Dental Health

Theme: Dental Health

Choosing Time: Dominoes, Little People Village, Cushions, Books
Art: "Brushing" our Yellow "Teeth" White
We painted some paper yellow teeth white with old toothbrushes.
Snack: Thank you Leo for a yummy & healthy snack! We loved the "clementines," "cuties," "tangerines," or "tang-a-ma-thingys" (depending on who you ask) as well as the granola bars!

Science: We had 2 experiments today to help reinforce why brushing our teeth is so important.

1) I gave each child an oreo cookie to eat. We passed around a couple of mirrors for them to see what happened to their teeth. Many of us were surprised and shocked by the black residue on our teeth. I then gave each child a tiny slice of apple to eat. (For the sake of our experiment even our picky eaters ate an apple slice :) We passed the mirrors around again to see what may have happened...We then discussed the impact different kinds of foods have on our teeth. We all agreed that making healthy food choices is important.After Oreos:
After Apples:




2) I had tea-dyed 2 eggs. I explained that the egg shell is similar to our teeth. We talked about different things that can stain teeth like cola and even orange juice. I passed an egg around and gave each child the opportunity to brush the egg with real toothpaste. After the egg had been brushed 9 times in the same spot, the stain was gone. Removing the stain in just a little spot took a lot of effort. We learned how important it is to brush our teeth slowly and get each and every tooth.
Book: Dr. De Soto by William Steig

Music: We learned a fun chant to remind us how to brush:

I Know How To Brush My Teeth
I know how to brush my teeth
I brush on top and underneath
Up like a rocket
Down like a plane
Back and forth like a choo choo train

We also learned a fun song sung to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat":

Brush, Brush, Brush Your Teeth
Brush, brush, brush your teeth
Brush them everyday
Up & down & round and round
Brush the germs away!

Math: A Mouth Full of 32 Teeth
We took turns rolling a dice. We then marked a tooth for every number rolled. The first one to fill in all his teeth won! I think Spencer came in first! This was a fun way to practice counting.