1-2-3 Come Do Some Hand Washing Activities With Me

Are you looking for something to easily explain hand washing to your students/children?

Then I think you'll find my fun-filled "Hand Washing" packet helpful, and it's FREE!

I've included a poster of the CDC's, 5-step recommendations for correct hand washing, it comes in both color for teachers, as well as black & white for students to color & take home.

There are also two posters which list important times when you should wash your hands.

Before you share the list with your students, see how many they can come up with, during your discussion.

As a fun way to further reinforce the lesson, I've also included a 5-piece puzzle for these hygiene rules.

Teachers can print, laminate & trim the colorful puzzle to use for a center activity.

I've also included a #5 base for the puzzle, which will help preschoolers assemble the pieces..

Keep each of your puzzles in a large ZipLock Baggie.  

As always, there are black & white patterns, so that students can color and cut apart, to create their own puzzle. 

Demonstrate how to cut out the number 5 and then snip each section off.

When everyone has completed their puzzle, reinforce the rules as a whole group. 

Hang the base #5 pattern on your white board.  Stick magnetic dots on the back of your 5 puzzle pieces and hold them in numerical order.

You show the #1 puzzle piece and read it, then stick it to the matching #1 section on the base. 

Children follow your "monkey-see, monkey-do" directions & do the same with their puzzle piece. 

After everyone has placed that piece down, read the rule again, then have children "read" it with you.

For added fun, and more reinforcement, have children pick a partner & take turns rolling a dice. 

If they roll a 1 they place the matching #1 puzzle piece on the puzzle base, and so on.

If they roll a 6 you can decide if they lose a turn, or if the 6 is wild & they can choose any numbered puzzle piece that they need. The first one to complete their puzzle is the winner.

Because children love to sing, I've also included a song in the packet.

The CDC recommends 20 seconds, as the minimum amount of time for effective hand washing. They say that humming the “Happy Birthday” song twice will do the 20-second job.

However, I wanted children to have a more appropriate song to specifically go along with hand washing.

So I took the tune from the nursery rhyme/song “Here We Go ‘Round the Mulberry Bush”, ( public domain) and changed the words to “This is the way we wash our hands”.

When I was a little girl we also sang “This is the way we wash our clothes” to that same tune, as we pretended to scrub away on grama’s old washboard.  

As you sing the song, with my “wash your hands” lyrics, demonstrate lathering the hands with pretend soap, showing how you rub over & under the hands, as well as in-between the fingers, plus scrubbing the nails. Singing, while “washing”, will take the desired 20 seconds.

You can practice with this online timer: LINK

To show you the correct hand washing technique, check out this  video, (46-seconds) then do those movements as you sing the two verses.

I for one, discovered via this video that I was missing the “nails” step. I think that many others will find room for improvement too. Hopefully, the entire world will now do a better job of hand washing.

I’ve made a poster-poem of the “This Is The Way We Wash Our Hands” words, which you can share with your students.

Children may wonder, “What’s the big deal about hand washing?”, so it’s a good idea to introduce your lesson with WHY hand washing is so important.

I like this 3-minute video entitled "Germs, Germs, Germs" because my students also say, “…but my hands don’t look dirty.” 

Finally, I've also included a little certificate of praise your kiddos can color.

There are two, on-a-one-page pattern, for quick printing.

One template features a colorful frame, the other one has a black & white one. 

Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Stay tuned for more "Germ Fighting" FREEBIES, that you can do with your own children or with your students. 

Wishing you a safe & virus free day.

"Did you sneeze? Did you cough? Be sure and wash those nasty germs off!" -Unknown

1-2-3 Come Make Some Mother's Day Keepsakes With Me

I really enjoy designing things that incorporate standards at the same time creating a keepsake that moms will like.  With that in mind, I came up with a "berry" special packet.

Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits, and were also popular with my Y5's.  They are fun and easy to draw and provide a great play on words. 

In the "Berry" Special Packet, I've included templates for both a mom and dad, so you can use this "craftivity" for Mother's Day or Father's Day.  There's also a generic one that says: "You are 'berry' special" so students can make this for another significant other as well.  This would be fun for Grandparents' Day too.

I've included a pattern to make the leafy portion.  Add a bit more pizzazz by making the leaves 3D.  Have students cut out two and then fold one in half.  Match up the leaves and glue only one section on top of the other. 

If you look closely at the photo you'll be able to see how the leaves pop up.  Adding a stem and strawberry blossom, gives the card that finishing touch.

Older students can add a second strawberry and "hinge" their card with a small piece of Scotch tape.  Children complete the writing prompt, add a bit of color, trim and glue to the inside.  Younger students can simply complete just the sentence on the front.

To make things extra special, have students glue on their school picture and make a heart using their thumbprints (see photo).

Leaves can also be made by tracing a child's handprints.   I made an example of both, so you can see how they turned out.   Click on the link to view/download the "Berry" Special Craftivity.  

While I was making my sample, I thought that a mini version of this would make a quick, easy and inexpensive end or beginning of the year gift for students.  

Turn this into a sweet treat by attaching your card to a berry-flavored juice box, or package of Wild Berry Skittles and you're set! 

Click on the link to view/download the "Berry Special Summer/School Year Gift. 

Thanks for visiting today.  Feel free to PIN away.  To see another fun keepsake craft for Mom, scroll down and take a look at a cute "horseshoe."

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside of your body." -Elizabeth Stone

Cylinder Santa Windsock: A Great Keepsake for Christmas!

The cylinder is one of the tricky 3-D shapes for my Y5’s to grasp, so I try to do things with cans and toilet paper rolls.

We also make at least one windsock a month and December is the perfect time to make one that will become a treasured keepsake.

Cylinder Santa is not that difficult, and reviews a variety of flat shapes as well as brings home the vocabulary word cylinder!

Here’s How:

• Depending on the ethnicity of your students, choose a facial color construction paper for Santa’s face.
• This will be the cylinder.
• I use the smaller sheets of construction paper and glued them together so that my paper is 21 inches long.

• Run off my templates on a duplo.
• Click on the link to view/print the Cylinder Santa Handprint Windsock patterns OR...
• Click on this link to print the Cylinder Santa handprint windsock patterns, pictures and this article's directions.  Cylinder Santa Handprint Windsock "Stuff"
• Cut Santa’s brim strips on a paper cutter.
• To cut down on time, and because my students are younger (this is a lot of cutting) I have the holly leaves, nose, mouth, and eyes pre-cut.

• A room helper has also traced and cut their hands the day before.  She traces once, and then cuts 4 hands at a time, then paperclips them together.
• Students cut out their hat and circle pom pom.
• They fold the hat down and glue their circle pom pom to the point.

• Teachers always want to know why my cotton fur always looks so real and my students don’t glue the whole cotton ball on their artwork, even when they are told not to.
• It’s because I have them pre-rip the balls apart ahead of time, making it a contest to see who can make the nicest pile of ripped up cotton FLUFF!
• Since I’ve been doing that, their piles no longer resemble a cotton ball, their fingers get a wonderful fine motor work out, and their artwork from Santa’s cap to adorable sheep, look very realistic!

• Put a dollop of tacky glue on a small paper plate. Students use their index finger or a Q-tip to rub glue over their circle pom pom and then pinch pieces of fluff and stick the cotton pieces to the sticky surface.
• Have them repeat the process for Santa’s brim.
• I have the pre-cut pieces lying out at a table.  Once children have completed the fur step, they pick up the appropriate pieces and return to their workspace and glue Santa’s face on.

• Remember to model how to do this before your students make their own Santa windsock.  You will then have a sample to hang up in front of the class for them to refer to.
• When children are gluing on santa’s mustache remind them not to glue down the ends so that they can fold them forward giving a 3-D effect.
• Younger students may need help fanning out their handprints as they glue on Santa’s beard under his smiling lips.

Special Extra's:

• Students come up to the "Trimmings" center to work one-on-one with me.
• At this time, I let them rub their pointer finger in dry pink rouge powder so they can give their Santa some cheeks. Copper and bronze also look nice.
• I’ve experimented with other things, and like this even better than chalk. My students think this is “way cool” especially the girls.

• I use double-sided green pin-dot scrapbook paper for the holly leaves.  One side is darker than the other and gives their Santa just a bit more pizzazz than plain construction paper.
• Children choose two red sequins and a ruby flat-backed rhinestone for the 3^rd berry. They adhere them in a cluster in the center of the leaves with glue dots.
• I make veins on the leaves with Elmer’s glue and they sprinkle green glitter over the top.

• Set aside to dry and then using a glue stick, rub a stripe of glue down one side of their paper and roll their Santa into a cylinder.
• Staple top and bottom for durability.
• Punch a hole on either side, suspend with yarn, and hang from the ceiling.

• The Santa Cylinder Windsocks look darling running along the top of a wall in the hallway.
• A black Ellison die-cut caption can read:  “Here’s Ho Ho Hoping you have a very Merry Christmas!  Better behave; our Santa’s are watching!”

Do you have a tip you can share of how you teach the cylinder shape or a fun Christmas craft?  I'd enjoy hearing from you! diane@teachwithme.com

Be sure to pop back tomorrow and I'll share a fun reindeer puppet that you can make out of a lunch bag!