Animal Teeth - 020222

What We Are Learning

dental health/personal hygiene

animal behavior

singing

vocabulary

Before you talk about animal teeth and all the incredible things they do, talk to children about their own chompers! Read the cover of the issue. When you get to Pablo’s question (What do your teeth help you do?), have children turn and talk to discuss. Then allow them to share their ideas. Record their answers on chart paper. build engagement

Art: Make Your Own Toothbrush

Materials: large craft sticks, markers, white paper, glue, scissors

This activity lets children practice their fine motor skills while making an adorable craft!
In advance, cut rectangles from white paper that are about two-thirds the length of your craft sticks.
Give each child a craft stick and markers. This will be the toothbrush handle. Have them decorate it however they’d like.
Then give out pieces of white paper, glue, and scissors. Have children glue the paper to the top third of the craft stick. Once it has dried, have children make cuts in the paper to make “bristles.”
When they’re done, they can practice using gentle strokes to “brush” their teeth with it. dental health/fine motor skills

Materials: Roll, Paste, and Brush! skill sheet from the website, a die, cotton

Children can do this dental-themed math activity in pairs or alone.
Print out copies of the Roll, Paste, and Brush! printable from the website. Put them at a math center with the die, a bunch of cotton balls, and glue.
Children will roll the die and say the number that appears. Then they will glue a cotton ball to the corresponding number on the skill sheet. Once they cover all the spaces, they win! number recognition