It’s one of the most talked about dilemmas of 2020… How to get my preschoolers to wash their hands! Well, here’s the perfect FUN experiment in this post to help them. While I love incorporating social skills in the classroom and at home, Handwashing activities for preschoolers come in handy in today’s world – and here’s why!
Hand washing is a critical measure to prevent the spread of germs and infections. It is proven that children who wash their hands more often have fewer respiratory illnesses, such as colds, flu and stomach bugs.
It is important to teach kids how to wash their hands properly at an early age. They should be reminded about hand hygiene before eating, after using the toilet or playing outside.
Handwashing Activities for Preschoolers
A good way to teach them this is by setting up a routine for hand washing before bedtime. This will help them remember how important it is to keep their hands clean and healthy.
The importance of teaching preschoolers about hygiene and cleanliness is an essential part of their development. One way to teach them is by using a song. This can be done by singing the song in the car, at home, or during bath time.
A good example of a song that teaches preschoolers about hygiene is “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”. The lyrics are as follows:
“Itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout Down came the rain and washed the spider out”
“Out came the sun and dried up all the rain And then the itsy bitsy spider went up again”
This song teaches kids perhaps what happens when the spider gets washed out!
Handwashing Songs for Preschoolers
I love this catchy ‘how to wash your hands song:
This is the way we wash our hands song
How to teach kids to take their time in washing their hands?
Maybe your child or preschooler is in a rush to go back to eating, playing or just plain sleep. So they rush through the process of washing their hands and end up not using soap and hence, the bugs and germs are still hanging around.
I tested using this super fun timer which kids can follow to make sure they wash their hands until the timer goes off!
Related: 50 Goals for Social Skills to Add to Your IEPs!
I like using it because it give preschoolers (in class) a proper training time by which they can ‘remove their germs’. Use it anytime the child needs it or just simply anytime they attempt to wash their hands!
Best Organic Soap Bars for Children
Honestly, I feel within myself, that since I started using non toxic ingredients in my home and my life (even makeup etc). I saw a huge change in health related problems like headaches and bodyaches etc.
It’s just amazing what a simple change like this can do for a person and since then I’ve been on the lookout for simple and clean ingredients for kids like this bundle of non toxic and organic soap.
Printable Activities to Teach Handwashing
Teaching kids all about germs is one fun (and sometimes gross) escapade. Did you know that you can pull a simple germy hands experiment in under 5 minutes?
This super simple and fun Washing Hands Experiment with Glitter will be a hit with your preschool and kindergarten kids!
What’s more… It also includes printable cut and paste activities with it!
Related: 10 Best Kindness Bulletin Boards to Promote Social Skills
Grab the bundle to this experiment at the end of this post!
Children under the age of five are at risk of coming into contact with harmful bacteria. They can easily spread it to other people and contaminate surfaces.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children under the age of 5 should be supervised during handwashing, and that soap is used when available.
Some schools have taken a proactive approach in teaching preschoolers how to wash their hands properly.
The CDC has created a program called “Wash Kids’ Hands!” which focuses on educating children about hand washing, as well as providing them with the necessary tools to do so.
Handwashing Poster Printables Step by Step for Kids
These FREE poster printables are perfect for the preschool bathroom or at home.
Print the steps and hang them on the wall for the kids to follow.
I love the visuals on these posters!
Four Step Hand Washing Sequencing Cards for Kids
This FREE set is perfect for special education preschool or for learning to sequence events in order.
It doubles as a sequencing and as a handwashing training printable.
How to Wash Hands Using Real Life Images
This free printable includes posters and steps using real life images to help kids in special education in particular understand the next steps.
Why teach kids handwashing at an earlier age?
Washing hands is one of the most important things that we can do to stay healthy. It’s also one of the simplest.
Check out these Daniel Tiger Potty Training Chart Free Printable to also help toddlers with potty training.
One study found that simply washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds can reduce illnesses by as much as 40%.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that children be taught to wash their hands in a way that makes it fun and easy.
They suggest singing a song, counting how many times they washed their hands, or using hand puppets to make it more enjoyable.
Grab your free Germy Hands Science Experiment printable above! Input your details to get the download:
Teach Hand Washing with a fun hands on experiment so that kids understand WHY we need to wash our hands.
Prevent germ spreading by going through this activity pack along with the cut and paste printable keepsake.
This pack includes instructions on conducting the experiment along with the printable handouts (options for writing / cutting and pasting).
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