January 28- February 1
During the week of January 28 to February 1, we focused on teeth brushing as our chosen healthy habit. Last week, we noticed that some of the kids' teeth are visibly decaying and have holes in them, and many of the children complain about their teeth hurting from eating too much candy, so we decided it was important to take this week to focus on dental hygiene. We started off the week by telling the kids we had "regalitos" for them if they stayed for a class after lunch, and they were all very excited to receive their very own toothbrushes! We constructed toothbrush holders out of old egg cartons and wrote each child's name on a toothbrush, and then we gave them the opportunity to brush their teeth after lunch each day. We taught the kids about the importance of brushing teeth, why we need our teeth, and how to best take care of them, but really, we probably didn't need to teach them much; they were so excited to have their own toothbrushes and the opportunity to brush! Almost every one of the kids brushed their teeth after lunch without us prompting them, and a few of the kids begged us to let them brush their teeth twice!
We kept up with the toothbrushing activities as the week continued. We did an art activity with the kids that involved them coloring pictures of themselves brushing their teeth (and used pipe cleaners as the toothbrushes), and we played a relay-race type game, where the kids had to throw frisbees (candy) into the mouths (circle of rope) and then sweep them away with giant "toothbrushes" (brooms). We hope that we can keep encouraging the kids to brush their teeth so that it becomes a habit after we leave El Bichito, but the way things are going as of now, it seems as if they love the privilege of owning a toothbrush, and as long as they have access to one, they'll keep on brushing!
No comments:
Post a Comment