Healthy Teeth are Happy Teeth

There are so many different kinds of learning that happen in school: math, reading, how to get along with each other, meeting deadlines.  These are skills that people use their whole lives long.  Learning to be healthy is another skill, one that helps us make our lives longer.  Mrs. B, our wellness coordinator, has been doing an extra special job this year.  She has been making sure that our kids know about everything from fun ways to exercise to good diets.  Now, she is even tackling their teeth!

Mrs. B found someone from Boston University's Dental School to come talk to all the Perkins' students about their choppers.  

 

Ms. Krissie Gibson taught our kids how to keep their teeth healthy and happy.  It all starts with brushing them frequently--and, correctly.  Brush down from the gum, both sides, and don't miss any spots.  Each tooth-brushing session should last for two whole minutes.  

How long is two minutes? If you don't have a clock handy, Ms. Gibson suggests singing the alphabet song to yourself four whole times.  Do it in your head, though, or you will get toothpaste all over the place!

Also there are foods that are tooth healthy, she explained.  High-fiber fruits and vegetables scrub your mouth while you are chewing, for example.  Dairy produces, like cheese, milk, and yoghurt, provide calcium, which helps keep teeth and bones strong.

Ms. Gibson knew that sometimes the best way to teach something is to make a game out of it.  That's why some of the older grades learned about dental heath by playing a quiz game that was like Jeopardy.  She divided other classes, such as, like Ms. Hardin's fourth grade, into two groups to compete against each other in a trivia match.  

 All the third grades did word search activities.  Who did the best on this exercise?

It turned out to be a three-way tie!

Eating Our Way to Health

Mrs. B, our gym and wellness teacher, is on a roll.  Boston Bikes, track team, pedometers AND another essential part of wellness--nutrition.  After all, it's not just moving your body that makes it healthy; it's what you put in it as well.

Mrs. B signed up for a program offered by University of Massachusetts Extension Nutrition Education Program.  As a result, Ms. Carole, a Nutrition Educator, came to the Perkins.  She spoke to all the kids about the magic in food and the need to eat right.  Protein, grains, vegetables, beans, seeds and nuts, dairy, fruit--these foods that are good for you are called "everyday foods," she told them. Treats are fine too, but in much smaller amounts.

To remind the kids of the foods they should eat most of (and in what proportions or amounts), Ms. Carole gave each student in every grade a picture to color.   

All too often drawings and pictures get thrown away, even when they contain important information.  

Not this time. Mrs. B made sure that every one of those pictures were laminated.  That means it was covered by plastic so it wouldn't bend too easily and would stay clean.  In fact, it became the perfect placemat for lunchtime.  Now the kids have a daily reminder of the foods that will make them healthy--and, keep them that way.