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Preschool Weekly Curriculum - Dental Health
Help preschoolers to understand the importance of good dental health with this weekly preschool theme. Hands on science activities will help preschoolers to understand what will happen to their teeth if they do not practice good dental hygiene.
Arts and Crafts - Make a Tooth Cleaning Painting by using a tooth template to draw a tooth on a piece of yellow paper. Have preschoolers “clean the tooth” by painting it white.
Math and Science - Give each preschooler an apple and have them carefully stab a fork into the apple several times. Ask the preschoolers to tell you the color of the inside of the apple. Talk about how cavities are small holes in our teeth. Let the apples sit out for a few days. The holes will turn brown. Ask the preschoolers to describe to you what the apple looks like where the holes are. Tell them that is why the dentist fills in our cavities and why we need to eat food that is good for our teeth.
Music and Movement -
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Monday
Circle Time - Talk with preschoolers about which foods are good for their teeth and which foods are bad for their teeth. Post pictures of a variety of foods around the preschool classroom and have preschoolers walk around and find the pictures of foods that are good for their teeth.Arts and Crafts - Make a Tooth Cleaning Painting by using a tooth template to draw a tooth on a piece of yellow paper. Have preschoolers “clean the tooth” by painting it white.
Math and Science - Give each preschooler an apple and have them carefully stab a fork into the apple several times. Ask the preschoolers to tell you the color of the inside of the apple. Talk about how cavities are small holes in our teeth. Let the apples sit out for a few days. The holes will turn brown. Ask the preschoolers to describe to you what the apple looks like where the holes are. Tell them that is why the dentist fills in our cavities and why we need to eat food that is good for our teeth.
Music and Movement -
Brush your Teeth (sung to Row, Row, Row your Boat)
Brush, brush, brush your teeth
At least two times a day
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning
Fighting tooth decay!
Pretend Play - Include a white smock, tiny dentist mirrors (these can be purchased at the grocery store), clean toothbrushes, a desk lamp with a flexible stand, and paper towels in your pretend play center. Ask preschoolers to take turns pretending to be the dentist and the patient. Be sure and tell preschoolers not to put things in their mouth. Explain that they can pretend to brush their teeth or look at their teeth by putting the props on the outside of their mouth and using their imagination. Leave the pretend play area set up all week for preschoolers to enjoy during free play times.
Language and Literature - Read Just Going to the Dentist by Mercer Mayer. Talk with the preschoolers about what happens the first time they go to the dentist.
Arts and Crafts - Give each preschooler a piece of dental floss. Fill a paper plate with paint. You can use several colors if you want. Have the preschoolers dip the dental floss into the paint and then, holding the dental floss with two hands, use it to paint on their paper.
Math and Science - Teach preschoolers about the Importance of Brushing Teeth by boiling eggs in water with a tea bag. The tea will stain the egg brown. Once the egg cools, give each preschooler a toothbrush and show them how to brush the egg. The brown stains will disappear as the preschoolers brush. Talk to the preschoolers about how important it is to brush our teeth well.
Music and Movement - Sing Brush Your Teeth
Language and Literature - Reread Just Going to the Dentist by Mercer Mayer. Talk with preschoolers about what happens when the dentists x-rays your teeth.
Arts and Crafts - Make a dental collage by cutting pictures of food out of magazines. Grocery store ads are a great place to find pictures. Give preschoolers two paper plates each. In the center of one plate draw a happy face. In the center of the other draw a sad face. Have preschoolers cut out pictures of food and glue them to the happy plate if the food is good for their teeth and to the sad plate if the food is bad for their teeth.
Math and Science - Give each preschooler an egg and ask them why they think the egg has a hard shell. Tell them that the shell protects the egg. Have each preschooler feel their teeth with their tongue. Tell them that the smooth coating their teeth have is called enamel and it protects our teeth. Put each egg in a jar filled with vinegar. Put a lid on the jar and leave in a safe place for a few days. Come back and gently remove the egg from the jar. Ask the preschoolers how the egg changed. Tell the preschoolers that the vinegar made the shell of the egg break down. Tell the preschoolers that the enamel on our teeth can be damaged the same way by the food that we eat. That is why we have to brush our teeth every day.
Music and Movement - Sing Brush Your Teeth.
Language and Literature - Reread Just Going to the Dentist by Mercer Mayer. Talk with the preschoolers about what the dentist does to clean your teeth when you go in for a cleaning.
Arts and Crafts - Give each preschooler a toothbrush and a piece of paper. Fill a paper plate with paint and let the preschoolers use the toothbrush to paint on their paper. You can purchase cheap toothbrushes at a dollar store.
Math and Science - Have preschoolers talk about the changes that have happened in their apples after they have been allowed to sit for a few days. Have each preschooler draw a picture of what the apple looked like before having holes poked in it and what it looked like after the holes sat for a few days.
Music and Movement - Sing Brush Your Teeth.
Language and Literature - Reread Just Going to the Dentist by Mercer Mayer. Let each preschooler share what their own personal fears are about visiting the dentist. Share your own experience visiting the dentist and try and provide each preschooler with the information they need to overcome their fear.
Arts and Crafts - Help preschoolers make their own tooth brushing chart. Print a basic calendar and have preschoolers draw two circles inside each daily square. Let preschoolers decorate the calendar any way that they would like to. Tell the preschoolers to keep their tooth brushing chart in their bathroom and draw a check mark inside a circle each time they brush their teeth.
Math and Science - Have preschoolers talk about the changes that have happened to their egg after it has been in the vinegar for a few days. Talk with preschoolers about the things they can do to protect the enamel on their own teeth.
Music and Movement - Sing Brush Your Teeth.
Language and Literature - Reread Just Going to the Dentist by Mercer Mayer. Tell the preschoolers that it is important for them to visit the dentist twice a year. Have them each tell you one thing that will happen when they visit the dentist.
Pretend Play - Include a white smock, tiny dentist mirrors (these can be purchased at the grocery store), clean toothbrushes, a desk lamp with a flexible stand, and paper towels in your pretend play center. Ask preschoolers to take turns pretending to be the dentist and the patient. Be sure and tell preschoolers not to put things in their mouth. Explain that they can pretend to brush their teeth or look at their teeth by putting the props on the outside of their mouth and using their imagination. Leave the pretend play area set up all week for preschoolers to enjoy during free play times.
Language and Literature - Read Just Going to the Dentist by Mercer Mayer. Talk with the preschoolers about what happens the first time they go to the dentist.
Tuesday
Circle Time - Teach preschoolers how to correctly brush their teeth. Have them use their fingers to pretend.Arts and Crafts - Give each preschooler a piece of dental floss. Fill a paper plate with paint. You can use several colors if you want. Have the preschoolers dip the dental floss into the paint and then, holding the dental floss with two hands, use it to paint on their paper.
Math and Science - Teach preschoolers about the Importance of Brushing Teeth by boiling eggs in water with a tea bag. The tea will stain the egg brown. Once the egg cools, give each preschooler a toothbrush and show them how to brush the egg. The brown stains will disappear as the preschoolers brush. Talk to the preschoolers about how important it is to brush our teeth well.
Music and Movement - Sing Brush Your Teeth
Language and Literature - Reread Just Going to the Dentist by Mercer Mayer. Talk with preschoolers about what happens when the dentists x-rays your teeth.
Wednesday
Circle Time - Get a Free Oral Health Kit for your Preschool Classroom from Colgate and share the activities with the preschoolers.Arts and Crafts - Make a dental collage by cutting pictures of food out of magazines. Grocery store ads are a great place to find pictures. Give preschoolers two paper plates each. In the center of one plate draw a happy face. In the center of the other draw a sad face. Have preschoolers cut out pictures of food and glue them to the happy plate if the food is good for their teeth and to the sad plate if the food is bad for their teeth.
Math and Science - Give each preschooler an egg and ask them why they think the egg has a hard shell. Tell them that the shell protects the egg. Have each preschooler feel their teeth with their tongue. Tell them that the smooth coating their teeth have is called enamel and it protects our teeth. Put each egg in a jar filled with vinegar. Put a lid on the jar and leave in a safe place for a few days. Come back and gently remove the egg from the jar. Ask the preschoolers how the egg changed. Tell the preschoolers that the vinegar made the shell of the egg break down. Tell the preschoolers that the enamel on our teeth can be damaged the same way by the food that we eat. That is why we have to brush our teeth every day.
Music and Movement - Sing Brush Your Teeth.
Language and Literature - Reread Just Going to the Dentist by Mercer Mayer. Talk with the preschoolers about what the dentist does to clean your teeth when you go in for a cleaning.
Thursday
Circle Time - Visit healthyteeth.org for information about teeth and gums to share with your preschoolers.Arts and Crafts - Give each preschooler a toothbrush and a piece of paper. Fill a paper plate with paint and let the preschoolers use the toothbrush to paint on their paper. You can purchase cheap toothbrushes at a dollar store.
Math and Science - Have preschoolers talk about the changes that have happened in their apples after they have been allowed to sit for a few days. Have each preschooler draw a picture of what the apple looked like before having holes poked in it and what it looked like after the holes sat for a few days.
Music and Movement - Sing Brush Your Teeth.
Language and Literature - Reread Just Going to the Dentist by Mercer Mayer. Let each preschooler share what their own personal fears are about visiting the dentist. Share your own experience visiting the dentist and try and provide each preschooler with the information they need to overcome their fear.
Friday
Circle Time - Dentists say that you should spend two minutes actively brushing each time you brush your teeth. Set a timer for 2 minutes and have preschoolers dance and pretend to brush their teeth until the timer goes off.Arts and Crafts - Help preschoolers make their own tooth brushing chart. Print a basic calendar and have preschoolers draw two circles inside each daily square. Let preschoolers decorate the calendar any way that they would like to. Tell the preschoolers to keep their tooth brushing chart in their bathroom and draw a check mark inside a circle each time they brush their teeth.
Math and Science - Have preschoolers talk about the changes that have happened to their egg after it has been in the vinegar for a few days. Talk with preschoolers about the things they can do to protect the enamel on their own teeth.
Music and Movement - Sing Brush Your Teeth.
Language and Literature - Reread Just Going to the Dentist by Mercer Mayer. Tell the preschoolers that it is important for them to visit the dentist twice a year. Have them each tell you one thing that will happen when they visit the dentist.
Like this article? Get more like it in your inbox. Subscribe today to our free weekly newsletter.