Xavier Helps in the Kitchen
Hello to everyone.
Water fascinates Xavier. After dinner, when Dad is cleaning up and Xavier is not preparing for bed, he runs into the kitchen to ask if he may move a chair into position to play in the rinsing stream.
This is a great time to work with Xavier on his focus and reasoning. There are a set of steps that need doing in a particular order before he can reach the sink and its bounty of flowing water.
First, he needs to secure permission. Some nights Dad is just not in the mood to have help, or it's too soon to have a chair brought in. Xavier has gotten good about asking first.
Once permission is given, he races to the dining area to start moving a chair. He knows to take off the seat cushion first, or find a chair without a cushion. Often, in his excitement, he forgets the other steps prior to moving the chair.
After permission is obtained, he needs to move the floor mat out of the way. Then, he gets under the sink to pull out the large towel we keep there just for this purpose (to soak up any of his mess that escapes the sink). Xavier helps lay out the towel. Once it is down, he knows the chair is next.
He will push the chair right up to the towel, then wait (excitedly, and somewhat impatiently) for Dad to lift and position the chair onto the towel. Once there, Xavier is up on the chair with lightening speed.
Most of the time, Xavier rinses containers, fills them with water, dumps them out, then fills them again. Still, he is open to helping scrub and wipe dishes too, though this bores him quickly. I tell him, "You'd better get used to this. You'll be doing it more and more sooner than you think."