Hobbies And Interests
Brushing Experiments
Divide the kindergartners into groups of three or four. Give each group three hard-boiled eggs and a plastic container for each egg. Have the children place an egg in each container. Help the children pour cranberry juice in one container, dark soda in another container and iced team in the last container. Tell the children to guess what will happen to the eggs overnight. Explain that the liquids stain the eggs the same as they stain teeth. Tell the children this is why brushing your teeth twice a day is important. Allow the children to try to brush the stains off the eggs with a toothbrush after the eggs sit overnight.
Online Activities
In addition to hands-on activities, children may play online games that teach the benefits of brushing teeth. Games such as "Toothbrush Patch," "Toothpaste Tower" and "Tell the Tooth" are available on the Colgate website for children ages 2 through 6. Another site for online toothbrush activities for children is Looking for Dental. These sites offer pages of dental-care activities to keep children interested in learning about the proper techniques for brushing their teeth.
Egg Carton Activities
Give each child an egg carton and have him flip it upside down. Hand each child a toothbrush and tell him to pretend the knots on the egg carton are teeth. Have them brush the teeth with the toothbrush. Show the children how to brush in between the knots the same as they would their teeth. For added fun, give the children an off-colored egg carton. Have them use a toothbrush and white paint to "brush" the teeth clean.
Craft Activities
Have the children make a good-and-bad-teeth collage. On one sheet of paper, write "Things that are good for your teeth," and on the other sheet, write "Things that are bad for your teeth." Ask them to cut out pictures of items such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash, fruits and vegetables for the "good" collage. They may use pictures of coffee, candy and cigarettes for the bad-teeth collage. Allow the children to use toothbrushes as paintbrushes to paint a picture on construction paper.