Let's Practice Brushing our Teeth!

Before J's first trip to the dentist, we did a quick unit on teeth. We talked about why to brush/floss, how to, especially bad foods, etc. Here's an activity we did that turned out pretty fun and useful.

You'll Need: At least one teeth photo (laminated), toothbrush, water, various foods (the stickier the better!)

I laminated a few teeth photos (found on GoogleImages). Then J

fed the photos some good and not so good foods. We took note of how each food effected the teeth (ex, icing got stuck all over the teeth). Of course I let him try some of the foods too, as evidence shows in the photo! It did give him some real experience with how the foods felt in his mouth and helped him better describe the feeling.

Then we practiced brushing the gunk away. It was a good way to get him to see the purpose of brushing. We talked about where to brush (front, back, top, sides,...) and how to brush and practiced the strokes. After our fake teeth were clean, we headed upstairs to brush some real teeth. 

 

We'll probably do more practicing like this as he gets older. It was a fun way to teach and practice a very important part of life!

 

 

 

We also started a new tooth brushing song during this activity. I got tired of our normal brushing song (This is the way we brush our teeth... like the mulberry song) and decided we needed a change. J thinks our new brushing song is fun. I sing to the tune of "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair"... and just change the words to... I'm gonna brush that cheese right off of my teeth, I'm gonna brush those blueberries right off those back teeth... filling in whatever he just ate and wherever I'm brushing in his mouth. He likes to remind me all the different foods I have to brush off. Now one year later and he still likes me to sing it.

 

Age attempted: 2.5 years