Let’s face it, getting dinner on the table while taking care of young children is not an easy task. 10 minutes to a hungry, cranky four year old seems like F-O-R-E-V-E-R. This is why I have decided to declare my love to whomever invented the salad spinner. Who is this genius who designed the perfect toy for my son? The salad spinner: the perfect toy aids gross motor development, provides a multi- sensory exploration, scientific observation AND we have the makings of a salad? Perfection!
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WHY IS THE SALAD SPINNER THE PERFECT TOY?
Begin by giving your child a head of lettuce and the salad spinner. This works best if you buy lettuce that is not pre-washed. If possible you want visible dirt! Have your child rip the lettuce leaves and place in the spinner.
Quinn: “Hey, look at the dirt! Is this from our garden?”
Me: “No, but it is from a garden. The lettuce grows in the dirt the same way as our summer lettuce.”
Fill the salad spinner with water explaining that the lettuce is dirty and needs a bath. Give your child plenty of time to explore the lettuce in the water. This is a wonderful sensory activity. Quinn loved sinking his hands into the cold water and then inspecting the lettuce.
Of course, he needed to taste it too!
Quinn was fascinated by the mechanics of the salad spinner. “When I push this down, how does it make it spin?” We explored the inside and the different parts of the spinner. Look at the amount of dirt that is left in the water! Repeat.
Quinn played with the salad spinner for over twenty minutes. At the end of his play I had a little boy feeling empowered that he helped make dinner, lettuce ready for the salad bowl and a child invested in his meal.
