We’re in the Bathroom!
Each month offers activities families can do together in a variety of settings. The activities within the Learning is Everywhere Calendar and on the website are aligned with the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards (ELS).
These guidelines can be used to determine what infants, toddlers, pre-kindergarten, and kindergarten children may know or be able to do within specific age ranges.
Print the book list! 9 Bath Time Books.
- Tub Toys by Terry Miller Shannon
- Do Pirates Take Baths? by Kathy Tucker
- Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel
- Puppy Takes a Bath by Christine Ricci
- King Bidgood’s in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood
- Estelle Takes a Bath by Jill Esbaum
- Barnyard Bath! by Sandra Boynton
- Five Little Monkeys Jump in the Bath by Eileen Christelow
- Five Minutes’ Peace by Jill Murphy
Safety First! Children should be supervised at all times in the bath. Never leave your child alone in a bathtub! Even children who can sit or stand by themselves may find it difficult in a wet and slippery bathtub.
Use a song to describe different body parts as you wash your baby. For example, sing that you are washing ten toes, first big toes, all the way to little toes. Then move onto the left foot, and the left leg, and so on. Or create a routine to sing head, shoulders, knees and toes. Social & Emotional Development
Use two or three inches of water in the tub for older babies who can safely sit. Provide floating toys and encourage them to reach for them as they float in the water. Gently show them how to splash in the water with hands and feet, and encourage them with words. “Splash, splash, splash in the water!” Health, Wellness & Physical Development
Using hand soap while washing her hands, have your toddler discover how many bubbles they can make. Are there a lot of bubbles, or a little bit of bubbles? Are they big bubbles or little bubbles? What happens if they rub together their hands fast? What happens if they put their hands under the water? Where do the bubbles go? Scientific Thinking
Use your finger to write letters on a steamy mirror and have your preschooler tell you what letters you have written. Then, help name something that begins with that letter. How many things can you each name? Language & Literacy
Use the bathroom mirror to play Make My Face! Either you or your preschooler can begin by making a face, and then the other imitates it. Help your preschooler by providing a name for the face. “This is my happy face. This is my angry face. This is my surprised face.” Who can make the best face? Who can make the silliest face? Social & Emotional Development
Take inventory of bathroom items (shampoo, toothpaste, etc.) and help your kindergartner name the letter that begins each item. What else can they find in the bathroom that begins with the same letter? Language & Literacy
Use a plastic container (one that can float) as a boat and have your kindergartner slowly add other items, like toy cars, Legos, or other water-friendly toys, until the boat begins to sink. How many can they add until it begins to sink? What happens to the boat if they take items out of it? (Scientific Thinking) Ask them to tell you a story about where the boat is going, or why the objects are on the boat. Creative Thinking and Expression
Additional Resources
Check out these additional resources: