This week, our whole-school Living and Learning statement is ‘I know the importance of personal hygiene, including handwashing.’
In KS1, we have been discussing lots of different ways that we can keep ourselves clean and healthy such as regularly having a shower or bath, cleaning our teeth using toothpaste and washing our hands.
In 2C, we conducted an experiment where we filled a bowl of water and sprinkled pepper on the surface. The surface of the water represented our hands and the pepper represented germs. We dipped one finger into the bowl each and saw that the pepper attached itself to our fingers when we did not have soap on them. We then dipped one finger into soap and then into the water and saw that the pepper moved away from our skin and onto the side of the bowl. This showed us just how powerful soap is and how important it is that we wash our hands regularly.
We identified lots of areas around school that are touched regularly by lots and lots of people. We know that these areas are ‘hotspots’ for germs, and if we touch them, it’s best to wash our hands afterwards.
This includes: doors, door handles, anything in the toilets and play equipment. It is important to wash our hands with soap so that we do not spread germs to others, or pick them up. Germs can be harmful and might make us poorly. We also identified places in the home that might be hotspots for germs, within the bathroom and kitchen.
Help at home: by identifying some ‘hotspots’ for germs within your home. Discuss the importance of handwashing and encourage children to follow the handwashing guide to ensure their hands are super clean!
How to wash your hands NHS song | NHS (youtube.com)
(Please note this is a YouTube video. Make sure you watch your child when using YouTube as adverts or unwanted videos may follow. Thank you.)