Water cooler: Coming to terms with germs

Kids may have great imaginations, but it still may be hard for them to understand the concept of germs without some visual demonstrations. Germ visuals and activities make it much easier to understand something invisible to the human eye. Once they are able to understand the presence of germs and how they spread, kids can better realize the importance of hand washing and other hygiene practices. So instead of asking kids to just take your word for it that hand washing is important, here are a few ways you can help them understand it on their own terms.

Glitter germs – Glitter is often equated to being the contagious disease of the craft world, so it only makes sense that it would be the perfect way to demonstrate the spread of germs. Add glitter to a bowl of water or to a table surface. Let your kids play around with the glitter and then to hold up their hands and see how much glitter is stuck to their palm and fingers. Ask them to imagine that each little piece of glitter is a germ. Have them wash their hands with water only and see how much of the glitter comes off. Repeat the experiment, but this time have them wash their hands with soap. The slick texture of soap will help remove the glitter much more effectively and will demonstrate its importance in hand washing.

Flour germs – Spread some flour on a plate and have your children place their hands firmly into the flour. Have some toys set aside (easy-to-wash toys are best, such as those made of plastic or wood) and ask them to play with them for a few minutes. After they are done playing, ask them to examine how much of the flour was transferred from their hands to the toys. Explain to them that germs are transferred from our hands to other surfaces in the same way and that when we wash our hands this helps stop the spread of germs. For an added dimension to this demonstration, divide the kids into groups of those who have flour on their hands and those who don’t. Ask the kids with flour-coated hands to high-five the kids with clean hands. Have them play with toys and pass them along to the kids with clean hands. Have them examine how the kids with clean hands now have flour on their hands, too. This helps demonstrate how germs move from one person’s hands, to a surface, to another person’s hands. You can have them touch their faces to also show how germs can enter our bodies by people touching near their mouth and nose (and eyes, but nobody wants to get flour in their eyes for the sake of a demonstration).

Cinnamon hand washing – Pour a little ground cinnamon into your children’s hands and let them rub it around on their palms, backs of their hands and between their fingers. Be careful to not let them rub it in too roughly as cinnamon can irritate the skin. Now have them wash their hands without any help or guidance. Ask them to dry their hands on a paper towel. Is there some cinnamon that rubbed off on the paper towel? This might mean they did not wash their hands thoroughly enough. Let them try again, allowing them to follow the recommended instructions: Wet your hands with water, lather hands with soap, scrub for at least 20 seconds (the duration of the “Happy Birthday” song), making sure to scrub the backs of their hands, between the fingers and under the nails, rinse with clean water and dry. How does the paper towel look this time around? If you don’t have cinnamon around for this experiment, dry and fine dirt can also work.

Pompom spread – Have your kids hold craft pompoms in their hands (or DIY confetti from paper scraps can work as well). Ask them to pretend to sneeze or cough on the pompoms and see how they fly. Ask them to pretend to sneeze or cough again, this time covering their mouth with the inside of their elbow. Did the pompoms move as much or as far?

Blow paint – Put a little watered-down paint on a sheet of paper. Give your kids a straw and let them blow the paint around. This also demonstrates the spread of germs through our mouths. The specks created by blowing the paint represent germs. Name them, decorated them and hang this art above your sink as a kid-made reminder of why it’s important for us to wash our hands and cover our mouths.