Info For Teachers
Below you will find additional activities to supplement “Granny’s
Goody Box.” There is also a short survey
about "Granny’s Goody Box" Flu Awareness Kit. Your feedback
registers your classroom to win an influenza Classroom Care Kit complete
with tissues,
soap, and other items to get you through the flu season. If you are a kindergarten
through third grade teacher in Ottawa County and did not receive a kit,
or have questions about it please email sfelgner@co.ottawa.mi.us
or call 494-5597. You can also encourage your school to utilize the Promote
Flu Prevention items to reinforce the messages at all grade levels
through your school website, newsletter, or other communication mechanism.
Goody Box Supplements & Additional Activities
Student Certificate
Print and hand out the certificates after you have completed teaching your students about flu prevention.
Spice It Up, Granny!
This activity demonstrates how soap helps remove germs from hands when proper hand washing is used. You will need: vegetable oil, cinnamon, soap, and water. 1. Rub a little vegetable oil on the student’s hands, then sprinkle with cinnamon to symbolize germs. (Remind young students that real germs are too small to see!) Tell students not to touch their eyes, noses, or objects in the classroom while their hands are covered with “germs.” 2. Have the child wash their hands without soap. What happens? 3. Have the child wash their hands with soap. (Remember to have the students sing Granny’s Washing Song twice!) What happens?
High-Five for Clean Hands!
This activity reinforces the difference between clean and dirty hands, and reminds students to wash their hands. You will need: construction paper, safety scissors, crayons or markers, a hole punch, and yarn or string. 1. Trace the outline of each child’s hand on construction paper. 2. Have each child cut around the outline of their hand. 3. On one side of their hand cut-out, have the student draw what “dirty” might look like. (germs, bugs, dirt, messy lines.) 4. On the other side, have them draw what “clean” might look like. (sunshine, flowers, smiles, rainbows, Granny.) 5. Punch a hole in each hand and string the hands together. 6. Hang the string of hands near the sink. When kids wash their hands they can turn the “dirty” hand over to reveal the “clean” hands.
Granny’s Super-Soaper!
This activity reinforces hand washing as kids decorate their own soap that they can take home to and use to wash their hands! You will need: tissue paper, ink pad, assortment of rubber stamps, white glue, paraffin wax, one inch paint brush, scissors, bar of inexpensive soap, cookie sheet, foil, an oven. Part One: 1. Have students select a small piece of tissue paper and select a stamp. Allow them to stamp the image on to the tissue paper. 2. Using a scissors, have the students cut around the image until it is the right size to fit the bar of soap. 3. Have students place a thin layer of white glue the approximate size of the cut image onto the bar of soap. 4. Follow by having students place the tissue image onto the glue and smooth until all the edges are glued down. Allow to dry. Part Two: (Use your judgment to decide which parts of step two you will do without student involvement.) 1. Heat the paraffin wax until it is melted. 2. Preheat your oven to 250F. 3. Place a layer of foil on a cookie sheet and place the bars of soap on the foil. 4. Working quickly, use the paint brush to paint a thin layer over the image on the soap. Only paint the top of the soap. The wax may be thick and lumpy…and you may not be able to see the image. That’s okay. 5. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and watch the entire time! 6. When the wax is smooth and glossy, remove the cookie sheet from the oven. You should now have a thin layer of wax covering the image. Once the soap is cool, it is ready to use! Remind students to sing Grandma’s Washing Song twice while washing their hands!
Cover That Sneeze Please!
This activity reminds children to use tissues to catch their coughs and sneezes. You will need: paper plates or round construction paper cut-outs, construction paper, tissues, safety scissors, crayons or markers, glue, buttons, yarn, or other craft materials. 1. Have children decorate the circle cut-outs or plates as likenesses of themselves with crayons, yarn, and other decorations. 2. Trace the outline of each child’s hand on construction paper. 3. Have each child cut out the outline of their hand. 3. Provide each student with one tissue. Have the student crumble the tissue and glue it, as well as their hand cut-out, on their paper face in the position a tissue may appear if the child is covering their sneeze. Remind student Of Granny’s Good Advice!
Granny’s Hot Potato!
This activity will help students understand that even though our hands might not look dirty, they still have germs! You will need: a potato, several zip baggies, labels, markers or crayons, and white paper. 1. Ahead of time, scrub, slice and blanch (not completely cook) a potato to kill any germs that may exist naturally on the potato. 2. After recess, before students have washed their hands, have students pass around a small slice or two of potato. Put these potato slices in a zipper bag labeled “Before Washing” 3. Now, have students wash their hands thoroughly using proper hand washing techniques. 4. Have them handle another potato slice or two after their hands are clean. Put these potato slices in a zipper bag labeled “After Washing.” 5. After about a week, have students examine (through the plastic) the potatoes and draw pictures of what they see. 6. Ask students to answer the following questions on the backs of their pictures: What is different about the potato slices? Why do they think they are different?
