Do you know where these body parts and muscles are located? Download the activity sheet titled “My Body Parts” (pg. 1) and see if you can identify them. You will need some colour pencils and markers for this activity. 

My Body Parts Activity

 

LET'S WATCH: A RECAP OF WHY WE SNEEZE 

Besides reading books, you can also try watching relevant educational videos or play interactive games to better understand and remember the concepts. Try mixing different modes of learning! However, do remember to limit your screen time according to what your parents have set for you.

Let’s watch this short video, which recaps key points on the scientific process of sneezing. You can pause or rewind any section if you need more time to process the information shared.

 

Once you have watched the video, complete this short trivia quiz (pg 2-3) to answer some questions based on the information provided in the video. Let’s see how many questions you can get right! If you are stuck, just go back to the video and look for it.

TIPS FOR PARENTS 

According to the American Academy of Paediatrics, you can begin introducing high-quality internet time (e.g., access to educational content) for children above 18 months old. 

However, do set a time limit when accessing such content. For children between 1.5 to 3 years old, Health Hub SG recommends limiting screentime to less than an hour a day.3 There are various Science-themed channels for children available on platforms like YouTube which feature short videos with animated bite-sized videos such as the above to capture their attention. Watch these content together with them. When doing so, discuss the concepts raised, address any questions they might have and participate in the activities together with them. Doing this ensures a safe, healthy, and productive use of screentime for them.

 

 

LET'S READ!

So far, we have learned about the factors that cause us to sneeze and how our various body parts and muscles work together to create a sneeze. It is now time to learn about how we can take care of ourselves and those around us when we catch the flu.  Read the following book with your parents and learn how to take care of a sick pet! 

 

Title: Dragons Get Colds TooAuthor: Rebecca Roan

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019 

Section: Early Literacy Picture Books / Fiction 

Call No: English ROA 

Overdrive link: https://nlb.overdrive.com/library/kids/media/4555008

 

TIPS FOR PARENTS 

Researchers have found that scaffolded interactions between children and adults during reading which develop their literacy, narration, and comprehension skills. This is also known as dialogic reading. During this process, your child will be storyteller and you will be the listener. To engage them, ask them insightful question.  

One way to do this is to use the C.R.O.W.D technique. Under this technique, you can ask 5 types of questions. These include : (1) completion prompts (getting your child to complete a sentence); (2) recall questions (asking questions that require your child to reflect or look back on the story); (3) open-ended question (focusing on certain images and phrases and asking your child to explain further); (4) 5Ws & 1 H question (asking questions that start with who, what, where, why and how) and (5) distancing questions (asking questions that relate to your child’s personal experiences).

Here are some examples of the C.R.O.W.D questions you can ask based on Dragons Get Cold Too!.

• You can tell if the dragon is sick because the temperature shows_________? (Comprehension question) 

• Why do you think the dragon fell sick? (5W+1 H question) 

• On pages 7 and 8, the little girl is trying to make a nutritious meal for her sick pet, can you look at the food items found and identify their names? Do you think these food items are nutritious enough? Why or why not? (open-ended question) 

• What are the 7 things that you must do in order to help your sick pet recover quickly? (Recall question) 

• Remember the time when you caught a cold. Can you tell me what did you do to get better? (Distancing question) 

Remember that there are no right or wrong answers. Encourage your child by using adopting encouraging phrases like “that is interesting, tell me more”.

 

LET’S PLAY: ACTIVITIES TO DO!

Engaging in such hands-on activities are important as they not only help us to enjoy learning, but also broaden our understanding on the Scientific concepts which we have just learned. The following activities can be conducted using simple everyday household items.  You can do them with your family and friends for more fun!

 

CLEAN HANDS SENSORY BAG

We can easily prevent ourselves from catching a cold through adopting thorough hygiene habits. One way is to regularly wash our hands with soap and water. However, this is easier said than done. At any given moment, we are touching so many items – from our pets to pencils. So how can we remind ourselves on keeping our hands clean? Let’s do this by creating our very own clean hands sensory bags. Get your parents to help you with this activity!

Items needed: 

• 1 Ziplock bag (medium sized) 

• Permanent marker  

• Pom poms  

• Gel 

• 1 brush or sponge  

• 1 cardboard paper, which should be the same size or slightly bigger than the Ziplock bag 

Step 1: Place both of your palms on the Ziplock bag.

Step 2: Get your parents or an adult to help trace the outline if your hands on the Ziplock bag. Ensure that you are using a permanent marker so that you can see the outline of your hands palms clearly.

Step 3: Open the Ziplock bag and slowly pour some gel, until the Ziplock bag is about half full. Be careful not to pour too much gel.

Step 4: Throw in some pom poms into the Ziplock bag containing the gel. Then, seal the Ziplock bag tightly.

Step 5: Now, you can use a brush to “clean” your hands by moving the pom poms out of your palms. These pom poms represent the germs in your hands. By removing them using the help of the brush, you are ensuring that your hands are clean. This prevents you from catching a cold and spreading germs to those around you.

Step 6: You can tape the Ziplock bag at your fridge or table as a reminder of the importance of washing your hands daily.

Sample image of your clean hands sensory bag

 

 

“COVER UP PLEASE” CRAFT ACTIVITY

Sometimes, some germs are just so strong and infectious that despite washing our hands diligently, we may still catch a cold. When this happens, it is important to ensure that we use a tissue to sneeze into so that we can prevent germs from flying all around us! Here’s a simple craft activity that you can do to remind yourself to use a tissue or handkerchief the next time the flu bug hits you. 

Items needed: 

• 1 Paper Plate

• Construction Paper

• Some coloured markers or crayons

• Scissors

• Glue

• Google Eyes (optional)

• Yarn (optional)

 

Step 1: On the construction paper, trace the outline of your palm.

Step 2: Once you have done this, get your parents or an adult to help you cut out the outline of your palm.

Step 3: Take your paper plate. Flip the paper plate inwards.

Step 4: Draw facial features such as eyes, nose, ears, and mouth as shown in the image below and then, colour them.

Sample image of facial features on paper plate.

Step 5: Look for your hand outline that you had just cut out. Align it across the mouth in the paper plate. Use your hand to hold it. 

Step 6: Once you are done, use a glue or blue tack to stick the hand outline to the mouth area.

Step 7: Find a tissue paper and slot it in between the hand and mouth area of the paper plate. Your final product should look like the image below. You can hang your very own sneeze mascot at your table, fridge or somewhere visible as a reminder on the right hygiene practice when you are down with a cold. 

Ta-da! You have very own sneeze mascot