There is a Czech proverb that says: ”Cleanliness is half your health”, and this is one of the reasons why children should learn about personal hygiene and good, healthy habits from a young age. This is even better if they can also practice their vocabulary in English! Let’s see some fun activities to learn personal hygiene vocabulary!
1. Music!
Learning through music is much more efficient than just memorizing words and sentences. Since there are many fun English songs for kids about personal hygiene, using them to help your little one about this topic is very simple. There are two songs that are perfect for this, these are “The Clean Up Song ” and the “Bathroom Routine Song” they’re also perfect for learning about hygiene, they have educational content presented in a fun manner, and they will motivate your little one to build a healthy hygiene routine. Try them out and have fun with your child while singing and dancing, it will help you establish a daily routine more easily and in an entertaining way!
2. Glitter Hands
Kids are used to washing their hands, however, they just mostly rinse them with water. ”Glitter hands” is the perfect activity for children to learn about how germs stay on your hands if you don’t wash them properly, and also it can be a perfect opportunity to establish conversation in English with your little one. The activity is very easy to prepare, you’ll just need glitter, soap and a sink. Pour some glitter on your child’s hands, remember to mention that this represents the germs that are in our hands when they haven’t been washed. Then, take the soap and show your child how to wash his or her hands thoroughly (have in mind that it will take about 30 seconds to scrub the glitter off their hands). This will help your child grasp the concept of washing the hands a bit better to help eliminate germs.
3. Let’s Play Some Charades!
Charades is a game that most children love. It’s easy to prepare since all you need is your own body, a pencil, and a couple of strips of paper. To start, think of actions related to a hygiene routine, such as ”taking a shower”, ”brushing my teeth” or ”brushing my hair”, and write each action in a piece of paper, then put these papers folded in a small bag. Gather your family, tell each one to take a paper out of the bag, and then, without showing to anyone, act out the action for the rest to guess, whoever guesses wins a point. To practice more vocabulary (toothbrush, soap…), you can ask questions such as ”What do you brush your teeth with?” or ”What do you wash your hands with?”. You will have lots of fun!
4. Matching Game
Cut pieces of paper in little square shapes and have one group that has activities written on them (washing hands, brushing teeth…) and on the other pieces write down or draw the items you need in order to do those actions (a soap, a toothbrush…). Draw pictures on them to make it easier and clearer, and have your little one match the object to the action.
