Course 1

Dear Parents

Teaching the basics of proper personal hygiene is important for keeping children healthy and clean. It’s especially important for younger children to practice good hygiene — particularly hand washing — because they spend so much of their time in close contact with each other in the classroom, sharing everything from desks and chairs to germs. And when your child reaches adolescence, hormonal changes will lead to increased production of oils in skin and hair and an increase in body odor. That’s when you will be glad you didn’t wait till then to instill good health and hygiene habits. 

To expand onto the learning aspect of this theme, make sure to be more intentional about emphasizing the importance of each personal hygiene daily activity you do with your child. Singing along while carrying them out also assists with your child earning more about what they are doing. 

Discuss what you’re using, why you’re using it and how often this form of cleaning should happen. You could also discuss the consequences of not carrying out these personal hygiene tasks.

Activity 1

Life skill: blowing your nose

Duration : 5 – 10 minutes

What do you need?

  • Step by step cards (may be printed out )or simply use as a visual reference 
  • Tissues 
  • Bin
  • Bowl with water and soap or hand sanitizer

What you need to do:

  1. Hand your child a tissue and take one for yourself too.
  2. Show your child how to fold tissue in half and discuss this step with your child while doing so.
  3. Tell him/her to gently blow their nose
  4. Then ask him/her to gently wipe their nose clean
  5. Next, ask him/her to throw the tissue away into the bin
  6. Finally say: Now we must wash our hands or sanitize them. Proceed to have your child wash or sanitize their hands
  7. Praise your child for following the correct steps

Activity 2

Sorting pom poms 

Duration: 5 – 10 minutes

What do you need? 

  • Assorted colour pom poms or white cotton wool balls (some of them should be coloured green using food colouring (*Parent to prepare beforehand)
  • Tweezers
  • Bowl

What to do:

  1. Ask your child to sort by taking all the green pompoms/ cotton wool balls out of the bowl.
  2. Talk to them about germs and pretend that all the green pompoms/ cotton wool balls represent “germs”
  3. Next count out 5 pompons/ cotton wool ball aloud for them
  4. Now let them count out 5, remember to have your child touch count as he/she counts the pom poms/cotton wool balls 

Activity 3

Movement motions

Duration: 5 -10 minutes

What you need?

  • Open space
  • Fun upbeat music (optional)  

What to do:

  1. Tell your child that you will doing different movements/actions using the body
  2. Ask your child to clap their hands twice. Do it with them. (Say what you are doing with each action following)
  3. Now demonstrate crossing arms over the chest.
  4. Next, lift hands in the air
  5. Place hands on the head
  6. Jump one time
  7. Repeat a few times or for as long as the music lasts (if you have added music)

*Through the integration of music and movement, numerous developmental skills are acquired; laterality, midline-crossing, position in space, just to name a few. Music coupled with movement, aids in the development of the physical self. Children improve their co-ordination, which assists in muscular development.