Today we had 5 other children over for a co-op on germs.  For those that are counting that made 8 students. I felt so official!

I read two books:

"Germs are not for sharing"
" Germs make me sick"

Then I used a spray bottle to illustrate how germs can be transferred.  I sprayed the children's hand with a fine mist out of the spray bottle as a sneeze (ahhh chooo!) and then had them touch the table. They could see that the water transferred to the table and took some time to evaporate. This also illustrates that germs can live on a surface for hours or even days after contact and continue to be transferred. The children then touched the spot on the table with their other hand and touched another spot  on the table.

I also purchased a glo-germ kit which had a video and we did a few of the suggested "experiments" with the glo germ solution and a black light (the kids LOVED this) and then afterwards we discussed handwashing. Then I tested them on their washing by checking their hands under the black light to see if they still had any glo germ residue on their hands. 

 Finally I presented each family with a bottle of SQUID SOAP and the kids washed their hands again after the final experiment.  We wanted to see if they learned the part about using a hand towel to turn off the faucet after washing their hands.  The squid soap also puts out a little color on their hand that they have to scrub to get off.  By doing this they will wash a bit longer and harder.  If you have young ones I recommend this product. Its fun and is also available at CVS stores.