The Beauty of Table Washing
Table washing is probably one of my top 3 favorite works! It is a work that speaks to the very young child in the Toddler environment and the older children in the Primary environment. It truly a special work!
In my training, we watched with wide eyes as our trainer presented this lesson to us. She so thoughtfully picked out the perfect table to demonstrate on and gently moved the chair to the side to indicate the table is no longer available. Then so carefully gathered the materials off the shelf, all the while maintaining her student's attention. Together they walked to the table that had been picked out and placed the bucket next to the chair. She placed the glass dish holding the bar of soap on the seat of the chair so that it did not make a noise. There was a pause, and an acknowledging smile offered to the student. Next, she carefully placed the scrub brush, sponge, cloth, and pitcher in their respective homes in the same gentle manner. Again pausing to acknowledge her student, she picked up the pitcher and walked with graceful steps. They walked to the sink. This is where things became even more exciting because this is where the water is introduced.
From here, our trainer, Ginni, demonstrated for the student, not us, how to carefully and precisely fill the pitcher with just enough water to fill the bucket. She continued the lesson with the same sense of appreciation and honor. She began with wetting the table with the sponge, just enough and not too much. Next, scrub across the soap, then scrubbed the scrub brush in the water across the bar of soap. The scrub brush is determined by the top left corner of the table, and tiny little clockwise circle strokes begin. SUDS, beautiful, satisfying suds begin to form. Again, that acknowledging look to the student.
This continues from tiny circles to BIG broad, clockwise circles, left to right. Once fully satisfied, it is time to clean the suds. With the same kind of special respect, the suds are cleaned off with a damp sponge, the final step, drying the table.
Stepping back to admire the work, its process, not so much the end product, the lesson is ALMOST complete. It is now to clean the materials and place them back on the shelf with the same care and grace used to retrieve them in the beginning. It is modeled that everything is returned as close to its original condition as possible so that the next child to choose this work has the same beautiful experience.
And now, the child is free to choose this work whenever they would like. They now have the freedom to replicate this lesson as often and for as long as they would like.
I share this to show just how special our works are, just how much bonding occurs between student and guide during the lesson, and just how much work goes into every lesson, even the ones we view as simple. There is much work happening in these classrooms!
