Healthy Habits in the Classroom

“Play areas and materials are clean” (Washington, 2017).

In our classroom, we clean everything with soap and water and then we spray a natural cleaner and disinfectant. At our center we use a natural disinfectant spray called Force of Nature. F.O.N. is a natural sanitizer/disinfectant that comes inseveral small plastic vials. It’s made by mixing the entire contents of the vial with water inside of this small mixing machine that starts out blue and when it’s fully mixed, the light turns green. When it’s green that means you’re ready to pour the mixture into a spray bottle and start disinfecting. After each choice play time we put on the “Gracie’s Corner, Clean Up Song” then we know it’s time to clean up. The children all chip in helping clean up and make sure that all of the play areas are clean and toys are put back on the shelf. We have brooms and dust pans available for the children to sweep and clean too.

“Wipes down all surfaces used by children (tables, furniture, countertops, etc.)” (Washington, 2017).

We spray the tables with soap and water before and afterevery meal. Then we spray the tables and chairs with F.O.N., we leave the spray untouched for about 10 minutes to disinfect a surface or 1 minute before wiping or air-dry for sanitation. Basically, anything the children touch we spray with F.O.N. We spray it on the tables, toys, shelves, sink, and even on ourselves if a child sneezes on us for example. We have a couple children potty training but most are still in diapers or pull ups. As we change diapers, even though we wear gloves, we must also wash our hands before and after each diaper. To clean the diaper table we use diaper table paper as well as disinfectant wipes.

“Models proper hand washing techniques” (Washington, 2017).

We have a set of instructions posted above the sink that give numbered, step by step directions, on exactly how to wash your hands. We also have the song lyrics to a hand washing song posted above the sink. It’s goes like this, “Tops and bottoms, tops and bottoms, in between, in between, scrub your finger nails now, scrub your finger nails and rinse them clean.” Its to the tune of “Frère Jacques, Frère Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?” We wash our hands while we sing the song together. Online Resource: https://www.forceofnatureclean.com