1 – tools 3 – engage in literacy and math activities regularly 4 – school ready 7 – translate school system
K – Parents will know how bathtub play can be linked to literacy development.
A – Parents usually have a huge attitude change– they realize what they can do in the bath with their children to have fun and improve math and literacy skills. Parents realize that bath time is an ideal learning time.

A. PARENT LEARNING

Opening Activity

• Welcome and introductions
• Clock Play. Draw 2 straight lines across the clock face to divide it into 3 parts so that the numbers in each part add to 26. Have your parents work in partners. Discuss possibilities and share answers. (see Parent Book for template)

Review

• Routines and Patterns
• Literacy Play – Key Message #2

Introduce Topics
Bathtub literacy/ Mid point Evaluation

Bathtub Literacy
The bathtub is a great place to enhance your child’s literacy skills since having a bath is an activity that must be repeated and repetition increases learning. You can teach language with different things such as a bath mitt and soap. Remember that your child learns by using his/her senses. Put items of different colours and shapes and sizes in your bathroom. Items that have different sounds such as rattles, squeeze toys, puppets. Items that smell differently such as scented bubbles, shampoo, and vanilla in a spray bottle. Items that feel differently such as sponges, brushes, shaving foam in different colours, and bubbles. Items that taste differently such as foods that float, lip gloss. Ask questions…is it wet? Dry? Heavy, light?

Your child can learn about letters and numbers by reading plastic and cloth books, placemats that are plastic (alphabet), letters and numbers that are foam, sponge, or plastic blocks. Your child can count items of different colour, shape and size and classify them. Puzzles that are made out of foam, sponge or plastic are all great for the bathtub. Make sure that you use language so that your child will hear the name of items. This helps him or her to observe and classify objects. You can use bathtub finger paint for printing, and shaving foam for printing or classifying different colours.