Hygiene Activities & Preschool

When children reach preschool age they sometimes refuse to take baths. They may start rebelling from brushing their teeth or even washing their hands after going to the bathroom. Preschool activities can promote good hygiene in fun and endearing ways. The motivation may teach kids to start cleaning themselves on a regular basis. Making children enjoy these routines will help them to administer their own healthy habits later in life.

Bathtub Training Class

• Have a bathtub lesson to teach preschool children how to wash themselves in a bathtub. This learning activity will involve a large happy-looking doll, a container that resembles a bathtub and bath supplies. You can be artistic and add tissue paper inside the bathtub and toys on the surface to make it look imaginative. Invite every child around you to pretend to wash the doll. You can even use a bar of soap and toy washcloth as props.

  Explain the basic body parts of the doll and the order of washing. Have each child take a turn to pretend washing the doll. When they're done, give them a ribbon that says, "Bath Washing Professional," or something to that affect.

Famous Dentist Day

• Make a fun-filled day to celebrate your own "Dentist Day" holiday. Write it on a calendar to build up excitement. On this day, invite a real dentist to come in as a guest to teach kids how to brush their teeth. Have the dentist use a large prop of a goofy toothbrush to show everyone step-by-step how to brush their teeth. Show some X-rays of teeth and what happens when ugly cavities form. Show a cartoon video of plaque-fighting heroes that will hopefully spark laughter.

  Later, you can have everyone draw and color a picture of a happy tooth. When the day is done, give everyone a little baggie of dental hygiene gifts to bring home, so they can practice what they learned.

My Picnic Cut-outs

• Teaching preschoolers the importance of the food chart is important for nutrition education. Have a food chart poster handy and teach them the basics about healthy food, such as apples and bread, and unhealthy food, such as like ice cream and soda. Have an entire table full of old food catalogs, a pile of safety scissors and craft glue all waiting for them to use. Also have copies of a checkered picnic blanket, either regular paper-sized or larger.

  Spend a class period having everyone cut out all of the healthy foods on the food chart. Glue and arrange them on a picnic blankets. They kids are allowed to have only one desert. Have them hand in the cutouts so you can grade and then hang them up around the room as a reward.