Looking for some fun activities to teach cleanliness and safety in the kitchen?
Take a gander at some of these fun activities we’ve been enjoying this week courtesy of Mother Goose Time.
Discuss
Just talking to kids can be insightful. This week Mother Goose Time asked,
“What needs to be washed in a kitchen?”
The kids did a great job of listing common items that need to be washed including dishes, forks, spoons, etc. They were also pretty sure one should clean the floor and table. Learning that it was important to also clean the oven, microwave, and sink was a real eye opener for them. Admittedly, they may never have actually seen anyone clean those items in real life before……perhaps it’s time to up my game.
Concept Review
Each week Mother Goose Time includes a simple activity to help get the kid’s moving and engaged in review of key preschool concepts. This week the kids went on a Color Scavenger Hunt.
The rules are easy and the game requires essentially no prep time.
Just call out a color and send the kids off to find an item in the house to clean that has that color.
Opening Song
“Keep the Kitchen Clean” (sung to the tune of “Farmer in the Dell”)
Keep the kitchen clean.
Keep the kitchen clean.
Wash it up and wipe it down.
Keep the kitchen clean.
Bacteria Spray Away (germs)
Have the kids cut out some germs. Mother Goose Time provided the ones seen in the images below, but a quick search of “germ clipart” on Google Images came up with lots of options. Alternatively, the child could draw some germs. These particular germs are in the shape of our focus letters for this month “G,” “J,” and “L.”
It’s cold outside, so I had the kids tape the letters up on the shower wall using some masking tape.
They sprayed those nasty germs with water and soap until the germs fell away from the wall.
Then pandemonium ensued. My three year old sprayed herself with the water and soap mixture. My two year old removed the rest of the germs by hand. BUT, they had fun. We chatted about the importance of using soap and water to kill germs to keep us healthy, and the activity lasted more than 15 minutes = win!
Oven Mitt Marathon
The kids were gaga for this simple sorting activity. Clearly, it required not just an oven mitt, but a complete chef outfit, hat included. The kids used a large serving spoon to remove “vegetables” out of a pot of soup, pretending that pot was hot. The “vegetables” were then sorted by type. We then had a relay race. Each child took one item out of the hot soup container, placed it on the spoon, and ran it across the room to place in the appropriate dish. The kids carried this activity into free play and Ladybug served her customer some soup.
Hand Wash Hanger
Owl and Ladybug both loved having their hand painted so they could make a hand print for this adorable door hanger. Predictably, Ladybug insisted on using purple paint and Owl insisted on blue. There was great joy when they got to use glue to attach the soap graphic seen in the image below. And even more rejoicing when they realized there were also stickers to add. This simple craft was a winner!
Door hangers are especially fun for me because they come with an obvious place for display!
Both kids were super excited to hang their creations and share them with Daddy when he came home.
The door hangers also happened to be excellent reminders for the kids to wash their hands.
Knife Skills (cutting banana)
Manipulative Station
An activity called “Wash and Hang” was suggested where you hang a clothesline and set out felt or fabric pieces. The kids can then use clothespins to hang the pretend laundry. They can also match similar fabric pieces for added fun and learning. We actually just went ahead and did the laundry. And sorted some socks. Totally counts!
Closing Reflection
Mother Goose Time asked, “What could hurt you in the kitchen?”
Ladybug answered a rhinoceros. Owl said knives. Any guesses on who is still stuck on the African theme, “Going On Safari” from last month?!?
Celebrate
Playing a song, “Keep Moving and Grooving,” from the thematic CD, we practiced not giving up even when we were tired. We washed a table. First we made large circles on the table with our sponges and then we switched to scrubbing up and down.
I felt a little like Mr. Miyagii in the movie, “The Karate Kid.”
“Wax on, wax off.”
Anyone?
It was actually really fun and they succeeded at their goal to keep scrubbing until the end of the song, even when their little arms got tired of scrubbing. Go Team!
This episode of Home School Preschool was graciously provided by Mother Goose Time.
Happy Home Schooling!
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