This week our “Healthy Habits” theme was a perfect follow up to our “My Body” theme. Last week we learned all about the different systems and parts that make up our body. So this week we learned about how to keep our bodies healthy. I’m hoping this theme will help discourage toddler nose picking and encourage some better hand washing habits! (Just in time for flu season!)
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And here are the details for each activity:
Concepts of Print:
This week we focused on the title, author, and illustrator and where you can find them in a book. Our first read aloud wasGerms Make Me Sick by Melvin Berger. Before reading, I gave Madelynn sticky notes to label the title, author, and illustrator with support from me.
Healthy Habits:
Next we read Germs Are Not for Sharingby Elizabeth Verdick which talks about what germs are and what we can do to help prevent spreading them and getting sick. After reading we matched the word and picture cards to remind us of the things we can do to stay healthy.
Healthy Teeth Sort:
Our next read aloud was Why Do I Brush My Teeth?by Angela Royston. This book talks about the parts of our teeth as well as how to keep our teeth healthy and strong. After reading, we talked about foods that are good for our teeth, and foods that are not so good for our teeth. Then Madelynn cut apart the food pictures and sorted them.
Dental Health Sequencing:
One of the most fun books I found for this theme was Brush Your Teeth Please by Leslie Mcguire. This book is a pop up book and it has manipulative pieces on each page so you can brush the animals teeth and even help the shark floss! So engaging and fun! After reading we talked about all of the steps we take when we brush our teeth, then put them in the correct order.
Tracking Print:
Our last book was the letter H book fromAbby’s Alphabet Book Series.Madelynn identified the picture then pointed to each word as she read. She is really starting to pay close attention to the words on each page so I have a feeling we will be trying more difficult books soon.
H is for Healthy Food Read and Color:
This week we focused on the letter H so we started with this color by code activity. Madelynn identified each letter then followed the directions to make each spot the correct color.
HSound Stamping:
Next, for more letter practice we used ourdot stampers. We started out stamping inside the letter to make an H. Then Madelynn had to find the upper and lowercase h’s in the hand, stamp them and make the h sound each time.
Healthy Food Beginning Sounds:
The H sound has been a tricky one for Madelynn to learn so I created this page with lots of H foods along with others. Then she used Wikki Stixto bend and make the letter for the beginning sound of each food. This was quite challenging for her, so you could also try letter stickers or markers if it is too difficult.
Toothbrush Name Craft:
This week for our name craft, Madelynn made her own toothbrush. First she cut and glued the pieces together to make a toothbrush. Then she cut apart the letter tiles, and glued them in the correct order to label her brush.
Healthy Habits Journal Writing:
For our journal this week Madelynn chose to draw and write about her favorite healthy food. She drew yogurt (with strawberries and blueberries) and the labeled her picture. I helped her sound out the word slowly and asked her to listen for any letter sounds she knew. She remembered right away that yogurt started with Y from our focus sound last week, and then I was pretty impressed that she heard an O sound in the middle and the T sound at the end!
Healthy Teeth Salt Tray:
Our first math activity this week was a dental health themed sand tray. I filled the tray with plain white salt, then Madelynn used small teeth cards as a model. She chose which numbers she wanted to practice and used a toothbrush or her finger to write them in the tray.
Play Dough Germ Shapes:
Our other math focus this week was on making and identifying shapes. We used play foam to create shape germs by rolling it out like play dough then forming the outline on each shape germ card.
Pull the Teeth Counting Game:
For more counting and number practice,we played a quick math game with our dentist play dough toy. Madelynn chose a number card (the same ones from our salt tray) then had to pull that number of teeth. Always fun to find new ways to play with our toys!
Brush the Shape:
Madelynn was pretty obsessed with our next shape practice game, Brush the Shape. Luckily this game was so easy to make and set up over and over again. First, I printed a large tooth on cardstock then laminated it. Next I drew shape cavities on the tooth with a dry erase marker. Then, Madelynn picked a card, named the shape, then tried to erase it with a toothbrush. Super fun and actually a bit challenging to erase with a stiff toothbrush.
Brush and Paint Shapes:
Brush and paint shapes combines math, art, following directions and fine motor skills all in one easy activity. I printed a page with 9 basic shape outlines on it and gave Madelynn a tray of paint with toothbrushes. Then I gave her a direction, “paint the circle red,” and she used the toothbrushes to paint that shape.
Glitter Germ Handwashing:
For our first science activity this week, I knew I wanted to show Madelynn how important it is to wash hands even though we can’t always see the germs there. And what seems to get everywhere that you can NEVER get rid of like germs? GLITTER! So I mixed glitter with a small dab of lotion to help it stick to Madelynn’s hands then rubbed it all over them. After her hands were sufficiently covered in germs we headed to the sink to try to wash them off. She was really surprised how long it took to actually get all of the glitter off and has been doing a much better job washing ever since. Totally recommend doing this with all little ones to help them understand a quick rinse is not enough.
Washing Germs Sensory Bin:
In this bin: water, soap, sponges, porcupine ball “germs”
In this bin, Madelynn searched for the germs hiding in the bubbles, washed and dried them.
Tooth Parts Craftivity:
For this craft Madelynn started by cutting out all of the tooth part pieces. Then she added red string with a few dots of white glue for the blood vessels/roots inside her tooth. Finally, she glued the words and drew lines to label each part.
Dentist Play Dough:
Our second sensory activity this week was so simple because Madelynn LOVES thisdentist play dough toy. She made teeth, drilled, brushed, and pretended all morning, always a favorite toy when we bring it out.
Blow Paint Germs:
Our final art activity this week was this blow paint germ activity. First Madelynn used an eye dropper to add a few drops of liquid water color to a hand outline. Next she used a straw to blow the germs all over the page just like they would do if you were to sneeze without covering your nose. Kind of gross, kind of fun, definitely a great way to end our week.
Want all of this week’s healthy habits activities for preschool?You can grab them here:
On my site : On TpT: Healthy Habits Plans & Printables
Or you can grab our entire year of themes and plans:
On my site here: Preschool Bundle On TpT here: Preschool Bundle
Then check out the rest of our 45+ themes on the Preschool Curriculum Main Page.
