When someone asks Rowan what he's learning about in preschool, he's so used to our music theme that he replies, "instruments". Haha! Maybe by the time next month's theme starts, he'll start saying, "healthy bodies".
One afternoon last week, he thanked me randomly for doing preschool with him that morning. It was so precious! One of those moments that makes everything worth it.
Week 3: Teeth (FYI, future weeks will be exercise/sleep, germs, eating healthy--subject to change)
**Follow up from Week 2: Prior to this week, we placed a slice of bread in three different Ziploc bags, using tongs. We labeled the first bag: Control, the second bag: Dirty, and the third bag: Clean. We left the first bag/slice untouched. With the second slice, we touched the bread--we even wiped it on a few surfaces. Finally, we washed our hands really well, then touched the slice in the third bag. This lent itself to a great lesson on germs and why it's important to wash our hands, even when they don't "look" dirty.
The "control" only had a spot of mold where the tongs touched it--I guess even our tongs weren't squeaky clean :O And a little bit on the side as well. The "dirty" bag had a ton of mold. The "clean" bag had a much smaller amount of mold. Pretty neat stuff! It worked really well!
Day 1
- Sunbeam Lesson 8 "I am Thankful for Day and Night" (2-3 min)
Talk about how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ created the day and the night. Discuss reasons why each are important. This is a great time to also introduce opposites.- Review/Sing: "The Handwashing Song" (3 min)
Briefly review handwashing and take a look at the "germs" on the pieces of bread from last week. Point out that clean and dirty are opposites. Sing the handwashing song again. I changed the lyrics at the end a tiny bit so they repeat.
Rowan and I have had great fun singing the song together while washing our hands!!
I've mentioned "Jbrary" before as a great resource for songs. They have a wonderful Handwashing Song that includes actions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJhWl1LLz5QIt's to the tune of "Frere Jacques":
Tops and bottoms, tops and bottoms,
in between, in between.
Scrub them all together, scrub them all together,
now they're clean, now they're clean.
Repeat
- Elephant Toothpaste (5 min)
This is one of those activities that was very impressionable for me when I student-taught in the laboratory preschool at USU. A simple google search provides many examples and recipes but the gist is that you create the illusion of elephant toothpaste in this experiment with a mason jar and a few simple ingredients.
*Materials
-Hydrogen Peroxide
-Yeast
-Water
-Dish Soap
-Food Coloring (optional)
-Mason Jar
-Cookie sheet/large container (to keep area clean)
After following the directions to create this substance, it looks like it's being squeezed out of the mason jar as if it's really big toothpaste. Make the connection to opposites, again, by pointing out that elephants are big and talking about how small is the opposite.
Today's tip: The snack today is also a fine motor activity! We made Fruit Loop necklaces by stringing the cereal on dental floss :D Get it? Toothcare this week ;) We talked about how fruit loops aren't fruit, but they remind us of fruits and we also talked about flossing and why it's important.
Length of time varies based on number of fruit loops you use. We used 20 and it took awhile. Rowan kept asking if it was time to eat them. Very good practice for young ones (both the fine motor development and the patience!) Resist the urge to quickly complete the task for your child--hands on practice is the best way to learn.
Go outside and use sidewalk chalk--how can you use the chalk to show what you've learned? (Hopscotch for exercise, germ monsters, a nice smile for healthy teeth, fruits and veggies, etc.) Visit a dentists office or have a dentist as a guest. Practice flossing. Sort pictures of foods that are good for your teeth and bad for your teeth (opposites!) Dry erase markers on Styrofoam egg cartons. Make teeth with white playdough.
Day 2
- STEAM Lesson (Art) "Stamping" (5-10min)
This month's theme is healthy bodies--science based. Because there are only four weeks, I will skip the "S", science and won't have an explicit science lesson but will incorporate it in. Fortunately, there's also a lot of overlap in many STEAM lessons/activities.
It's becoming a lost art, but I love stamping!! Buy stamps or make your own using potatoes or apples. Dip in paint or use an ink pad if you have stamps. I have foam stampers that are the letters of the alphabet. Have fun creating!
- Brushing Teeth Demonstration (5 min)
I recently bought an inexpensive, giant toothbrush on Amazon (~$7) in anticipation of this week's semi-topic. This will be perfect for a demonstration on a stuffed animal; try to find one where the mouth is open--I'm planning to use a Muppet. Even if you don't have a giant toothbrush, any will do! Show child proper teeth washing techniques and talk about why it's important to brush teeth. We like to refer to things in our teeth as "sugar bugs" in our family. They like to hide in our mouths and they're pretty sneaky! But they're no match for our toothbrush and toothpaste!
Today's Tip: I've seen a cute mouth snack on Pinterest where you spread peanut butter on apple slices and place marshmallows on top as the teeth :D
Go outside and use sidewalk chalk--how can you use the chalk to show what you've learned? (Hopscotch for exercise, germ monsters, a nice smile for healthy teeth, fruits and veggies, etc.) Visit a dentists office or have a dentist as a guest. Practice flossing. Sort pictures of foods that are good for your teeth and bad for your teeth (opposites!) Dry erase markers on Styrofoam egg cartons. Make teeth with white playdough.
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