it into a little afternoon activity today.  While having a toddler standing on a chair beside you splashing in a sink of bubbles as you power through a load as fast as humanly possible isn’t always super convenient, this activity was easy and fun for everyone involved.

We got started by collecting some supplies we had around the house – a bin filled with warm soapy water, a dish drying rack, some plastic dishes, cups, and spoons, a nearly empty dish soap container topped up with water, some scrubber pads, steel wool, a dish brush, and a dish towel.  In no time at all, we had an inviting little dishwashing station ready to go!

I asked Grae if she wanted to play, and she got going without hesitation. All dishes in the sink!

Without a doubt, squeezing the soap into the bin was her favourite part.

She scrubbed and washed each dish one at a time…

And when they met her expectations, they were added to the drying rack.

Though she was down to business for part of the activity, things got silly and wet too!

This station was a total hit and I can definitely see it becoming a regular in our play rotation. After all, what’s not to love about bubbles, water, splashing, scrubbing, and getting soaking wet on a warm day?