Teeth and Dental Health

Our teeth are very important! In order for dental health to become a life-long habit, it is important to start early. Preschool aged children are also close to begin losing their baby teeth. This week we will spend some time learning about our teeth and how to take care of them. Knowing how to properly care for our teeth and what to kinds of things are bad for our teeth is a great help.

CIRCLE TIME

Healthy Teeth Activity

Draw a large smile on butcher paper. It needs to be an "open mouth" smile for this activity. Use regular white index cards for the teeth. Cut out pictures from magazines or the internet of healthy and sugary foods. Tape them to the back of the index cards. Tape the index cards to the smile to look like a mouth full of teeth. Place 2 boxes, 1 with a smiley face and 1 with a frowny face, on the floor or table in front of you. Hang the Smile up in the circle time area.
Ask the children to smile really big and look at each others teeth. Our teeth are bone-like objects in our mouths that help us chew up our food. In order to keep our teeth healthy and strong, we must take care of them. Eating sugary foods, like cookies and candy, can cause damage to our teeth. Sugar sticks to the teeth and can cause them to become weak. When that happens, they can break. We can keep that from happening by brushing and flossing our teeth everyday. Brushing our teeth is a lot like washing our hands! It helps to keep us healthy.
Ask a child to remove a tooth from the smile. On the back is a picture of food. Is the food good for your teeth or bad for your teeth? Have the child place the tooth in the correct box. Talk about what makes the food good or bad. Then continue with the rest of the children and the remaining teeth.

CLEAN TEETH ACTIVITY

Chew Test

Collect a few different foods they can taste. Provide some apple chunks, carrot sticks, and oreo cookies or chocolate graham crackers. Make sure there are mirrors available. Have the kids eat a cookie and then look at how dirty their teeth are. Eeeewww!! Then have them drink a little water and eat a carrot or apple. Now look at their teeth. Much cleaner, right?

This is a great example of how non-sugary foods can be much better choices to help keep their teeth healthy!



LETTER:  A a for Apple

A is for Apple! Apples are a healthy snack for your teeth and your body. Talk about the sounds that A makes. Print the color sheet below. Have the kids trace the letter with their finger and then a color. Color the picture.
http://first-school.ws/t/alpha1/a.htm

READING

This week we will work on ot and og and the short O sound.

On starfall.com:  og and ot
On readingbear.org: short "o" sounds

The fun activity for this week will involve plastic drink cups. It is best to make the first letters all one color, say red, and the ot and og part of the word in another color, say blue.

You will make an ot cup and an og cup. Then make cups for beginning letters of D, F, G, H, J, L, N, and P. Discuss the different sounds that the letters on each cup makes. Begin with the ot cup. Have everyone say "ot". Place the D cup in front of the ot cup. Ask a child to say the D sound. Now read ot. Put them together! You can continue this through the rest of the sounds.

SCIENCE

How Can Foods Stain Our Teeth?

Materials Needed:

4 eggs

4 clear cups

Cola

OJ

Vinegar

Water

 Present the eggs to the kids and compare them to your teeth. They are similar in texture and the same color. Explain that the foods and drinks we ingest can stain our teeth and we are going to demonstrate with the eggs. Place 1 egg in a cup and cover it with water. This is our control. This egg will not change colors. Place another egg in a cup and cover it with cola. What color do you think this egg will turn?  Place the 3rd egg in a cup and cover with vinegar. We already did this experiment at Easter, so see if they remember what happened to the egg.  Place the final egg in a cup and cover it with the orange juice. Do they think this egg will turn colors?
Leave the eggs alone for the day. You can check back a few times to see what is going on. After 24 hours, you should begin to see some color changes. Talk about the changes and what might have made the changes happen.
Brushing your teeth regularly can keep this staining from happening!





MATH

Tooth Counting

For this activity we will use playdough and playdough mats.
Math Mats - Teeth


Print out the above mats and laminate for best results. Give the kiddos white playdough (you can make your own by going here.)  Ask them to make the number of teeth listed on the nose of the face and place them in the mouth. These can be very funny! This is a great way to practice counting while also doing a Teeth activity!


You can also do this same activity on another day using mini-marshmallows or slivered almonds.



COMMUNITY

Dentists

Dentists are the doctors who take care of our teeth. We visit the dentists every year for a checkup (or to make sure our mouth is healthy) just like we visit the doctor for the same reason. The dentist will look into your mouth and make sure that all of your teeth are healthy. If they find any teeth that aren't healthy, they will need to fix them. Getting a filling doesn't hurt, but it is best to try to not need any. The best way to do that is to eat healthy foods and brush and floss your teeth everyday.

BOOKS

on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Berenstain-Bears-Visit-Dentist-Prebound/dp/0812429729/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367003001&sr=1-1&keywords=berenstein+bears+visit+the+dentist

"Sister Bear watches Dr. Bearson fill Brother Bear's small cavity. Then it's her turn in the chair to have a dangling baby tooth removed. An entertaining story for preschoolers of a cheerful and informative visit to a dentist. "


  on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Brush-Your-Teeth-Please-Pop-Up/dp/B00BR9YU6S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1367003068&sr=1-1&keywords=brush+your+teeth+please

"What child can resist imitating a chimp brushing its teeth back and forth? Or a shark that flosses every day? Youngsters will have lots of fun learning about proper dental hygiene in this delightful pop-up book. "




ART

Toothbrush & Floss Painting

Materials Needed:
Construction Paper OR Butcher Paper
Toothbrushes
Floss
Paints

Provide paints, paper, a toothbrush and a strip of floss to each child and let them go crazy! Being allowed to paint with unusual objects makes it more interesting.




CRAFT

Toothbrush Craft

Materials Needed:
Construction Paper
Tissue Paper
Glue

Cut a toothbrush shape out of the paper. Provide squares of tissue paper and glue and allow the kids to fill in the bristly part of the brush with the tissue paper.

MUSIC

Got My Toothpaste (tune of Row Row Row Your Boat)

Got my toothpaste, got my brush,
I won't hurry, I won't rush.
Making sure my teeth are clean,
Front and back and in between.
When I brush for quite a while,
I will have a happy smile!

COOKING

Smile Pizza!

Ingredients:

Bagels (thin work best!)

Pizza Sauce

Cheese Sticks

Cut each half of the bagels in half to make a half moon (smile). We used the thin bagels so they would be less bread-y! Allow the kids to spread pizza sauce on their smile. Cut the cheese sticks into small tooth-like bits. I cut the stick in half lengthwise and then into small chunks. Allow the kids to add teeth to their smiles! Bake in a 400º oven for about 5-7 minutes.

MOTHER'S DAY CRAFT

Craft Stick Frames

Materials Needed:
Craft Sticks (like popsicle sticks)
Paint
Stickers
Ribbons
Googly Eyes
Sparkles
Heart stickers
Etc.
Craft Glue

Picture of the Kids

Glue the sticks in a square shape with the center open for the picture to show through. Allow the kids to decorate the frame using whatever materials you have. When done and dry, place the picture in the frame and let the kids take them home for Mommy's Day gift!

"I Can" Week! Confidence Building (April 1 - 5)

It is important for kids to have self-confidence and realistic, positive perceptions of themselves. Children who lack confidence tend to avoid risks, become socially awkward, and participate less in class and extracurricular activities. Parents and teachers can help instill self-confidence in young children by posing challenges and then stepping back to allow the children to achieve or fail and support and encourage their efforts.

To kick this week off, talk about "I Can" in circle time. Go around the circle and talk about something each child can do. Give them an example yourself first. Try to get them to come up with their own special answer, but offer assistance if needed. They should be very proud of their accomplishments! Just being able to put on their own shirt or brush their own teeth is a big deal at this age. Congratulate each other as you discuss each child's "I Can".


LETTER:  D d for "Do"

Being able to "Do" things on their own is this week's theme!

Trace the letter D and talk about words that begin with D http://bogglesworldesl.com/alphabet_worksheets/BigD.doc



SITE WORDS - NAME

The Name Game

For this activity, you will need alphabet stickers and paper.  I like to use the foam stickers so they are more substantial. Write the child's name on the paper. Place all the alphabet stickers in a big bowl. Make sure you have enough stickers so that each letter of each child's name is available.

Give each child their paper with their name. One by one the kids will search through the bowl and find letters. Each turn lasts until they find 1 letter that belongs in their name. When they find one of their letters, have them stick it on the paper below where you wrote it. Continue this process for each child until everyone has fully spelled their name.

This is all about letter recognition and spelling their name. Be very positive and give good praise when they are able to make correct matches. They CAN do it! As each child finishes their name, they should get a "prize" for completing the game!

SCIENCE

Ice Cube Painting

In keeping with the "I Can" theme, I wanted to pick something they can totally do on their own. Prep for this by making a couple of ice cube trays full of colored water. Just add a few drops of food coloring to the water in the trays. Try to make several different colors.

Give each child a piece of white paper or allow several children to color together on a piece of white butcher paper. This is a bit messy, but really fun! Use the ice to color the paper. You can provide napkins if they are having trouble holding the ice bare handed. If you feel comfortable, you could also freeze a toothpick in each ice cube (or maybe even a Q-tip) so they can use that to hold it.

While they are coloring, discuss what is happening to the ice. When water gets really cold, it turns hard and becomes ice. When it gets warmer it melts and becomes water again!  You can also discuss how the different colors are interacting with each other as they melt and mix together. Are they creating new colors?

"I Can" ACTIVITY

Following Directions



Completed Pyramid

 Following directions is a very important concept for kids. Trying to follow directions and failing can be very frustrating, especially for kids. In order to empower them, we are going to do a special "I Can" activity.

Use blocks, legos, or whatever other building material you wish. Give each child a specific direction to follow in the building of your item. It is best to have a definate end product you are trying to complete, so that they know when they have accomplished it. For example, build a basic building with Legos. Ask the first child to build a square base to start. Assist them, encourage them, but do not do it for them. Remember, they CAN! Then ask each child to take a turn and add to the building. Give them very specific directions. 

Once the building is complete, give great praise and talk about how great they did. Allow them to really feel proud of what they have accomplished. You could take a picture of it, print it out, and write on it that WE BUILT THIS! Post it in the room to remind them that they did it! It is also fun to knock down whatever they just built, so let them have at it.





MATH

Pom Pom Gripping, Sorting, Counting

You can use the same painted egg cartons from a couple of weeks ago. Each child will need a set of tongs. Put a bunch of pom poms in different colors in a bowl. The kids will need to pick up each pom pom with tongs and place it in the corresponding colored egg carton section. (This is also a fine motor activity)

Once all the pom poms have been sorted by color, they should count how many of each colored pom pom there are. Organize them by number. Put the largest pile of pom poms first, then the next largest, and so forth.


Pom Pom Math

Use a divided plate for this activity. The top 2 sections will be what you are adding and the answer will go in the big bottom section. Place 1 pom pom in a top section and 1 pom pom in the other top section. Discuss what you get when you add 1 pom pom to 1 pom pom. Physically take the pom poms from the top trays and place them together in the bottom tray and say "1 pom pom plus 1 pom pom equals 2 pom poms!" Try this with 2 in one section and 1 in the other. This is a great visual way to begin to understand adding items together. Do this with them several times this week and see if they can begin to do it on their own at some point! THEY CAN!



MOTOR SKILLS

Cutting Practice

Print the worksheet HERE and allow the kids to practice cutting straight lines using preschool safety scissors. (you guessed it, they can!)



CRAFT

Beading Bracelets

Provide colorful beads and pipe cleaners and direct them to create a beautiful bracelet!




BOOKS
Get it on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/Can-Be-Anything-Jerry-Spinelli/dp/0316162264/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363802173&sr=1-1&keywords=i+can+be+anything#

Just like the title suggests, this book talks about how kids can be anything they want to be!!


Get it on Amazon!  http://www.amazon.com/Incredible-Ways-greatness-shine-through/dp/1401907822/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363802321&sr=1-1&keywords=incredible+you

A fantastic way to introduce the concept of being unique and powerful!



ART

Glue Painting

Materials Needed:

White school glue

Food coloring
Small paint brushes
Paper

Squirt some glue into a small bowl and add food coloring until it is the color you want. Create several different colors. Direct the kiddos to paint with this just as they normally would. The glue creates some really cool pictures that have texture! They CAN make cool art. Be sure to hang their masterpieces around the room. (if they have the manual dexterity to squeeze a glue bottle, they could paint that way also)

MUSIC

Create Homemade Instruments

This is a fun project! This way they CAN make their own music!

Castanets: make using poster board and buttons. Cut out rectangles of poster board (or cardboard), fold in half and glue a button to the inside edge of each side. Click them together for some great rhythm. (used bottle caps instead of buttons in the image)

Tambourines:  take 2 foam plates. Lay one down and place some beans, beads, rice, etc  on the plate. Lay the other plate on top with the edges together and tape the edges down. Depending on what you put inside is how the instrument will sound. You could make a couple of different versions of this.

Egg Shakers:  fill Easter eggs will rice and glue or tape shut. Shake, shake, shake!

Guitar:  Take a shoe box, cereal box, or tissue box. If you are using a cereal box or shoe box you will need to cut a hole in the center of one of the big flat sides. A tissue box is fine as-is. Wrap large rubber bands around the box longways to create the strings. Tape a paper towel tube to the top to act as the "neck". Strum away!

COOKING

Fruit Pizzas

They CAN do this all on their own!

Ingredients:

Sugar cookies or graham crackers

Vanilla frosting

Various fruit cut into small pieces

Give each child a cookie or graham cracker. Allow them to spread theirs with the frosting. Then they can add whatever fruit they want. Voila! Yummy fruit pizza they totally made themselves. :)