Learning About Germs
Today our class learned about germs and how to keep our bodies healthy. It is that time of year with lots of sniffles and coughs going around. I wanted to make sure the kids knew the best way to keep there germs to themselves.
BOOKS:
BOOKS:
First we needed to talk about what germs are. We read the story Germs Are Not for Sharing by Elizabeth Verdick. Other books we read are - Zoo Ah-Choooo by Peter Mandel and "Stand Back" Said the Elephant, "I'm going to Sneeze" by Patricia Thomas. I think Zoo Ah-Choo was better for the younger children and it illustrated very clearly what happens when the animals didn't cover their sneezes.
SIMPLE SONG/RHYME:
Wash Your Hands Song (sung to the tune of "row row row your boat")
Wash wash wash your hands, always nice and clean
Scrub the bottom and the top and fingers in between!
Dray Your Hands Song (sung to the tune of "row row row your boat")
Dry dry dry your hands, always nice and dry
dry the bottom and the top and put the towel away!
Covering your sneezes and coughs rhyme
Remember this rule if you please,
cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
First use your shirt, if you can,
then your elbow or kleenex and wash your hands!
We practiced pulling up our shirt over our mouth and nose when we knew a sneeze or cough was coming. This is the best way to make sure those germs don't spread onto others. But we also talked about if you have a shirt on that is to tight to pull up, or you are at the pool with a swimsuit on, how to cover your sneeze. Again I gave them choices. Sneezing or coughing into your elbow is best, again keeping the germs trapped. But a kleenex of course catches all the germs and would be even better. We talked about washing hands after using a kleenex because at this age they are still learning how to use the kleenex correctly.
EXPERIMENT:
To make things a little more visual and "hands on" I took the kids near the bathroom to show them an example of how germs spread. I told them that when I sneeze or cough lots of germs come out of my mouth, like the spray in the cooking spray can. I then sprayed my hand with the spray. I reminded them how we can't see germs but that I was going to use something special for this "experiment" so they could see. I shook some colored sugar onto my hand. All the little colored crystals became stuck to my hand and showed the kids my "germ" covered hands. I then shook hands with each of them and pick up a toy. They saw how the "germs" came off and stuck to their hands and also to the toy.
The kids really understood how easily germs can spread. We then washed our hands well to get off all the "germs" and sang the "Wash Your Hands" song listed above.
ART:
Washing the germs off your hands art!
We decided to finger paint and have the paint represent germs! I also used blue and yellow paint so they could see how the colors mixed to make green. Then after the kids had lots of fun finger painting all over a large piece of paper, they had to go wash their hands really well to make sure all the paint came off. This was great practice to realize how much they need to concentrate when washing their hands to make sure all the germs come off.
Great job washing! All clean!
Cover your sneeze Art!
materials:
paper plate
markers
kleenex
construction paper
precut hands out of construction paper
preprinted copies of cover your sneeze and cough rhyme
I gave each child a paper plate and they drew their face on it with markers. Then I gave them some pieces of construction paper with lines drawn on them for them to cut. I believe it is important to give them many experiences with scissors and practice those fine motor skills.
The papers became an arm and also a shirt. They glued the klennex over their nose first, then the glued the hand on the arm and put the elbow over the kleenex.
And then to make sure I really got the point across... I gave them the construction paper shirt to decorate and then I stapled that on top of everything!
Guess I covered all the bases. But you know preschoolers during those weeks were it seems like everyone is sick, so many coughs and sneezes that we want to make sure they learn to cover up. Giving them 3 choices may seem extreme (klennex, elbow, or shirt), but I really think it helps them rely on which one works best for them.
I also printed out the cover your sneeze and cough rhyme on small pieces of paper and the children glued them to the back of the plate.
CENTERS:
I put doctor kits with stuffed animals at one center. We had stuffed elephants which worked perfectly with our books that had sick elephants in them.
SIMPLE SONG/RHYME:
Wash Your Hands Song (sung to the tune of "row row row your boat")
Wash wash wash your hands, always nice and clean
Scrub the bottom and the top and fingers in between!
Dray Your Hands Song (sung to the tune of "row row row your boat")
Dry dry dry your hands, always nice and dry
dry the bottom and the top and put the towel away!
Covering your sneezes and coughs rhyme
Remember this rule if you please,
cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
First use your shirt, if you can,
then your elbow or kleenex and wash your hands!
We practiced pulling up our shirt over our mouth and nose when we knew a sneeze or cough was coming. This is the best way to make sure those germs don't spread onto others. But we also talked about if you have a shirt on that is to tight to pull up, or you are at the pool with a swimsuit on, how to cover your sneeze. Again I gave them choices. Sneezing or coughing into your elbow is best, again keeping the germs trapped. But a kleenex of course catches all the germs and would be even better. We talked about washing hands after using a kleenex because at this age they are still learning how to use the kleenex correctly.
EXPERIMENT:
To make things a little more visual and "hands on" I took the kids near the bathroom to show them an example of how germs spread. I told them that when I sneeze or cough lots of germs come out of my mouth, like the spray in the cooking spray can. I then sprayed my hand with the spray. I reminded them how we can't see germs but that I was going to use something special for this "experiment" so they could see. I shook some colored sugar onto my hand. All the little colored crystals became stuck to my hand and showed the kids my "germ" covered hands. I then shook hands with each of them and pick up a toy. They saw how the "germs" came off and stuck to their hands and also to the toy.
The kids really understood how easily germs can spread. We then washed our hands well to get off all the "germs" and sang the "Wash Your Hands" song listed above.
ART:
Washing the germs off your hands art!
We decided to finger paint and have the paint represent germs! I also used blue and yellow paint so they could see how the colors mixed to make green. Then after the kids had lots of fun finger painting all over a large piece of paper, they had to go wash their hands really well to make sure all the paint came off. This was great practice to realize how much they need to concentrate when washing their hands to make sure all the germs come off.
Cover your sneeze Art!
materials:
paper plate
markers
kleenex
construction paper
precut hands out of construction paper
preprinted copies of cover your sneeze and cough rhyme
I gave each child a paper plate and they drew their face on it with markers. Then I gave them some pieces of construction paper with lines drawn on them for them to cut. I believe it is important to give them many experiences with scissors and practice those fine motor skills.
The papers became an arm and also a shirt. They glued the klennex over their nose first, then the glued the hand on the arm and put the elbow over the kleenex.
And then to make sure I really got the point across... I gave them the construction paper shirt to decorate and then I stapled that on top of everything!
Guess I covered all the bases. But you know preschoolers during those weeks were it seems like everyone is sick, so many coughs and sneezes that we want to make sure they learn to cover up. Giving them 3 choices may seem extreme (klennex, elbow, or shirt), but I really think it helps them rely on which one works best for them.
I also printed out the cover your sneeze and cough rhyme on small pieces of paper and the children glued them to the back of the plate.
CENTERS:
I put doctor kits with stuffed animals at one center. We had stuffed elephants which worked perfectly with our books that had sick elephants in them.
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