Did you know that February is National Children’s Dental Health Month? This month is a great time to teach little ones the importance of taking care of their teeth!
An important skill for dental health is learning how to properly brush teeth. When kids are little, they may wonder why it’s important to brush their teeth. This activity is great for teaching this!
Here are the materials you’ll need:
*hardboiled eggs (I suggest using 3 eggs)
*various liquids (I used dark pop, apple juice, and pink lemonade)
*toothbrush
*toothpaste
*screwdriver
To start, soak hardboiled eggs in liquids of choice. I let them soak for several hours. The eggs will be stained a color, representing teeth before they are brushed.
Then take a toothbrush and scrub away! Before doing this, I talked to my son about what everything represents. We discussed how food can stain our teeth and brushing helps clean them and keep them healthy.
He took his job pretty seriously and enjoyed scrubbing the eggs!
All clean!
Then to spice it up a bit, we decided to make cavities in our teeth. Of course, cavity was a new vocabulary word for him so we discussed what it meant to have a cavity. Then he started making holes in the eggs to represent cavities.
I’m glad this isn’t my tooth! Way too many cavities!
We both really loved this activity. It covered the following topics:
*making predictions about if and how the color of the egg will change
*fine motor skills with brushing and poking holes in the “tooth”
*showing the importance of taking good care of your teeth
*sensory activity with the sense of touch
The best part is that this lesson really helped him with brushing! He loves brushing his teeth and he makes sure he frequently because he really doesn’t want a cavity. Oh to be 3 again!
Amazing post Angela!! Thank you so much for linking it up on my site! We went to the dentist last week. I wish I had known this idea, but it’s never too late to show how to really brush teeth, right? Thank you so much for the great idea!
Thanks, Erica! You are too kind. I love the link-up you are doing!!
Fun seeing your post Erica! We miss having you as neighbors! Bobbie Mohler
What a fantastic idea and such lovely photos! I think my toddler would really enjoy doing this.
Thank you! I’m definitely not a skilled photographer, but I love my camera- Canon Rebel t3i. I do hope you’ll try it out and let me know how it goes!
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Definitely made an impact
on Troy doing this project! He cares about how pearly white his teeth are after brushing….loved examining his teeth for him….makes me laugh just thinking about it!
Isn’t that great?! I am so happy he is serious about brushing his teeth now! 🙂
This is such an awesome idea… I have a Family child care and will be doing this experiment with them the week of easter….I think this is a wonderful way to use the eggs! Thanks for the idea!!
Wonderful! I’m so glad this activity can be helpful for you. Hope it goes well!