GERMS!! Teaching kids about hand washing and how germs spread.

I love working with preschoolers, they are becoming their own person and absorbing all the information that's around them.  Along with taking in all the info they are also learning about sharing, which is sweet, until you are trying to teach them things they shouldn't share and why, like their cups and the toy that was just in their mouth...why toys are still going into mouths when they are transitioning into kindergarten, and beyond I'm not sure but yes that's something we deal with.  Any one around preschoolers and elementary age children can tell you that the staff is crossing their fingers in high hopes of not catching every "bug" that spreads like wildfire through their classroom or school.  There have been plenty of times when half the class is out sick.  Or a whole two weeks of passing the stomach flu from one kid to the next at the center.

Before we go on and talk more about germs and how to reduce the sick days for everyone, let's take a minute to give a round a applause, and say Thank You! to all the teachers in day care centers, preschools, bus drivers, aids, and any other staff that I might be forgetting at the moment because these teachers (and staff) are getting sneezed on, cleaning up vomit, wiping noses, and are so tired of saying wash your hands that I'm surprised they don't have that on a CD on repeat going off every 5 minutes.  LOL.  They are submerged in germs of all sorts of kids who are not their own offspring!  Thank you for providing an education to these kids who are oblivious to why you're gagging a bit about the green snot running down their nose...and yup into their mouth..."Why blow my nose?"  We've all seen that, and don't shake your head, you probably did it as a tot yourself.

Oh kids are so cute.

One of my favorite lessons to present is about germs and hand washing. Last year I shared with you my favorite gross germy book SICK SIMON.  It's still my favorite book that I am always sure to read to each class because of the illustrations and it's just the perfect book to go with this lesson.  This year I did some searching and came up with a full story time and more books that are also wonderful to go along with Sick Simon and some fun songs.

Bear Feels Sick
Written by Karma Wilson
Illustrated by Jan Chapman


This is a cute book to open with.

I love that Karma Wilson keeps the same characters throughout her Bear series and the same cadence and flow of words.  We know what we will meet Crow, Wren, Badger, Hare, and Mouse.  We expect a rhyme on each page, and the repetition of the title throughout the book that we associate with the this lovely series.

In Bear Feels Sick we find bear has a stuffy nose, and sneezing, and feeling sick.  I love the emotion you can put into these first couple pages really getting across how crumby Bear is feeling, and show the empathy for bear because we've all felt that way.  When Bear's friends come over and discover that he's sick they work together to take care of him.  They make him tea, put cool cloths on his head, and tuck him into bed while talking in whispers and being quiet so Bear can rest.  Finally Bear wakes up and feels better, but oh no, his friends are now sick.

As she always does Wilson includes many wonderful vocab words for the hungry minds of her readers.  I love how she finds so many unique words that fit so smoothly into her rhythm of writing.
Grumbles, coax, smidgen, quivers, fret, and frolic are all words we don't hear often in everyday language and having them in the book with context kids learn what they mean and they are added to their mental word bank.

Jan Chapman has done beautiful illustrations that capture the cozy feel of the den and all the animals.

There are so many talking points you can bring up with your kids:
What do the friends do to help Bear?  What do your parents do to help you feel better? The friends get sick, how do you think they got sick?  This leads into the question of "What makes us sick?"

I found that many kids around the age of four or five can answer this with "Germs!" Most of the kids know that you can't see germs but not really how they spread.  I usually read Sick Simon next so the kids see how Simon spreads germs to all his friends and get grossed out by the illustrations.  Then I'll go into the book Germs! Germs! Germs!


Written by Bobbi Katz
Illustrated by Steve Bjorkman

This is a reader book (Level 3) aimed for first and second grades, but younger kids will listen to this and it is a fun book to read aloud.

What I like most about this book is that it's written from the perspective of the germs and it's more scientific than the other books.  Katz goes into how you can see germs with a microscope, where they are found and how they spread.  Bobbi goes into how germs have friends who help them grow along with enemies who prevent the germs from making others sick.

The first paragraph is repeated throughout the book and brings home the point that germs are everywhere!  I like that with this book you learn that it's more than just one sick kid spreading germs, Katz mentions how germs grow in food and that it's important to put left overs away.  Then there's a kid who scrapes his knee and that germs can cause an infection.  At this point I always ask what does your mom or the nurse do when you get a scratch?  They wash it out to make sure it's clean, then they put a band aid on to make sure dirt and germs don't get in.   I also pause at the food part and ask if it's ok to eat a left over hot dog from last night that's been left out on the counter.  Most kids are grossed out by that and yell "NO!"

After reading Sick Simon and Germs! Germs! Germs! I also ask "What is the number one way to keep from getting sick and spreading our germs to our friends?"

HAND WASHING!

Thank you Pinterest for leading me to Loons and Quines @ Librarytime and the fun finger play, felt board, song they did that is all about germs on your hands and washing them away.  I found that the kids quickly caught onto the song and started singing along.  For the full song be sure to check out their post here.

I wanted to use the book Do No Lick this Book* *It's Full of Germs by Idan Ben-Barak and Julian Frost because of the title.  At first I thought the book would be fantastic and funny, and drive home the point of not putting things in your mouth including your hands, but I did not get that from the book.  The first couple pages were interesting and informative showing how many microbes can fit on a tiny dot and that they are found everywhere but page 13 turned my stomach and turned me off the book.  I did not use this book in my story time because of the interactive touching the book to pick up the main microbe, Min, and then telling the kids to touch their teeth!😨  Then touch your teeth again to take not only Min but another germ friend along for a trip, and on it goes to touching your shirt, skin, and then the book again!  I'm sorry, but that is the opposite of what I was trying to teach, if your fingers go in your mouth they should be clean before that, then washed again after.

Is everything in the book bad?  No, I like that there are close up images of the book fibers, teeth, and skin.  The last page of the book is the one I like best.  Throughout the book you meet a couple odd shaped germs that are collected and have names "Min, Dennis, Rae, and Jake"  on this last page there is information on each of them and what their real name is and what it actually looks like and where they are found and live.  The book isn't about how they make you sick.  E. coli reside in your intestines and do work there, the problem with E. coli is that if you don't wash your hands after using the bathroom (or for adults don't wash your fruit and veggies that have fertilizer on them) E.coli will make you sick and spreads fast.

To show just how quick germs spread, and what happens when we don't wash our hands I recommend getting Glo Germs and doing a fun science activity.
I turned my back on the kids while putting some glo germs in my hand and fake sneezed into my hand, then went and gave everyone a high five.  You can also use props to show germs on surfaces like pens, and toys.  After my high fives, and touching toys I used a black light to show all my germs.  Then I washed my hands the "speedy" way which I'm sure many of you have seen: pump soap onto hands, run under water, and fast dry...all done!  And I let the kids see me do this and say, "OK my hands are alllll clean, I washed them right? Let's see." The black light reveals that, yikes! I didn't do so good at getting rid of my germs.  This leads into the next song I found that helps kids wash their hands well.  There are many songs you can find on Pinterest about hand washing, I found that I like "Tops and Bottoms" the most because it has the kids wash tops, bottoms, in between the fingers, and all around.  The goal is to be washing your hands for 20 seconds.  Other songs that take about that long to sing are: Mary Had a Little Lamb, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and the ABCs.

Did you know that drying your hands is just as important as washing them?

"...the dryer the hands, the fewer transmissible germs...."

I didn't know that either until I read Germ Proof Your Kids The Complete Guide to Protecting (Without Overprotecting) Your Family from Infections.  This was a interesting and good read.  Not a kids book but great resource for adults.  Germs are everywhere, we know that, and can you really Germ Proof you Kids? No, you can't put your kids in a bubble, they will catch colds, and occasionally the flu, or eat something bad, just like all of us. Harley A. Rotbart, M.D. has written a very well researched book about the multitude of viruses, bacteria, fungus, and everything in between.  He tells what each of them cause, how they spread, signs of having one.  Now this book is 11 years old now so I'm sure more studies have been done and I'd love to see a second edition of this book.  Regardless of the age of the book, much can be learned from Harley's findings.  He shares how to do your own research, trust your gut moms, and explores myths, and how to prevent your family from catching everything they come across, and relieve some worries.  He shares how kids immune systems are built and strengthened because of their exposure to all the germs.


Fun fact to leave you with...

"Viral genes are only smart enough to allow the virus' survival and reproduction within [a human]. Viruses cannot survive for more than a short time, and cannot reproduce at all, outside of the living host."

I should mention that in my lesson with germs and hand washing I also am sure to bring up how to cover coughs and sneezes into elbows if you have long sleeves or into your shirt with kids.

 

I hope that you have found these books helpful and the lesson to be fun.  Remember to wash and dry your hands often, stay home if you have a fever, vomited, or are contagious so as to not spread whatever "bug" you have to your co-workers, friends, and classmates.

Books about Body Safety

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.  I realize that this isn't something we want to think about, we don't like to talk about it, and for many pretend that it doesn't happen or "It won't happen to us."  No one thinks it will happen to them, or their kids.  This is a terrifying topic.  I know this, it's one of my biggest fears.  I love my 2 girls and do everything I can to protect them, and part of protecting them is giving them knowledge and teaching them about protecting themselves and with that, that they can come tell me ANYTHING.   Body Safety is a very important subject that we NEED to talk about and teach.  This is going to give your kids the knowledge that no one should touch them in their No Touch Zone that they can say NO to any type of contact they don't want.  I will talk more about this throughout this post, but first let me give you as caregivers some information.

Sexual Assault      Abuse    Domestic Violence 

These are all terms we have heard before.  Chances are that each person who is reads this knows at the very least one person who has suffered from one of these.  If by chance you are shaking your head saying "No, I don't know anyone who has," then they just haven't opened up to you about it.  Rape and sexual assault are the of the most under reported crimes.  The victim blames themselves, the media and others blame them, and they are scared.  Even with how under reported it is the stats we do have based on reported cases are still high:
Every 98 seconds a person experiences sexual assault, every 8 minutes that victim is a child!
Only 12% of child sexual abuse is ever reported to the authorities
1 in 4 girls, 1 in 6 boys will be sexually assaulted before they turn 18, more than 34% of the people who sexually abuse a child are family members of that child!  Most of the time the child knows the person who abuses them, they are family, friends of the family, and people the child sees often and trust.


Before I go into each of the children's books I have picked out about body safety, I want to share with you a book that I feel is a MUST for EVERY parent.  I shared this book in my other blog about overcoming a bad past.   This book is such an important informational book for parents.  The No Touch Zone is more thought out than just what your bathing suit covers and makes a lot of sense.  Also Norman E. Friedman goes into how to teach it and why the No Touch Zone rather than just "Private Parts." Inoculating Your Child Against Sexual Abuse is a two part book and in the blog post I go full detail about the book and what is talked about.  This is a tool for all people around kids to help them spot people who are out to harm children, and to help prevent such awful things from happening to the children you love.

I know a few schools have been reading My Body Belongs to Me from My Head to My Toes for their body safety lesson.  

This book was written by a group of people from The International Center for Assault Prevention.  There is a letter to adults that starts the book off, read this to yourself before reading the book aloud to your child(ren).

My Body Belongs to Me is an empowering tool for children.  This book talks about how it's the one thing that is all theirs, this is important for a child to know.  The book then goes into touching.  They talk about being close with friends and family cuddling on grandma's lap, holding a baby, and how our bodies touch when playing.  Good touch.  The empowering part and it's the line I'm going to take right from the book "I alone decide if and by whom I'd like to be touched."  Then the book goes into other touches that the child might not like, tickling too much, sloppy kisses from someone, the dog jumping on you, being held too tight, and time when they just don't want anyone to touch them in any way. The book never goes into "bad touch" or private areas.  This is a book that is very important to be read, and should be read and taught early in life.  We as adults project our own knowledge into what we interpret.  We know about child abuse, we project negative thoughts into the images and what we read.  We need to remember this so that we can keep our own emotions out of reading this to our children.  
I again am going to use an example from the book: "If I'm asked to touch somebody, but I don't want to, I just don't do it.  I say 'No, I don't want to...."  Dagmar Geisler has done a great job with the illustrations and in this one the little girl is walking away from a guy that has his arms outstretched.  In my adult mind, from my past and from media, and TV I have turned that into a stranger or family member who is inviting the girl over for inappropriate touching.  No where in the book did it say that, or portray that.  That is what I projected.  Now I needed to take a step back and let out my own emotions (this is hard) and re examine the text and even the illustrations.  Now looking at it, maybe the girl got into a fight with her dad and he yelled at her, and is asking for a hug; maybe it's an Uncle asking for a hug good bye.  Think about the different times that your own children didn't want to give a hug, to give a kiss, to be touched at all.  This is normal.  This book is letting children know that it is their body and that they can say "No" to any touch they don't want.  This is something we need to work on as adults as well, if a child doesn't want to give a family member or friend a hug that is OK, don't make them feel bad for hurting grandma's feeling, don't mention grandma's feelings at all.  Instead let grandma know that you love her but are teaching about body safety and the right to say "No" that this is an extremely important tool and life skill the child will need.

Dagmar Geisler has done a great job with the illustrations in My Body Belongs to Me from My Head to My Toes. They are colorful, engaging, and tell a story.  Now I think Geisler has done a very unique job at making the illustrations in the book have several meanings.  As I said above we project what we know into what we see and hear.  The unwanted tickling picture infuriates me.  I want to reach in and punch the creepy guy in the face and tell him to keep his hands off little girls.  But, can you think of a time when someone tickled you when you didn't want to be?  Maybe trying to cheer up a sad kid, or make them laugh?    The image of the lady giving big sloppy kisses, this one makes me laugh because it reminds me of how old ladies like to pinch cheeks and kids hate it.  Guess what that's an unwanted touch that they can say NO to.  Maybe the lip gloss she is wearing is all sticky, maybe she has bad breath, yup I don't want that kiss either.  The illustrations tell their own story, but they also tell a story that we put into them.  

I love that this book is easy to read, can be read to small kids.  They say it's for ages 3-6.  Start early with this lesson, read it to a 18 month old, teach them that they don't have to give hugs, maybe a high five is better. 

Now they need to go into some things you have to do, some touches that happen for safety....Mom grabs the child's arm to pull her out of the street.  This is a touch that might hurt, that the child might be mad at mom for not getting her way, but yet is for the child's safety.  Another fun quick story that happened to me after I read this book to my daughter this week....
"Shower time" I announced after dinner.  It was a beautiful day out, we walked, we played on the play ground and the kids were dirty.
"No I don't want to." My 5 year old said.
"You're dirty, you need to shower before bed."
"Nope, it's my body!"
Damn, I mean "I'm really happy you understand this lesson, it is your body." Crap...now how do I handle this? "You played hard today, and you rolled in the grass, remember?  Well you're all covered in dirt....and you stink!  You don't want your bed to be all dirty right?  And you don't want to be smelly at school so you need to wash up."


I said No! A kid-to-kid guide to keeping private parts private by Zack and Kimberly King

This is a very "heavy" book.  I use the word heavy, meaning it's not a light easy to read book.  It is not a book that is meant to be read all at once to children.  Don't let this scare you off, this book is IMPORTANT, you just have to take more time to read it.  There is a "How Best To Use This Book" note that also states that this isn't meant to be read all at once.  This book is a tool to open your child to have conversations with you and address "what if..." situations.    I know as a parent we don't want to think about or talk about the "what if..." these possibilities that our children won't always be safe, but this is something that we need to do to raise them to be aware, knowledgeable, and to keep them safe.  These tools are key for prevention.

Zack and Kimberly King co-wrote this book.  They are a mother and son team who take personal experiences (which they share in the afterword) and turn them into lessons to help other kids.  Zack was 5 when he had a bad experience, from being taught body safety he knew what to do.  I find this kid to be so brave and such an inspiration! 

I love that a child helped to write this book because it sounds like another child talking to your own.  There are many points where they ask open ended questions and have you stop reading to talk about what you just read.  It is so important to sure you stop and talk about these questions and make sure your child understands.

This book covers SO much information! 
What are "private parts"
Red and Green flags
Safe and Unsafe
What to do in various situations
Who can you talk to?
Feelings
Treats, Bribes and Threats
Internet (they talk about what to do if someone shows you on a device porn - although they don't use the word porn)
Sleepovers
And Resources (I will have all of them at the bottom of this blog for you)
Oh and I can't forget this important part, they also talk about how if something does happen how it is not the child's fault.

Now let me touch a little more on a couple of these topics that they go over in the book:

Who can you talk to: Make sure you as a person around children let them know that they can tell you ANYTHING.  In our house we tell the kids they can always talk to us and that there are no secrets.  Also remember yourself as a child, there are times that you felt like you couldn't talk to your parents, but you could open up to other people, let your child know who else is in their life that they can talk to.  Another statistic that is sad, terrifying, and true is 80% of the perpetrators in a child sex abuse case were found to be the parent!  This was true for me and my story, along with many others.  In that case who does the child turn to?  Parents are there to protect their child from predators!  We need to make sure that if a child does tell us about abuse how we respond matters.  We have to believe that child, this is not something they make up, and they need help.  For more info on how to respond when anyone tells you about abuse they are going through or have gone through check out this.

Treats, Bribes and Threats.  Zack and Kimberly go in and tell the difference between a treat you get as a reward, and a bribe.  Now, many of us have used bribes to get kids to behave in the store, to clean their room you may be telling yourself.  I have said that before. "I'm not above bribing them!" But really we are giving them a reward for doing the right thing.  The book tells how a bribe is when someone gives you something but you have to do something that is wrong first.  And they talk about threats and how you should always tell those trusted people about threats even if they scare you or tell you that they will hurt someone else that a trusted adult needs to know so that they can help.

The Internet, this is everywhere now a days, and yet it's not something we talk about when we talk about body safety.  The book talks about what kids should do if someone shows them naked people on a device, to say No, put up a red flag, and tell a trusted adult.   

This book is written in a way that is easy for kids to understand.  Sue Rama does a great job in illustrating the book.  There are colorful images that will help your child stay focused, and put a visualization with each situation they might encounter they can think this cookie is a treat "green flag" that man at the park with candy is a "red flag".  Unlike in My Body Belongs to Me  from my Head to my Toes that I mention earlier, the illustrations don't have the same room for projection, instead each image that Sue Rama does seems safe but she uses facial expression, thought bubbles with red or green flags, and body language to show safe or unsafe situations.  For example the image that is on the page about the computer it shows two kids at a desk with a computer, one laughing, the other with his hands over his eyes.  The illustrations aren't full page they are just there as a visual aid that isn't uncomfortable. 

I Said No! is such a well put together book that will help you talk about body safety and talk to your children about what to do if they don't feel safe.  I hope you take the time to read this book and go over it step by step with your children.


The last book I want to share with you is also titled My Body Belongs to Me but is written by Jill Starishevsky.  This is another great book that you can read cover to cover in one sitting with 3 to 8 year old children.  In doing a quick search I found was even on Oprah with a story that brought me to tears.  This book is easy to read and has rhymes in it.  It talks about your body, how you have private spots, and then tells about how this little boy was touched there, told not to tell anyone but told his parents right away.  Jill Starishevsky has done a very good job at telling about being molested without getting into details, she keeps the story very simple and easy for kids to understand.  I again love how she goes on to tell if the child feels that they can't tell their parents they could tell a teacher.  The main message in this story is to get children to seek help, to tell someone that if they are being touched, or hurt.  I think it's important to again know that in reading this to children especially in a group setting, that you the reader needs to be prepared for a child to come forward and open up about their situation.  This is something we hope isn't happening, but the reality is that it is.  In your classroom, in your child's school, in your church, in your community there is a child that is being hurt, there is a child that needs to hear this book, this message so that that child can get help!  Be ready and know how to respond if a child opens up to you.  I need to now stress how these crimes don't happen elsewhere.  "Not in my gated community.  Not in my church; we dress modestly and teach how sexuality is a crime.  Not in my private school.  Not in the country."  Everyone says these things, everyone thinks they are protected. Reality is that any child regardless of age, gender, race, religion, finical upbringing, or location can be a victim of abuse.  

Angela Padron illustrated My Body Belongs to Me and did a great job telling the story through facial and body language emotions.  The full color illustrated pages will keep the child's attention and show that the emotions they might feel are okay.  

I love that both Jill and Angela end this story on a positive note with the child smiling.  I think it's important that children know that there is happiness even after bad experiences.  


Now I know I shared a lot of info between the books so I want to again list all the books for you using Amazon links to make it easy for you if you are interested in getting any of them now.  I did see other books listed on there but these are the ones I've read.  I've used all 4 of them with my own children.





Couple tips:  Name all the parts of the body to children, teach them that they have to ask your permission before going anywhere with anyone, teach them no touch zone.
Also about the no touch zone if you haven't already check out my blog post

"A book that is a MUST for EVERY Parent!" it goes into more detail about the book Inoculating Your Child Against Sexual Abuse.

Last thing I want to leave you with are this important websites for more information, and resources along with phone numbers.  These links are ones that I've gotten from the books, along with from friends of mine who help children and adults who come forward.  Please share these resources, and books with your friends and family.  Talk about body safety.  If you need to talk to someone, if you are still having a hard time about your past or are in an abusive relationship please know that there is help for you!  

Childhelp:  1-800-4-A-CHILD   www.childhelp.org

Darkness to Light: 1-866-FOR-LIGHT     www.darkness2light.org

Jacob Wetterling Resource Center  1-800-325-HOPE  www.jwrc.org   

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children 1-800-THE-LOST www.missingkids.com

RAINN:  1-800-656-HOPE  www.rainn.org

Stop It Now:  1-888-PREVENT   www.stopitnow.org

Stop the Silence: Stop Child Sexual Abuse    www.stopcsa.org

mybodybelongstome.com

International Center for Assault Prevention (ICAP)  1-800-253-3189  www.internationalcap.org

www.childwelfare.gov

www.nsvrc.org

www.stopabuse.com

www.isaidno.info

Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape