It's Dental Health Time!

I'm not really sure why but I love teeth!
 
I know, it's crazy right, but I do! 
 I think I mostly love teeth, and teaching kids about teeth, because as a child, my parents stressed how important good dental health was to my brother and me!
Their famous line was "you only have one set of teeth and they need to last your entire life- so take care of them!" I always brushed my teeth twice a day, usually flossed.  My parents were such fanatics about our teeth that they always paid to have us see the dentist an extra time during the year, so instead of going to the dentist twice a year we always went 3 times a year!! I am so thankful to my parents for instilling the value of good oral health in me.  I hope that I can pass that on to my own kids and to all of my kiddos at school too!!
 
With that being said, I love February- dental health month!
I take all "teeth" lessons seriously and let the kids learn about the good, and the ugly side, of oral health!
 
Today we did our first true lesson dedicated to dental health. 
I read the students two books about teeth. 
This was the first book I read:
It was a non-fiction book all about the mouth!  It covers all of the major topics relating to the teeth-- how to brush, floss and use mouth rinse, going to the dentist, eating foods that are good for your teeth and so much more! The kids were so engaged in the book!
 
This was the next book I read to them:
This book was all about the little boy losing his first tooth!  It was a great book to read since some kids in class have lost a tooth and could relate to the little boy!
 
I had a little activity planned after we read this book.  The kids were so eager to tell me all about how and when they lost their first tooth.  I gave them time to share their stories to one another and then we graphed which kids had lost a tooth and which kids had not!  (Since we were recently covering graphing in math I knew the kids would love this activity!)
 
I first made each student a tooth with their name on it. 
I then called each student, one at a time, and had them place their tooth on the side labeled yes or no, telling us if they had lost a tooth or not!
I was so surprised at how many kids had lost at least one tooth!!
 
Here are our results:
I just free-hand sketched a tooth on white paper.
(A closer view)
 
Didn't it turn out cute???  I put it in the hallway, added the title and viola!! The whole school can now see which of my kiddos are in the 'lost tooth' club!
 
Tomorrow my kiddos will start using the math activites I made to go along with dental health month!
If you are in need of literacy or math activites for dental health month, check out mine here!
I made them seperate and bundled so you can decide what you need!!
 
I'm so excited to continue on with the dental health lessons.  I have so more fun activities planned in the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned!!


5 comments

  1. Your tooth chart is very cute. I'm surprised too at how many of my students have lost teeth. Thanks for sharing!

    Amy
    Mrs. Lattin's Kindergarten

    ReplyDelete
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  3. I also love my teeth. Your chart is also fine. Thanks for sharing.



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  4. Having fun while teaching how important it is to take care of the teeth is definitely a good idea! It will encourage the kids to enjoy brushing and cleaning their teeth regularly. Plus, it can prepare them for their first or succeeding visits to the dentist. Cheers!

    Gary Owen @ New Century Dental Group

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree that using baking soda frequently can cause harm to your teeth, despite its ability to whiten it. Anyway, there are still other natural ways on how you can keep those pearly whites as white as possible. You could try hydrogen peroxide. I know you said that you had a bad experience with bleaching before, but you might have some positive results this time. Good luck!

    Kenny Green @ Anchorage Healthy Smiles

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