Back to School: Glitter Germs

When we prepare our kids to go off to daycare, preschool, or kindergarten we usually think of telling them to be nice, share, and obey the teacher. But one thing that is a chronic problem in classrooms is sickness! The fact is kids get dirty, they of course get sick, but they are not very good at basic hygiene, especially at school without mom or dad in the bathroom reminding them to use soap or dry their hands afterward.

So, this is a fun and useful way to teach our kids what germs are, how easily they spread, and how we can keep from spreading them to ourselves and other people. Hopefully this can keep your kids healthier and develop good habits as they start preschool or kindergarten.


Materials:

• Glitter
• Paper Towels
• Soap
• Water
  
• Hand Lotion
• Plate (to catch glitter when pouring it on the kids' hands)
  

Activity:

1. As you apply lotion to your child(ren)'s hands ask them, "do you know what germs are?" If they answers 'no' or incorrectly, tellthem "germs are very small, so tiny we can't see them, and they are one thing that makes people sick. If you have a cold or a fever you have germs that can get onto other people and make them have the cold or fever. When we play in the dirt or use the bathroom we also get germs on us then that can make us or other people sick."
   
2. Now poor glitter over each child's hands and tell them that we are pretending glitter is germs.
3. Ask your kids to try and rub or shake the glitter off. The glitter won't come off.
   
4. Then hand them a paper towel to rub the glitter off. The glitter won't come off very well.
   
5. Next try to get the glitter off with just cold water. It still won't come completely off.
6. Finally, have your kids scrub their hands with warm water and soap, then dry them with a towel.
7. Point out that shaking the glitter off didn't work, rubbing it didn't work, running cold water over it didn't work. The best way to get rid of the glitter was with warm water and soap in the sink. Germs are the same way. So whenever they wipe their nose, go to the bathroom, or play in dirt they need to wash their hands with warm water and soap to make sure all the germs get off and they and other kids stay healthier.

Extensions:

• singing the ABC song while washing hands is a good tool to remind kids to be thorough and not simply rush through. I always told my Kindergarteners they needed to spend the whole song washing their hands, no more and no less.