Project outline: teeth

Helping children learn to make healthy choices and take care of their own bodies is an essential part of effective early years practice. As practitioners, it is vital that we encourage children to take an interest in the way that our diet and hygiene routines can influence the growth of strong, healthy teeth. A project on 'teeth' will motivate children to understand these aims through exploration and discovery.

Ensure that the children's parents and family members are involved in the project as much as possible so that they can continue to support a positive attitude towards caring for teeth at home.

ADULT-LED ACTIVITY

- Keep smiling

Focus the children's attention on looking after their teeth through a feely bag activity.

- Key learning intentions

To use language such as 'circle' or 'bigger' to describe the shape and size of solid and flat shapes

To investigate objects and materials by using all of their senses as appropriate

To respond in a variety of ways to what they see, hear, smell, touch and feel

Adult:child ratio 1:6

Resources

- Large drawstring bag
- pictures of smiles and teeth (search 'images' for 'smiling children'
and 'teeth' on a popular internet search engine)
- toothbrush
- toothpaste carton
- pump action toothpaste container
- tube of toothpaste
- plastic beaker
- carrot
- apple
- empty plastic milk carton
- empty natural yoghurt pot

Preparation

- Prepare a display about teeth. Your local health promotion team may have large plastic models of teeth that you can borrow, as well as materials on dental care.

- Display a notice outlining the activity and suggest that parents make a similar feely bag at home.

Activity content

- Invite the children to sit in a circle. Place the feely bag in the middle of the circle and show the children the pictures of people smiling. What do they think might be in the bag? Ask them to think of things associated with teeth.

- Choose a child to put a hand in the bag, feel an object, describe how it feels and then guess what it is, before pulling it out to show the others. Was the guess correct? Discuss how this object is relevant to keeping teeth healthy and strong.

- Pass the bag to the next child and continue until all of the objects have been removed, explored and discussed. Explain how the vegetables and milk products help to keep our teeth strong.

Extended learning

Key vocabulary

Toothbrush, bristles, handle, toothpaste, screw top, pump, carton, tube, beaker, carrot, apple, milk, carton, yoghurt pot, toy cow, strong, healthy, clean, hard, soft, shiny, rough, smooth, cheese

Questions to ask

- Can you describe the object you are feeling? What do you think it is? How will it help to keep your teeth strong and healthy?

- Where does milk come from? Why is milk good for teeth? Can you name some other foods that are made from milk?

Extension activities

- Ask the children to shut their eyes while you remove one of the objects from the carpet. Can they guess which one it is?

- Make healthy milkshakes, as alternatives to sugary squash drinks, by chopping up a selection of fresh fruit and mixing it in a blender with milk and natural yoghurt. (Only adults should handle the implements).

ADULT-LED ACTIVITY

- An important visitor

Invite a dentist or dental nurse to visit your setting to talk about their work and keeping teeth healthy.

- Key learning intentions

To recognise the importance of keeping healthy and those things which contribute to this

To dress and undress independently and manage their own personal hygiene

To speak clearly and audibly with confidence and control and show awareness of the listener

Adult-child ratio 1:4

Resources

- Pictures showing dentists, dental nurses and hygienists

- posters about caring for teeth

- toothpaste cartons, tubes and pump action containers, new toothbrushes

- resources brought by the visitor

Preparation

- When arranging the visit, ask the dentist or dental nurse to bring along health promotion materials and items they use in their work, such as dental mirrors and gloves.

- Ask the children to help to write or illustrate cards inviting their parents or carers to attend.

Activity content

- Before the planned visit, encourage the children to talk about their experiences of visiting the dentist, looking at the pictures and posters and passing around the toothbrushes and toothpastes. Explain that a dentist (or dental nurse) is going to visit the nursery and suggest that they think of questions they would like to ask them.

- On the day of the visit, encourage both children and adults to ask questions. Suggest that the visitor joins the children in their role-play dental surgery afterwards (see below).

Extended learning

Key vocabulary

Dentist, dental nurse, dental hygienist, teeth, milk teeth, toothbrush, toothpaste, clean, brush, decay, sugar, strong, healthy, appointment, check-up, rinse, mouthwash, mirror

Questions to ask

- Have you ever visited the dentist? What did the dentist do? Can you remember some of the things the dentist used?

- How do you keep your teeth clean? When do you clean your teeth? Why is it important to clean your teeth regularly?

- Which foods and drinks are good for teeth? Why are sugary foods not so good?

Extension ideas

- Ask parents to take photographs during their morning routines of getting up, eating breakfast, brushing teeth and leaving for nursery/school. Do the same with bedtime routines. Mount the photographs on cards and invite children to arrange them in the correct sequence.

- Create a toothbrush graph, asking children to choose a coloured square to match the colour of their toothbrush at home, and stick it to the corresponding column. Ask questions involving mathematical problems, for example, 'Which colour is the most popular?', 'How many children have pink toothbrushes?', 'Count the blue and red toothbrushes - how many are there altogether?'

CHILD-INITIATED LEARNING

Role play

Additional resources and adult support

- Create a dentist's surgery in your role-play area ahead of the dental practitioner's visit (see above).

- Create a dentist's chair from a sturdy, stable office chair that can be raised or lowered. Stand a stool alongside with a beaker and bowl on top for the children to 'rinse' their mouths. Provide white doctor's or nurse's tabards for the dental surgery staff and bibs for patients. Hang posters and images of smiling mouths on screens or walls. Include additional resources such as goggles, gloves, torches, dental mirrors and dental instruments from toy doctor's bags.

- Ensure that there is a patient's check-in area with mark-making tools and materials, a computer screen and a telephone, and a comfortable waiting area with magazines and leaflets about tooth care.

- Leave the children to play freely in the area, visiting in role as a dental practitioner or patient. Invite the visiting dental practitioner to join in play.

- As play develops, provide additional resources requested by the children so that they can put their ideas into practice.

Play possibilities

- Working in a dental surgery or visiting as a patient.

- Following the process of making an appointment, coming to the surgery, receiving treatment and booking the next appointment.

- Exploring the resources available and using them to develop imaginary ideas of their own.

Possible learning outcomes

Shows increasing independence in selecting and carrying out activities

Begins to use talk to pretend imaginary situations

Shows an interest in the world in which they live

Shows some understanding that good practices with regard to hygiene can contribute to good health

Creative area

Additional resources and adult support

- Provide a selection of old toothbrushes (boiled to kill any germs), thin paint and thick paper.

- Add empty toothpaste tubes, pump action containers and tooth beakers to the malleable table.

- Supply magazines showing images of foods, along with scissors, glue, different shaped card and writing tools.

- Provide paper plates, small rectangles of white sponge or card, paint and glue.

- Provide additional resources as requested.

Play possibilities

- Painting with toothbrushes, spattering paint, dragging it and stippling it

- Creating prints with toothpaste tubes and tooth beakers by rolling and stamping

- Creating patterns on the surface of clay, dough or other malleable materials

- Finding pictures of foods and using them in collage and montage work

- Differentiating between foods that help teeth grow strong and those that cause tooth decay

- Creating model mouths by painting paper plates and glueing on sponge or card teeth

Possible learning outcomes

Shows increasing independence in selecting and carrying out activities

Talks activities through, reflecting and modifying what they are doing

Talks about, recognises and recreates simple patterns

Develops preferences for forms of expression

Food preparation

Additional resources and adult support

- Organise a food preparation area where children can make healthy snacks.

- Put up a chart for children to tick, asking them if they have put on an apron and washed their hands before starting to work with the food.

- Spend time talking to the children about health and safety rules before leaving them to manage the area themselves.

- Supply knives (not too sharp), spoons, chopping boards and small bowls.

- Provide crunchy foods to cut up, such as carrots, cabbage, celery and apple, or different cheeses to slice, or soft fruits and natural yoghurt to mix together.

- Supply milk to pour into beakers.

- Set up a cafe table nearby with a colourful cloth and a vase of flowers. Ask children to move to this table to eat their snacks after preparation. Provide somewhere to wash the used bowls or leave them to soak.

- Ask staff members to join children regularly to discuss the foods they are enjoying and to model correct practice by preparing their own snacks.

Play possibilities

- Exploring a range of foods and deciding preferences

- Becoming aware of healthy snack options

- Managing to create an appropriate snack according to individual needs

- Discussing the names and groupings of foods with others

- Showing awareness of others and their needs

Possible learning outcomes

Takes turns and shares fairly, and follows simple group rules

Extends vocabulary, especially by grouping and naming

Handles tools safely and with increasing control

Shows an interest in what they see, hear, smell, touch and taste

AREAS OF LEARNING

Personal, social and emotional development

Communication, language and literacy

Mathematical development

Knowledge & understanding of the world

Physical development

Creative development

RESOURCES Websites

- Send a letter to a tooth fairy www.wistaria.co.uk

- Download a teeth cleaning chart www.colgate.co.uk or www.aquafresh.co.uk

Books

- Freddie Visits the Dentist by Nicola Smee (Orchard Books)

- Topsy and Tim Go to the Dentist by Jean Adamson (Ladybird Books)

- Pradeep the Dentist by Monica Hughes (Heinemann)

- Wibble Wobble by Miriam Moss (Orchard Books)

- I Don't Eat Toothpaste Anymore! by Karen King (Tamarind)

- Going to the Dentist by Anne Civardi and Stephen Cartwright (Usborne).