Building healthy habits in a community begins with teaching the children of that community. Last Tuesday, May 1, we put our public health nursing skills to use as we taught about 60 Navajo children proper hand washing and dental hygiene techniques. Mary Katherine Drasbek, Spencer Cahoon, and Megan Lund organized and carried out the presentations, which took place at the Headstart program located in the town of Many Farms, AZ.
While visiting three separate classes of 20 kids each, we made the learning fun by using songs, interactive activities and pictures. Beginning with the hand washing portion, the children held potatoes covered in flour and examined their dirty hands. The flour represented germs that can make them sick. After learning a song to sing while they rubbed their soapy hands together, the children practiced their hand washing skills and learned various scenarios after which they should wash their hands.
Our dental hygiene portion included an appearance by the "plaque villain" (Spencer), who was sprayed with water and eliminated by the "toothbrush hero" (Mary Katherine). Megan used giant teeth and toothbrush models to demonstrate the best way of brushing, and she discussed healthy foods to eat and the importance of visiting the dentist.
In conclusion, the kids expressed enthusiasm for what they had learned, and the teachers expressed appreciation for the interactive class. A principle of public health nursing that we incorporated was teaching what the community considered to be important. We developed our lesson plan based on what the Headstart teachers felt would be effective for their kids.
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