It’s back to school time across the country and it comes as COVID is once again on the rise. While the pandemic managed to make germaphobes of many adults—cue the gallons of hand sanitizer—children are still left wondering “what’s the big deal?” The facts are, there are many nasty germs other than COVID—think Monkeypox, Chickenpox, flu and the common cold– lurking in classrooms and on playgrounds. That’s why the local germ experts from Stratus Building Solutions are introducing the “Germs 101” Lesson Plan to teach kids about germs in a fun, engaging, and “not scary” way. They are providing actionable tips parents can use to keep kids healthy and in the classroom!

“Germs 101” Lesson Plan

The Vampire Cough
Teach children to cough or sneeze in their elbow and not in their hands. This makes them look like a vampire and reduces the spread of germs from one hand to the next.

The Glitter Game
Take some glitter and put it on your child’s hands. Then tell the kid to go high five as many people around the house as possible. The glitter acts like germs would and spreads quickly from one person to another. Ewwwww!

The Pepper Experiment
This lesson shows the power of soap! Take out a small bowl, fill it with water and sprinkle pepper in the water. Now tell the child to dip her finger in soap. The soap repels the pepper just as it would with germs. Cooool!

Flour Power
Take out some flour, tell the kids to cover their hands in flour and then walk around touching items around the house. Legos, forks, plates. They will quickly learn how quickly germs spread to surfaces and how they stick. Yuuuuck!