Introduction to Germs: A Kindergarten Health Lesson

Use these guidelines to teach the students:

Ask student the question “What are germs?” Give them a chance to answer before telling them that germs are living things that can possibly make people very sick. Germs can either be a bacteria or a virus. Tell the children that they must go to the doctor to see whether they are sick from a bacteria or a virus. The doctor will either see that you are sick from bacteria which requires an antibiotic to fight the germs, or whether you are sick because of a virus, which has no cure. Let the students know that their bodies are capable of fighting off these viruses all by themselves.

Next, ask students what they can you do to keep from getting sick from the germs? List their answers on the board. Then add the following:

1. Wash your hands for twenty seconds any time you cough, sneeze, play in the dirt, get ready to eat, play with animals, or go to the bathroom.

2. Cover your face when you sneeze or cough. When you sneeze you can see the mist of germs coming out of your nose in to the air. The best thing to do is to cough or sneeze into your elbow instead of your hands because germs are spread more easily by the palms of your hands. This is because you use your hands to touch things. If you do cough or sneeze into your hands, then you should go wash them right away.

3. Stay at home when you are sick. You could get your friends sick if you go to school. If you have a friend that comes to school sick, then you should do your best to stay at least a short distance away from them.

4. Help clean common areas touched by hands. Help the teacher once per day to wipe down all the door knobs and desk tops with disinfecting wipes. *Note-Create a classroom chart so that the children know whose turn it is to help clean.

Play:

Go to the sink and do a practice run of how to wash your hands for twenty seconds. This can be done by washing your hands while singing two verses of “The Wheels on the Bus”. You may choose another classroom song if you don’t usually sing that song. It is also more fun for the students if you buy a bottle of Kandoo hand soap.

Practice Quiz:

There is a great printable worksheet on Home Training Tools that gives Kindergarten children a chance to go over what they just learned. They can use their crayons to mark which pictures show germs being spread and which ones stop germs from being spread.

Read:

Read “Germs are not for Sharing” by Elizabeth Verdick. This book sells new on Amazon for $9. You might be able to request it at your library for free.

Optional:

Buy Glo Germ Gel Kit from Amazon.com for $78. This kit will give you everything you need to spray children’s hands and have the germs glow under the Ultraviolet light. This way your students can see the germs before they wash their hands and then check them again after they wash their hands.