Staying Healthy

Community Helpers Unit!

After our share of viruses and runny noses this winter, we thought it would be appropriate to start the unit with DOCTORS - the people who help us stay healthy!

Several of our two and three year olds have fears with entering the doctors office. We had two goals in mind for this section of the curriculum:

 1) How to keep our selves healthy.

 2) If we do need to go to the doctor when not well, to help the children be prepared and thankful to the Doctor for being a messenger of Hashem to help us.

 

Circle time became a role play of one of the typical doctor routines: checking our throats!

With each child holding a tongue depressor they held down their tongue on their own and we discussed why the doctor does this!

 

When we first mentioned the word doctor there were some children with fear in their eyes. Toward the end of the week we heard these children say " Doctors are nice!"  or "they help us!"

Yay! Mission accomplished!



Levi demonstrated to us how to use a tissue and remembering to throw it in the garbage!

Levi kept his doctor hat on for most of the day ! :)

Mr. Germ: 

Then "Mr. Germ" came out! We need to protect ourselves from getting other germs and spreading germs. With an over exaggerated germ we talked about how these are invisible on our own hands but we still need to wash them away!

We placed "Mr. Germ" on our mirror by the sink to remind us to do a good job washing!

To help our pre-k'ers appreciate the need to wash with soap, and get IN BETWEEN their fingers- we did an activity with glitter!

We explained to the children that sometimes germs can be on their hands, but they don't see- and it doesn't come off with just water! 

The children dipped their hands in glitter, and attempted to wash it off with just water!  It didn't come off so simply...or quickly...

After washing with just water.... there was still glitter!

We then used lots of soap...and sang the song about scrubbing IN BETWEEN and the children saw that all of it came off!

The washing Song: 

Now it was time to do a hands on how to wash our hands properly ! We learned a washing song to sing while we wash!

 

Tune: row row row your boat

Wash wash wash your hands

wash them nice and clean

wash the tops and wash the bottoms

and fingers in between!

After washing,  the children displayed great team work carrying the water outside to dump it out. It was hard work and they did it with out any Morah assistance!

Doctors Office- Dramatic Play Center: 

We set up a doctors office in our classroom for the children to role play and feel more comfortable with some of the routines doctors do!

Levi the doctor getting weighed. After some discussion we discovered scales are one of the doctor routines that the children did not like. With a scale in the classroom we hope the next doctor visit is a little better ;)!

Doctors at work!

A secretaries desk was set up to take appointment calls and role play people coming to the doctor and requesting a visit with the doctor!

Noach was writing down a time for Yaisef appointment.

Rochel signing herself in at the doctor!

cooperative play reaching new levels!

The children see this red first aid bag being taken out when they might have an accident at school, and need a band aid or some cream. 

We brought it out, to allow the children to discover what is in there. Many of them learned so much by asking a lot of questions  regarding some of the items in it.

We spent a lot of time practicing to wash hands! 

Chani loved the feeling of the bubbles between her fingers!

Yitzi was humming our washing song!

Tracing our hands and arms for our germ project.

Motor skill morning fun!

With color marked clothespins, the task required the child to hang up the matching color paper clothes item.

This was difficult since it was a two step motor skilled activity.

1.Pinching the clothespin long enough to get it on the clothes item

2. Pinch it while ON the delicate clothesline.

 

 

The doctors office in our class was a great way to learn more body parts names.

We traced our bodies outside.

 Cover your cough

 

To help the children understand why they need to cover their cough- I sprayed them with a water bottle! I explained that when they cough or sneeze- its like they are spraying everything around them! The spray carries germs, which we don't want to spread!

It was a fun and practical lesson!