Showers

It's amazing what a simple activity can teach a young one.  I mentioned recently that Samantha has taken to showering with us instead of taking baths.  She loves it!  Now that she's been doing it for a few weeks, she has learned:

• How to open and close a twist-off bottle cap.  She was able to open these sporadically before, but since Adam filled up a tiny hotel shampoo bottle with her Johnson's Baby Shampoo, Sam's skills have improved to the point where she can do it every time.


• How to pour just the right amount of shampoo into her hand.


• How to set that tiny bottle carefully on the shelf so that it does not tip over.


• How not to slip and fall in the shower (although we really need to put those adhesive sticky things down).


• How to soap up and wash every part of her body.  She was pretty good at this before, but now she is really thorough.  I haven't washed any part of her in weeks.  Those tiny bars of hotel soap are great for kids!


• How to keep soap out of her eyes. Well, she's still learning this one, but she's getting there.


• How to shampoo her whole head of hair.


• How to stick her whole head under the shower to rinse her face and hair.  This was a big accomplishment for her. 

None of these things are monumental, but she really didn't care about any of those skills until she needed them to shower.  We've found that Samantha is not motivated to do things just for the sake of doing them.  For her, it's all about values.