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Green Germ Lesson for Kids

October 20, 2012 in Children's Health Education, The Singing Nurse Music

School is in full swing now and we wanted to pass along some fun health lessons and activities for young kids. Whether you are teaching your preschooler about hand washing or needing a little reinforcement with young children about germs, this post is for you. Subscribe too>>>>>

Kian is proud of his germ creation.

Green Germ Activity

Things you will need to complete this hand washing, germ lesson.

♥ Germ print out  ♥ Green tissue paper  ♥ Glue  ♥ Green marker or bingo marker

1. Print out the germ picture from “The Singing Nurse Health Lessons for Kids”.

2. Shred up green tissue paper. (let the kids help, they will like doing this)

3. Place a pool of glue on a paper plate.

4. Crumple up a small piece of green tissue paper, dip it in glue and place it on the picture, continue until germ is covered. You can instruct the kids to not cover the eyes and mouth but don’t worry if they do, the kids or you can always draw it back on or give them pieces of black construction paper to make a face. (hand over hand for disabled children)

5. Take a green marker or bingo marker and put dots all over your germ. We were not happy with the light green tissue paper we used so we enhanced it with a darker green marker. 

This is 1 of 10 hands on activities included as part of “Lesson 1-Rubba Dub Dub-Hand Washing” from “The Singing Nurse-Health Lessons for Kids”.  “Lesson 4-Don’t Spread Your Germs Around-Flu Prevention” combines well with lesson 1. Who would of thought learning about germs, hand washing and preventing kids from spreading their germs could be such great fun.

Added fun:

1. Print out Resource page R-3, (green little germs) there are 16 germs on the sheet.

2. Cut them out

3. Tape to window, whiteboard or chalkboard

4. Make up a song and get rid of 1 germ(minus 1), count backwards learn about subtraction and reverse it to learn addition by adding 1.

7 little germ!

7 little germs, up on a wall

One wants to jump down and crawl

On our nose and on our lips on our chin and on our hips

He wants to make us sick! …. and we say no! go away!

So one ran away and six were left(move 1 germ away)

6 little germs, up on a wall… etc.

Use your imagination, if you have a simple keyboard with beats or pre-programmed melody, it will make it easier to make up a song. You can also use a standard like “5 little monkey’s jumping on the bed” and change the words. People who work with small children are great at this.

I hope you enjoyed my post today, more fun learning brought to you by The Singing Nurse.

For Healthy Kids, Ms. Dawn

Other posts you may like:

♥ Learn more about SMA1 & Kian  ♥ Hand print and hand washing fun! 

♥ Hand washing lessons & more

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“Individual” Health Lessons for Kids now available!

September 22, 2012 in Children's Health Education, News - Updates

Just wanted to announce that each of The Singing Nurse Health Lessons for Kids is also now available Individually.

This is great news for those health care workers, teachers and parents who really need help teaching preschool children hand washing. If you need strategies to kick off your exciting school year to keep everyone healthy and not spreading germs, we have fun games, songs and crafts to do just that!

Or just maybe, you need to round out your exciting dental month festivities with one of our Health Lessons for Kids combo download that includes a dental hygiene lesson and a dentist visit lesson and of course receive both of our catchy songs, “I’m Gonna Brush My Teeth” and “The Dentist is a Good Guy”.

We’ve got you covered! We would really feel sad if you really wanted a certain lesson or two and didn’t want to go for the whole curriculum even though we know you would love it if you did. This is our way of helping you to jump in and to get your healthy living feet wet and most important, to educate your little curious kids.

 

If we missed anything you let us know! We love learning and improving in any way we can just like you.

For Healthy Kids, Ms. Dawn

>>>>Individual Lessons are Here!<<<<

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Hand print & hand washing fun!

September 15, 2012 in Children's Health Education

paint the hand

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We had a little fun the other day and ended up washing our hands afterwards of course. My little friend may not get his hands as dirty as other kids but still enjoys a good bubbly hand washing. Try this hand washing activity with your little people. You might have a few really outdoorsy type kids who come into the classroom with fingernails in need of a good cleaning.  Apply this activity so no one is singled out in the hand washing department. 

This can be a group activity where kids pair up. You will know your kids whether they can work together or if each child should work alone.

Items you will need:

Having all items ready will help your activity to go smoothly, or as smooth as it can go with preschooler and young children.

*cover-up/aprons  *paints  *paint brushes  *paper  *a few paper towels ready for each child to use  *a small container of soapy water for each child (sharing  1 tub of soapy water would be a very germy situation)

1. Child 1 paints one hand of child 2 and has him make a hand print on a piece of paper.

2. Child 1 wipes excess paint off hand of child 2.

3. Child 1 paints the other hand of child 2 and makes a print on same piece of paper.

4. Child 1 wipes excess paint off hand of child 2 again, set picture aside to dry.

5. Children trade places where child 2 helps child 1 now- do 1-4 again.

6. Teacher places a pre-prepared container of soapy water in front of each child.

7. Everyone has a grand time washing and playing in the soapy water, it will probably be tinted in whatever color paint the child was using. Make this a teachable moment as all the children will be in their little tubs of soapy water and you can review good hand washing techniques. 1. wash fronts and backs 2. in between fingers 3. wrist and fingernails etc. (Added fun: play the “Rubba Dub Dub, or Don’t Spread Your Germs Around” songs as the children wash their hands)

This would also be a good time to have a group discussion and review other times we need to wash our hands. 1. when we come in from playing outdoors 2. before we eat 3. after playing with pets 4. after blowing our nose 5. after coughing or sneezing in our hands 6. before we play in the rice table etc.

8. Have partners go in pairs to wash hands at the sink with adult supervision to complete the process, dry hands with paper towel and toss it in the trash. 

9. Optional: After the children return to their seats give each child a little dab of hand lotion to rub on their hands.

Give lots of praise for a job well done.

If you enjoyed this activity you may like “The Singing Nurse Health Lessons for Kids”, which is full of fun activities, games and artsy projects. The lessons are simple to follow and save you lots of preparation time besides all the catchy songs that teach healthy living.

Have a wonderful school year, please subscribe via our feedburner so you won’t miss a health post tip, recycling project or an outdoorsy craft activity.

For Healthy Kids, 

Ms. Dawn, The Singing Nurse

Post you may like:

♥ Health Lessons for kids    ♥ Hand washing    ♥ Reasons to wash hands  

♥ Family germ game    ♥ Meet Kian    ♥ What is SMA 1

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The Singing Nurse on Curiosity, Creativity, and Expression

September 9, 2012 in Children's Health Education, Nurturing the Child

Curiosity, Creativity and Expression

Mike and Micael kiss

—-

Young children love to move about their world to learn, explore, create, make believe and trust, and that is what The Singing Nurse loves about babies, preschooler and older kids too.

Children are special creations, unique in all aspects and have been gifted in their own peculiar and extraordinary way.

 

Healthy Living

Christmas 2008 003Children will take our lead when it comes to life and healthy living. Give a child a choice between apple and orange slice and they will pick a healthy snack each time.

It is an awesome privilege to guide these little ones through the maze of  the “good and bad” things for us.  Kids are so very impressionable and eager to copy our actions.

Guiding children through good health habits like; hand washing, coughing or sneezing in our shoulder, not spreading our germs around, brushing our teeth, going to the dentist regularly, resting our bodies and the overall monitoring and care of our amazing bodies is a distinctive task of parenting. It is draining and demanding as well as an unexpected joy to be part of.

Music/Movement

Christmas 2008 004Young children blossom and thrive in the presence of melody, rhythms,  instruments and voice. Kids are just free to express what ever is in their being.

Who among us has not observed a small child bee bopping to the beat, and you yourself being ignited by this show of innocence and freedom. Here we can follow the children’s lead.

It plainly puts a smile on your face. “A merry heart does good like a medicine”.

Provide a child with simple percussion instruments, simple wind instruments and they will derive great pleasure in the music they make. Encourage this!

Art

ToothbrushGive a child paper and writing utensils from a colorful palette and they will express themselves with utter abandon.

Give them watercolors and they will paint to your amazement for long periods of time.

Give them clay and they will relish the opportunity to manipulate it by smooshing it, squeezing it and pounding it with delight to their own identifiable creation. You’ll say,”Tell me about what you have made”, and they will know and tell you exactly what it is.

We as the adults in our children’s world must provide the basic raw materials and tools to foster creativity, curiosity and expression. They will take our lead, what a privilege.

Posts you may like:  ♥ Sample of Posts ♥ Germ posts ♥ Hand washing lessons

 

 

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Art, Music, Education & Inspiration for a Healthy School Year!

September 3, 2012 in Children's Health Education, Creative Adventures, The Singing Nurse Music

Below is a post I recently shared at PreK&KSharing, Thanks Debbie Clement for the invite.

Art, Music, Education & Inspiration for a Healthy School Year!

by Dawn Ginese, RN aka The Singing Nurse

Wow, great to be with you and to gather with some of the most creative motivated folks in education.  Miss Debbie has given me the opportunity and awesome privilege to post today. You can click here to read a bit more about my background as a Head Start nurse and beyond.

I will write a fairly short post but include several links so you can become familiar with my website resources and posting style. Below are some of my favorite subjects to share about that really get me churning.

Doing what is takes to teach the point!

 Back to School might have already begun for some of you so here are some helpful tools and ideas I can offer to make your school year fun, educational, musical, creativity and healthy of course. Please contact me if you get stuck on a subject that you need a little creative flare or a song to drive home the educational point. I would love the challenge and always welcome new ideas.

Presently I care for a home-bound disabled boy and work long 12 hr shifts and need to occupy this typical 6 yr old with interesting things to do and learn. So, I often post the projects we work on, like fun ideas using elements from the outdoors.

We often paint with earthy items from the outdoors to create cards and book covers.

I love looking around and seeing what is at hand to recycle and make it into something fabulous. I know what you are thinking….you do the same right? I call myself a preschool teacher with a nurses hat.

I write post to help you teach the family and little ones how to be healthy. We Post about germ games, hand washing, Lyme disease, brushing teeth, an occasional pictorial poem and more.

And of course we always have something in the musical cooker. The most recent project I am excited about is “Alligator in My Soup”, a song about eating our veggies and of course the alligator thinks they are yummy because they are good for you. (My dental lesson also includes fun activities with veggies and other healthy things that make our teeth happy.) We created an alligator with shoe boxes that was inspired by recycling and reading books with alligator themes, then from there the song sprang. The veggie eating characteristic of our alligator was inspired by my daughter in-law’s dilemma. She was having difficulty getting the grand-kids to eat their veggies. I hope to make the finished project available by 2013 including a song video.

If anyone is interested in being part of this project please contact me. It would include pictures of your children with certain veggies and possible short movie clips. I will post more details later.

The greatest resource I can offer you are my songs and that is what comes from the deepest part of me. I have also written health lessons for kids that go along with my health songs. The lessons include crafts and more to make your school year easier, happier and healthier. New “Individual TSN Health Lessons” now available! Health Lesson Overview

I would love to connect with you to help in anyway I can. My goal is keeping our greatest treasures, our kids, excited about learning and creating, caring about creatures, caring about their neighbors, discovering and caring about our awesome world, and of course, keeping them, their classmates and their awesome teachers happy and healthy.

Thanks again Miss Debbie for sharing so much with us and letting me share with your friends today.

For Life and Healthy living, 

 Ms. Dawn, The Singing Nurse

TheSingingNurse.com

 

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Back to School Song, We’ll be driving to school when we come!

August 20, 2012 in Children's Health Education, The Singing Nurse Music

So yes it is that time of year again, getting ready for “Back to School”. All of you fantastic teachers and awesome home school parents are revving up to teach the kiddos about “Reading and Writing and Rithmetic”, sprinkled with teaching preschoolers and the big kid too about proper hand washing. The kids will be active in science projects learning about teeth, eyes, babies and more. I am so glad teachers, parents and school systems are continuing to include music, gym, art and health in their curriculum.

We all need these areas of self expression and of course all of us here at The Singing Nurse Headquarters love when these subject incorporate learning. We would love to help you teach your youngster about healthy living and of course we incorporate music, movement, art and health. Check us out.

But while all of  you have been buzzing around getting ready, your’s truly has come up with a fun song to start off your school year. I know “She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain” has been used before, but I think you will agree our version adds some fun twists and turns to encourage healthy living and learning that will influence Professor and Pupils alike.

Below are the TSN lyrics and below that is a PDF for your printing convenience.

Have a wonderful, healthy, active, creative school year. Ms. Dawn

We’ll be Driving to School when we come D.G 8/12/2012

We’ll be driving to school when we come, (echo: when we come) pretend to drive

We’ll be driving to school when we come, (echo: when we come) pretend to drive

We’ll be driving to school x2-We’ll be driving to school when we come (when we come)

We’ll be riding in a car/school bus when we come, (beep beep/honk honk) drive…

We’ll be greetings our friend when we come, (echo: hello) wave hand…

We’ll be washing our hands when we come, (splish splash) pretend to wash hands

We’ll be shaking hands with neighbors when we come, (nice to meet you) shake hands

We’ll be covering our sneezes when we come (sneeze into shoulder)…

We’ll be covering our coughs when we come (cough into shoulder)…

We’ll be using a tissue when we come, pretend to blow your nose…

And we won’t spread our germs when we come (no, no) wag finger no, then point x2…

We’ll be eating healthy lunches when we come, (umm good) scoop food to mouth…

We’ll be eating fruits and veggies when we come, (crunch) bite into pretend apple…

We’ll be walking and leaping when we come, march and jump up…

We’ll be writing and painting when we come, write and paint in the air…

We’ll be reading and counting when we come, pretend to open book, point x3 to count…

We’ll be listening and learning when we come, cup ears and point to head…

Add your own activities, have a great school year!

Be safe and healthy, Ms. Dawn, The Singing Nurse

PDF We’ll be driving to school when we com

Creator of “The Singing Nurse Health Lessons for Kids” 

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Even Disney needs help stopping germs!

July 27, 2012 in Children's Health Education

Wow, came across this blog post about Disney experiencing a mysterious bug of sorts. It’s not surprising that germs are present in popular public places such as The Wild Kingdom. The more people and the closer in proximity to others we are, will increase our chances of germ exposure. It is good to know that Disney is upping the presence of hand sanitizer to it’s guests. We here at The Singing Nurse have learned that hand washing is really the best remedy since it incorporates friction as well as soap and water. Hand sanitizer is a good second choice if soap and water is not handy.

Things to Remember:

1. Don’t touch your eyes, nose and mouth while in public places. This is really hard and surely difficult for the kids to remember. Make it fun and play a game, have a reward for the winners. Try this fun germ game with the kids while you are on vacation. 

2. Bring your own stash of hand sanitizer to insure you are prepared and wash hands often.

3. Cough or Sneeze in your shoulder or a tissue to trap your germs which is being kind to your neighbor. Check out this post on the common cold which will also apply to any germy situation.

4. Download these two songs from the CDbaby player and add them to your favorite travel CD to make learning  fun. “Rubba Dub Dub” & “Don’t Spread Your Germs Around” Hear and download them here.

5. Spread a little “Don’t Spread Your Germs Around” love. See how here.

Have a wonderful vacation, get rested up for your back to school plans, stay healthy and don’t spread your germs around. 

Tell us your healthy or not so healthy vacation adventure…Comment below…

Connect to us and subscribe in the top right corner. 

For Healthy Kids and Families, 

Ms. Dawn, The Singing Nurse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Good Carrot Poem

June 9, 2012 in Children's Health Education, Creative Adventures

There once was a “good carrot”,  that hung out on a page
It kept on getting lots of hits, much to my dismay
It’s just a simple carrot I said, that’s orange and green and “good”
So I wrote this little poem, to see just where we stood
We all agree that our “good carrot”, has lots of vitamin A
And that it’s good for our eyes, helping us to see
Would you be so kind, as to drop a little line
 feed my curiosity, it is getting the best of me

I hope this is clear, as I check my stats on my website it seems I have been getting lots of hits on my “good carrot” and my “smiling carrot”. I would really like to know why you are searching for a carrot or what project you are working on that requires a carrot picture or carrot information. Just wondering and curious, comment below please…

I use the carrot pictures in my “Health Lessons for Kids” to teach that fruits and veggies make our teeth happy.

Don’t forget to comment below…

For Healthy Kids,

Ms. Dawn, The Singing Nurse

 

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5 Steps to an Itchy Free Summer

June 9, 2012 in Children's Health Education, News - Updates

Have Some Horse Sense!

5 steps to an Itchy Free Summer

Dawn Ginese, RN

Don’t dampen your summer by getting itchy from Poison Ivy, Oak or Sumac. My First hand experience says being prepared and knowledgeable is your best defense. I know, because I started my summer with the annoying itch. I discovered I had stepped on a bed of poison Ivy while dumping weeds from my flower beds in the woods. Applying these 5 simple steps will save you time, money and the itchy aggravation that Poison Ivy, Oak or Sumac can cause.

  1. Be prepared with products in case you come in contact.
  2. Know the enemy by knowing what Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac look like.
  3. Prevention is important to being free from the itchy plant oils.
  4. Actions to take in the unlikely event you do come in contact.
  5. Get help from your health care professions if you need it.

Be Prepared: I suggest having all your products available and ready before you take your first step outside this season. Go to your local pharmacy or get word of mouth advice for choosing good products.

  1. There are blocks available in lotion form that provides a barrier between you and the itchy plants.
  2. Have available Long sleeves and pants and heavy gloves while working outdoors.
  3. A variety of special soaps to wash off the poison ivy, oak or sumac oils are available at your local pharmacy.
  4. Itch relief ointments and lotions like the standard calamine lotion are a must to have on hand. I used Aveeno baby oatmeal bath for itch relief, it worked great. Make sure you have an over the counter allergy medication in your arsenal as well.

Know the Enemy: Do a Google search on the internet of Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac. Go to “Images” for a variety of pictures to help you identify these plants. The plants do not all look the same although they do have common characteristics. Poison Ivy and Oak have leaves of 3(Remember the old rhyme, leaves of 3, don’t touch me.)and Sumac have 7 or 13 leaves.  A picture is worth a look and will increase your sense of knowledge. There will also be plenty of rash pictures, a great reminder of the possibilities which will move you to action.

Prevention: Remember to use the products you have purchased.  Wear the long sleeve shirts and pants and heavy gloves. Scan the area you will be working in and remove the plants with your heavy gloves. If you know you are allergic to Poison Ivy, Oak or Sumac, call your lawn care professional to remove it.

Actions to take:  Apply your itchy plant barriers before heading outside. Have some oil removing soap on you just in case you know you have touched a plant and wash immediately. Assume you will be in contact with these itchy plants. Always wash yourself with a Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac oil remover after working outdoors. Take a shower after working and wash all your clothes in hot water. Clean your tools and shoes with the special soap for removing poison ivy, oak and sumac oils. The oils from the plants can last for long periods of time always clean everything.

Get Help: If you have tried to rid yourself of that really annoying rash and it is persisting, please don’t be a hero, get help. I was starting to feel like I was wearing wool undergarment and I was not sleeping well. I went to my doctor and he prescribed prednisone. It is amazing how effective just a few days of medication provided such itchy relief. I was on prednisone for 15 days. Please see your doctor for medical advise.

I have included my YouTube video below of my experience with Poison Ivy, and a fun set of lyrics to help you remember all that we’ve discussed today. Have some fun with it and please stay out of the Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac.

For a Healthy, Itch Free Summer,

Ms. Dawn, The Singing Nurse

www.TheSingingNurse.com

The Singing Nurse YouTube video retracing her itchy tracks.

Rap song fun, learning with music

Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac

Dawn Ginese, RN-The Singing Nurse 5/2012

Sing to a funky rap beat or

Clap your hands on your legs 2 x & clap hand together 2 x & say words

Poison Ivy, Oak and Sumac are the itchy plants you see

If you see leaves of 3, don’t touch me, don’t touch me

Be prepared, wear gloves, use soap

Know the leaves so you can cope

If you see leaves of 3, don’t touch me, don’t touch me

If you get the itch real bad, Calamine might help egad

See your doctor, he’s the one, He will give you Prednisone

If you see leaves of 3, don’t touch me, don’t touch me

Poison Ivy Oak and Sumac are the itchy plants you see

If you see leaves of 3, don’t touch me, don’t touch me

If you see leaves of 3, don’t touch me, don’t touch me

 Other Summer Safety Posts & more you may like:

♥ Lyme Prevention   ♥ Ocean Safety   ♥ Stingrays   ♥ Dirty Shoes   ♥ Health Lesson Info  ♥ TSN Music

 

Tell us about your summer safety experiences…Was this post helpful? Comment below, we would love to hear from you. 

 

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How to keep germs away and bond with your kids.

April 21, 2012 in Children's Health Education, Uncategorized

I like you, you're fun!

Kids love games and challenges, attention and bonding and unknown to them we can craftily teach them what they need to learn. Here is a simple game to play with kids to help foster good hand washing or hand sanitizing practices, preventing the spread of germs that make us sick and creating an atmosphere of learning and laughter.

Safety pin game:

Remember the games you’ve played at baby showers, this was one of my favorite, it really keeps you on your toes.

1. Collect 5 small safety pins for each person who will be participating. 

2. Attach the pins on outer clothing, you can connect the pins to each other if you like.

3. Set the rules for playing.  Make rules simple for younger children. The older children 5-8 yr olds will enjoy this game the most. Play this game as you go out shopping.

A. Remind the children that when they touch things and then touch their mouth, nose or eyes, this is when germs get into their bodies.

B. The object of the games is to not touch your mouth, nose or eyes with your bare hands, it is OK to use a clean tissue to scratch an itch or wipe a runny nose, just no bare hands.

C. When you see a participant touch their mouth, nose or eyes, that person must give one of their pins to you. You call out-You touched your _____, give me your pin & sanitize. Mom-your job will be to help with the sanitizer after the child touches his forbidden mouth, nose or eyes, a little dab will do ya. Later when you make a potty stop everyone can give their hands a good washing, another teachable moment.

D. The one with the most pins at the end of the shopping trip gets to pick the special activity or treat that you will all enjoy together.

Sooo, items you will need: safety pins, tissues (let each child put a couple in his pocket) and hand sanitizer. 

I like carrying one of the Purell hand sanitizers which has a niffy easy to get to plastic holder that straps to your shoulder strap or a ring on your handbag. The little bottle is easy to refill with your favorite sanitizer.

Hand sanitizer helps prevent germs.

 Other activities you may enjoy to re-enforce learning. Sing a hand washing song.

Name surfaces that may have germs, have an older child write the list as you shop.

Read more posts about hand washing and germ prevention:

♥ H2N1/Swine Flu

♥ Rhinovirus/The Cold 

♥ Strep Throat

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Let us know if you enjoyed this post, we would love to hear from you. Let us know if you and your children enjoyed the germ prevention bonding game. Comment below.

Ms. Dawn, The Singing Nurse

 

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