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KackyK
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| Posted: June 21 2007 at 11:06pm | IP Logged
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I'm thinking of doing a polishing activity this upcoming year as my 2 1/2 yrold dd and 5 yrold ds love to wash the table off. I thought it would be another something to channel that action into. However I'm at a loss as to WHAT exactly are people having their kiddos polish??
I know there is silver, which I don't have. Shoes? Do you buy some at the thrift store and let them use those? What about mirrors or something of the like? And what do you USE to polish, what, if any, sort of compound? I'd be worried about shoe polish getting on something, and/or silver polish being toxic. I have no clue about this, can you tell? But I am very interested because I think my dc would really love it. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated 
Thanks!
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KackyK
Mom to 8 - 3 dd, 5ds & 4 babes in heaven
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Celeste
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| Posted: June 21 2007 at 11:43pm | IP Logged
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Glass polish
metal polish
These are supposed to be LESS toxic.
If you don't have brass or silver or pewter in your home, thrift stores usually have things like brass candlesticks for next to nothing.
Let them polish their own shoes. Montessori Services sells Kiwi neutral polish. I don't care for the smell; I found out my children's Mont. school used a concentrated (don't laugh!) wood polish (Guardsman) diluted with water. I give it to the children in the 4 oz lever top container. Along with a mat a polishing cloths and buffing brush. They'll polish their shoes at school and then come home and polish them again.
Celeste
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 22 2007 at 7:28am | IP Logged
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I bought my polish from Montessori Services (Celeste linked to them above) because they were non-toxic! I do like it very much - BUT - if you buy your brass and silver from the thrift store like I did, you will have to pre-polish a little.
First, the thrift store is the best place for polishing materials like silver and brass. Find a good thrift store, and you'll feel like you've hit the motherload I promise!
Now, when I get my brass and silver home, I polish with a commercial (and no doubt highly toxic  ) polish first. That ensures a good shine, and since it's coming from the thrift store, it's usually quite dirty!!! Then, I place it on the tray with an old washcloth, and the polish. I line the tray with an old dishtowel. If you let the silver "age" a little, there will be tarnish for them to polish off, and this is very rewarding.
The kids really enjoy polishing since it yields very visible results! I also like to have a little lesson on washing the polishing linens after the polishing activity! Then they practice folding and putting the clean linens away.
We haven't done shoes yet, but I probably wouldn't get one of those from the thrift store - YUCK . I was thinking of using a little beeswax and a buffing cloth and brush on the church shoes though - haven't started this yet though so I don't know how it would work out. In theory though...
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Jen Mackintosh
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KackyK
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| Posted: June 22 2007 at 9:00am | IP Logged
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Thanks for these ideas. And Jennifer, a big thank you for the "walk through" of what you do. I think I'm able to visualize this much better. I have an order that I am slowly adding to for Montessori Services. I love that catalog a little bit too much  Now I need to find a local thrift store that would have something other than clothes! Maybe I'll go digging in the boxes my mother never opens and has no idea what's in there...I bet I can find some goodies in there!
Thanks!!!
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KackyK
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JennGM
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| Posted: June 22 2007 at 9:03am | IP Logged
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KackyK wrote:
| Now I need to find a local thrift store that would have something other than clothes! Maybe I'll go digging in the boxes my mother never opens and has no idea what's in there...I bet I can find some goodies in there! |
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The local thrift stores in our area I have not had much luck. I do have better luck in antique stores. Not so perfect silver plated are priced reasonably.
Good idea about your mother! My mom has some very unique silver pieces from her wedding, but she won't bring them out because she hates to polish. I could probably borrow a few to use.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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Meredith
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| Posted: June 22 2007 at 9:38am | IP Logged
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I really like the Mirror Polishing Activity. I'm putting mine together with the ideas they have. We will also do the silvver/brass polishing much the same way that Jennifer mentions above!!
Don't forget the power of a handy Window washing/polishing activity as well!!
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Meredith
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KackyK
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| Posted: June 22 2007 at 10:13am | IP Logged
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And speaking of window washing...I have two of the sets Montessori Services offers. Here's what I encountered and I had to take them away...maybe you all have a solution. My dc, knew when I wasn't looking or something, and would spray way too much water on the window, plus pulling down the squichee (no idea how to spell that  ), caused a lot of water on the sills. I demonstrated how to wipe up the excess and ofcourse how we just squirt it once (HA)...didn't seem to help. As I noticed the first bit of bubbling up of paint on one of the sills, I pulled the activity.
Any other thoughts on that one? I am assuming I just totally blew the demonstration from the beginning or something. Oh, the dc that did this activity were 3 1/2 and 5.
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KackyK
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AndreaG
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| Posted: June 22 2007 at 10:43am | IP Logged
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Yes, I have pulled window washing periodically for the same reason! I try to view it that the kids are demonstrating a need for more water play, and redirect them to the bathtub or outside! For example they can spray their baby dolls/playmobils in the bathtub. You could also be sure to include in your presentation wiping up the excess water right away with a sponge or towel that would be included on the tray or wherever you keep window washing materials.
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mary theresa
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| Posted: June 22 2007 at 12:42pm | IP Logged
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I just wanted to add that if you have a little mass set for a home Atrium or something, the children could polish the chalice, paten, ciborium, bells, whatever. Polishing something in the environment that actually gets used by the family makes it more meaningful -- esp. for older kids who are more aware of the "point" of doing something. The little ones just do it for the "process" itself.
Also, at the Mont. school I worked at there was a pair of shoes that were the "polishing shoes." They were leather -- since leather polish isn't so great on non-leather shoes. If the kids had there own leather shoes they could polish them. But for the littlest ones, the "polishing shoes" worked well since they looked kind of white and stiff when they were done and you might not want that all over their church shoes, for example.
Also, don't get the colored shoe polish. 
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 22 2007 at 8:40pm | IP Logged
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KackyK wrote:
And speaking of window washing...I have two of the sets Montessori Services offers. Here's what I encountered and I had to take them away...maybe you all have a solution. My dc, knew when I wasn't looking or something, and would spray way too much water on the window, plus pulling down the squichee (no idea how to spell that ), caused a lot of water on the sills. I demonstrated how to wipe up the excess and ofcourse how we just squirt it once (HA)...didn't seem to help. As I noticed the first bit of bubbling up of paint on one of the sills, I pulled the activity.
Any other thoughts on that one? I am assuming I just totally blew the demonstration from the beginning or something. Oh, the dc that did this activity were 3 1/2 and 5. |
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I don't think you blew the presentation at all! You probably showed them just fine. Keep your expectations realistic. It sounds like everything really went just right - you presented, they completed the exercise, you observed that explaining to your dh that all window sills in the house were going to need repainting might cause marital strife, so you pulled the activity. Perhaps they were a bit young for the activity? Or maybe not doing the activity together next time? Maybe wait a month or two, perhaps they were just keyed up and too busy concentrating on the bugs that were landing on the outside of the window to notice that they had squirted half the bottle of water? Or, most likely (was this a boy BTW ) one, or both of them was thrilled watching how the water puddled down the pane of glass in a wriggly pattern! See, you achieved more than you realized with this activity! You just morphed Montessori into Real Learning!
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Jen Mackintosh
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KackyK
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| Posted: June 22 2007 at 9:55pm | IP Logged
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Yep, both dc were boys. I think they got so wrapped up in the spraying and wiping and the spraying and wiping, it just wasn't as satisfying to wipe the boring white sill as it is to wipe the glass.
I will plan on breaking it out again, under closer supervision and a bigger emphasis on the cleanup.
I need to invent a squirter with some sort of timer...you pull the trigger once and you can't do it again for like 30 seconds.
Thanks for the positive views everyone!
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KackyK
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SeaStar
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| Posted: June 23 2007 at 6:22am | IP Logged
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I have to smile- don't all kids go crazy with squirt bottles? My kids squirt the windows, the floor, the dog, the cats... finally I have to send them outside to squirt the trees. As my favorite old parish priest used to lament, "The abuses!"
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ALmom
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| Posted: June 23 2007 at 7:51pm | IP Logged
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Ok, with the Mass set, what polish would you use?
Janet
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Mackfam
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| Posted: June 23 2007 at 9:20pm | IP Logged
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Janet - we use the same polish Celeste linked to up above from Montessori Services on our Mass set. It's non-toxic, so I don't mind the kids using it. If your pieces of brass (or silver) are quite tarnished and dirty the non-toxic polish won't cut it, you'll have to break out the brasso and polish the pieces first. But, for maintenance polishing, I've found the non-toxic polish to be just fine!
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Jen Mackintosh
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4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Polishing questions
