B is for Bodies, and G is for Germs

This week was all about bodies and how to keep them healthy.

To introduce the theme during Circle Time, I had "Mr. Potato Head" pieces in the counting box. We also sang songs like "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and "If You're Happy and You Know It" where each child got to pick a thing that their body could do (i.e. If you're happy and you know it blink your eyes, etc.).

We read My Hands by Aliki and then painted our Circle Time mats using our hands as stamps.

We also read The Magic Schoolbus: Inside the Human Body. As we read about various parts of the body in the book, we would tape those parts to some little "body bags." I was going to get a picture of all of the kids in their bags but I unfortunately made the mistake of mentioning that afterward we would head outside. Needless to say, the kids took off without looking back.

However, once the kids all left for home, I had Gavin put on his bag (which somehow turned out to be Rachel's). It was then that I realized I'd forgotten to cut arm holes in any of them. Oops!

And today, everyone came back to talk about how to stay healthy through good eating and hygiene.

We used plastic play food (and then our real lunches) to discuss which foods are better for you than others. We grouped foods into "Always Foods" that you can eat whenever you want and "Sometimes Foods" that aren't quite as good for you, but that you can still have, well, sometimes.

Before lunch, we read Germs Make Me Sick! Afterwards, I used a little bit of red glitter to show how germs get spread from one person to another. I put a little bit of the glitter on my own hand, then shook each of the kids' hands. One or two of the kids even said they didn't want to shake hands because they didn't want "glitter germs." It was amazing to see how much of the glitter transferred from one handshake.

We then went to the bathroom where we talked about how to wash hands to get rid of germs, and we practiced singing the "Happy Birthday" song to make sure we were washing our hands long enough.

We made a "Cover Your Cough" craft (sorry, I forgot to get a picture). The kids drew a picture of their faces on a paper plate (some even made their mouths wide open as if they were sneezing or coughing - cute!) and then we traced their hand onto a piece of construction paper. We glued a tissue to the hand and then taped the hand to the outside of the paper plate so they could open and close the tissue-holding hand when their paper plate faces "coughed."

We also discussed how to cough into your elbow, your shoulder, or into a tissue to help keep germs off of your hands. Everyone got a small bar of soap and a small container of tissues to take home so they could practice their hygiene skills!

This week, everyone also received a laminated sheet with their individual name on it so they could practice writing their name.

What a great group of kids!