Yellow Learns About Germs

Yellow Learns About Germs

Yellow Learns About Germs Teacher/Parent Notes This is a book about Yellow Rainbow Drop, who enjoys nothing more than playing outside, visiting the park, and going on adventures. This story is about how Yellow feels when she must wash her hands to protect her from germs. The story helps to teach children how important it is to take care of all aspects of their physical and mental health.

It supports teaching in the following EYFS areas: Physical Development: Health and Self Care

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40-60+ Months: Children should show some understanding that good practices with regard to exercise, eating, sleeping, and hygiene can contribute to good health.

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ELG – Children know the important role physical exercise and a healthy diet play in maintaining good health, and can talk about ways to keep healthy and safe.

Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Self-confidence and self-awareness

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40–60 months: Children should be confident speaking to others about their own needs, desires, interests, and opinions.

Other activities:

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Provide a number of stories in the reading area around germs and handwashing.

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Play the 1decision germ talking game. This game consists of 12 photographs that depict situations where germs may spread (e.g. a person sneezing). Children can determine which actions could help prevent the spread of germs. This activity supports you in assessing children’s understanding.

You can download this resource from the portal or purchase the game from the 1decision shop: https://www.1decision.co.uk/online-store

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You may also find the following information about health, hygiene, and preventing the spread of germs for children useful: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/teach-children-simple-hygiene-to-help-curb-infections

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Set up the role play as a hand washing station and get the children to complete a guide to hand washing at the writing table.

Yellow is playing at the park with her friends.

They are having fun. Pink keeps coughing and sneezing.

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Yellow Learns About Germs

The Drops are having so much fun that Pink keeps forgetting to cover his mouth when he coughs and sneezes.

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When they go to leave, Yellow hugs all of her friends goodbye, including Pink.

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Yellow Learns About Germs

The next morning, Yellow wakes up with a big sneeze. Her mum feels her head and finds that it is hot. Yellow has a temperature!

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Mum tells Yellow she must have caught a nasty cold. But where from?

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Yellow Learns About Germs

Yellow remembers Pink had a cold. But does not think she could have caught the cold from Pink.

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Mum tells Yellow that if Pink was poorly, then he had germs. Germs can be passed from person to person through the air, by touch, or other ways.

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Yellow Learns About Germs

If someone has a cold, mum explains, and they sneeze or cough near us without covering their mouth and nose, we may catch the germ and become unwell.

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Mum explains that germs can live on our hands and on surfaces such as a toy after a person sneezes onto them, and they can move from person to person by touch.

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Yellow Learns About Germs

But Yellow doesn’t understand. She can’t see the germs, so where are they? How can they move?

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Mum explains that germs are very tiny and can only be seen through a special machine called a microscope.

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Yellow Learns About Germs

Yellow is worried that she will make others ill. Mum explains that we can stop our germs from spreading by sneezing into a tissue and throwing the tissue away, and washing our hands with soap and water.

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Now that she understands how germs spread, Yellow will do her best to stop anyone else catching them. It won’t be long before she is well enough to play with her friends again!

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Yellow Learns About Germs