Good for you for wanting to encourage children in your child care program to wash their hands! Hand washing is one of the easiest, best ways to stop the spread of germs.
You may want to do an easy lesson with the children to teach them about germs and how they are spread. Your local library may have some books written on a child's level on this subject. You could also do a search on the Internet for children's information about germs.
A fun way to teach children about the spread of germs is to give them some petroleum jelly to rub into the palms of their hands, then sprinkle on some dill weed or cinnamon and have them rub their hands together. Tell them to pretend that they just sneezed into their hands or wiped their runny nose. The specks of dill weed or cinnamon are like the germs that would be on their hands. Now take a hard-surface toy, like a plastic ball, and have the children pass it, one to another. As they pass the toy, tell them to look at all the "germs" that are passed from their hands to the ball. This is a great way to start a discussion about how germs spread from hands to toys, food, and other people.
Now, take the children to the sink to teach them to wash their hands properly, using warm running water and soap. Encourage them to wash all surfaces of their hands for 15 seconds — long enough to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" or "Happy Birthday" as they wash. Then have them dry their hands with a paper towel, turn off the faucet using the towel, and throw the towel away.
Remind children often when they sneeze or blow their nose to wash their hands. You may want to hang pictures in your child care facility to help children remember when to wash their hands.
