November Germ-Blog Post

Hello All,

I’m back! After a very hot, pregnant summer, Mr. T and I welcomed baby M in September. I appreciate the break and hope you didn’t get sick from missing my helpful tips!

As a new mom AND a teacher, I researched EVERYTHING. Because everything has to be research-based, right? It wasn’t uncommon to wake up in the middle of the night worrying about kick counts or Infant Botulism or sleep patterns and search through trustworthy Google articles or books to find what I could.

In one of my crazy research sessions, I came across a section on common childhood diseases. It was research Disneyland for my crazy brain. It listed diseases, symptoms and remedies and at the very end of the table in a tiny little column were tips for prevention.
The most common tip? GOOD HYGIENE.

I’m serious. Almost every single disease said it could be prevented with good hygiene or immunizations. Now, immunizations have become a hot topic recently so I’m not going to weigh in too much, just make sure you read up on the benefits and risks when making your decision, but I’ll leave this one alone. For now. Hygiene, on the other hand, is my specialty.

We work in an environment that, frankly, is pretty gross. We have lots of kids with lots of germs sharing pencils and scissors and math blocks and books. It’s a miracle we survive. As I’m preparing to head back to my classroom, I’ve been really worried about how to leave those germs at work before I come home to baby M. Here are 3 tips to keep you protected:

1- WASH YOUR HANDS.

During my paranoid research I found that hand sanitizer kills 99.9% of germs on FLAT SURFACES. Your hands are not flat. Hand sanitizer is fantastic for those times when a second grader sneezes on you or you’re getting your students quickly to lunch, but not a great replacement for soap and water. Wash them before you leave school and right when you get home.

2- GET YOUR FLU SHOT.

This is the hardest one for me because I HATE needles. Hate. Every year I talk myself out of a flu shot and every year I get the flu. I hate getting sick and my students hate substitutes. You can’t do much about your students getting sick, but you can protect yourself and your family. Also, look into what your doctor recommends for your school age kids.

3- TEACH HYGIENE.

Yes, letting 30 first graders wash their hands before or after lunch is time consuming. It usually leaves my sink area a mess of paper towels and suds, but the importance of clean hands benefits everyone in your classroom. Stress the importance of killing germs with the GermBling system. The blacklight germs may look cool, but make sure they really understand the importance of keeping clean.
Remember that your students might not come from homes where hygiene is important, so don’t assume that they know. Teach on!

Goodbye Germs!

Mrs. T