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OK, so I'm trying really hard not to add yet one more worry to my already overloaded plate (my eyes are always bigger than my stomach when it comes to finding things to fret about) but this whole swine flu thing is pushing all my big, red panic buttons.
(Mix enough metaphors for ya, there? Add imagery and blend -- mmmmm, better than a simile smoothie.)
One of my facebook friends posted that the media is descending upon the University of Delaware, thanks to four "probable" swine flu cases. U of D is my alma mater, and where my mom works, so that amped up the anxiety for sure.
Then, I read that a local high school has been closed because of a student who contracted swine flu.
(This was not the best week to join Twitter, I think. All the breaking news tweets are enough to make anybody nervous -- if not outright paranoid. I'm severely curtailing my online time for the rest of the day. As soon as I finish this post!)
So what am I doing about all this? Well, going full out into Mama's Magic mode, I'm trying to fight off the fretting by turning creative.
I made up a hand washing song.
After all, washing your hands -- properly washing your hands -- is the best defense against getting sick. But do either one of my kids scrub adequately with soap, for 30 seconds or so, getting all areas of their hands? Not even close. BJ's new favorite way to scrub up is to dash into the bathroom, turn on the faucet full-blast, wet his hands for about two seconds, then run back to whatever he was doing.
So I wrote a song to help them remember what to do. It is sung to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (aka the alphabet tune, and yes, I was fully grown before I realized they are the same tune!) It's hardly the pinnacle of poetic complexity, but it works. Feel free to use it with your own kids..... Wash up and stay healthy!
The Hand Washing Song
Now it’s time to scrub a dub,
Water, soap, then rub and rub!
Spread those bubbles
All around –
Front and back,
And round and round.
Thumbs and fingers,
In between,
Rinse and dry
And now they’re clean!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
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3 comments:
My SIL has her kids (same ages as yours minus a month) sing the ABC song while they wash their hands. It takes about 30 secs (sometimes longer) to ge through the whole thing.
She also does this for other waiting times, like when they're taking turns at a water fountain. I've tried with DJ and it works really, really well. Just the right length.
DJ's preschool also does something about fronts and backs, to London Bridge, to help them remember to get soap all over the hands.
Everything's better with a song!
Where'd my comment go? Anyways: SOOOOOOOO CUUUUUUUUTE
Your SIL sounds pretty smart, Julie. I'd heard about the 30 sec thing related to the ABC song, which is why I chose that tune for my little ditty. So far it's gone over well with the kids.
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