Good hygiene is such an important part of staying healthy. While it’s always challenging to deal with developing immune systems, you can help your child with some Montessori-inspired lessons at home. These work great in the classroom, too!
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Montessori-Inspired Hygiene Activities and Resources
For a variety of ages, handwashing lessons and songs are extremely helpful. For elementary-age children, it’s nice if you can study the immune system first to give them a better understanding of the importance of hygiene. With toddlers, you might want to just start with a simple handwashing song.
My “Handwashing Activities for Kids – Free Songs and Lessons” has lots of fun songs and free resources for a variety of ages to encourage handwashing for 20 seconds along with Montessori care of self and handwashing ideas.
Baan Dek Montessori has a post on hygiene and Montessori with a photo of their handwashing activity.
Cleaning the Bathroom Door (Photo from Child Led Life)
Child Led Life has a post on sick manners, which includes both manners and helpful tips for staying healthy. (Blog is unavailable now.)
Olive and Love has a post on toddler self-hygiene – Montessori style.
You’ll find more Montessori-inspired resources for care of self and the environment in my related posts at the very bottom of this post.
Immune System Activities and Resources
Many of these activities can be used with children as young as preschool age, although there are some for middle schoolers through high school. They’re important in helping children understand the need for good hygiene.
Free Germ Printables and Montessori-Inspired Germ Activities
Free Germ Songs and Educational Videos
Favorite Books for a Germ Theme
Dos and Don’ts of Spreading Germs (Photo from Every Star Is Different)
Every Star Is Different has a post on the immune system and personal hygiene with creative hands-on activities and free printables. To find that post, go to the site’s top header to the link for Free Printables to Thematic Activities and Free Printables to Human Body to My Body: The Immune System. You’ll also get free resources if you’re a newsletter subscriber. (Their newsletter sign-up link is at the top of the site, too.)
What Is Blood Made of Sensory Tub (Photo from I Can Teach My Child)
I Can Teach My Child has a fun “What is blood made of?” sensory tub along with an activity showing how germs are spread.
Mixing Playdough has an activity for exploring the immune system with playdough. Mixing Playdough also has an antioxidant unit that could help kids stay healthy.
Blood Cell Sort-Transfer
The printable I used from Mixing Playdough is no longer available, but you can find free blood composition 3-part cards from Shajara Montessori at TPT. (Update: These are no longer free.) I used red pony beads to represent the red blood cells and small white pom poms for the white blood cells.to put together a blood cell sort-transfer activity.
Parts of the Blood Activity (Photo from My Montessori Journey)
My Montessori Journey has a hands-on activity to demonstrate parts of the blood.
Parts of the Blood Activity (Photo from Spell Outloud)
Spell Outloud used the same parts of the blood activity and extension activities for learning about blood. (Update: The blog is no longer available.)
Delivering Grace has an activity using playdough for parts of the blood.
Germ Craft (Photo from Sugar Aunts)
OT Toolbox has a germ craft and fine-motor activity to teach kids how germs are spread. This would make an especially fun activity tray.
Carrots Are Orange has a post on teaching kids about germs.
Germ Experiment (Photo from Snotty Noses)
Snotty Noses has a germ experiment.
Montessori Muddle has a post on how the immune system works with an embedded video (on bacterial infection) for middle and high schoolers.
The Homeschool Scientist and Meet Penny have some great immune system resources to add to an immune system unit study.
I have a post with free songs and resources to help kids feel more comfortable when getting a shot.
You’ll find lots of free printables about germs at Teachers Pay Teachers.
I hope you found some activities here that help your kids stay healthy!
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Hey Deb, great post and thank you so much for including my germ post. I love the hand washing song. I am going to have to learn that for my three year old twins. After they go to the toilet, I tell them we need to wash their hands. “No thanks!” they say very politely.
haha! Never thought I’d spend my time arguing over going to the toilet!
These are great lessons! 🙂
Hello Deb,
This is my favourite blog where I can find a lot of helpful tips, especially for our children. Surely I will encourage my kids to do such activities to improve their immune systems