Do your kids hate to brush their teeth? Do they complain about getting bored on long summer days? We have a solution for both! Today, we’ll explain a couple of crafts that can make dental hygiene seem fun and keep your kids occupied and happy.
Materials
You will need the following items for the crafts:
Paper
Paint
Dental Floss (cut lengths about 1″ longer than the paper)
Toothbrushes (one for each child to paint with)
Palettes or Plates (don’t use your good china because these will be used to hold paint)
Old T-shirt or Painting Smocks (to keep their clothes from getting paint on them)
Paint with Dental Floss
For this activity, you’ll need the dental floss, palettes or plates, paper, and, of course, paint.
Directions:
- Pour a few different colors of paint onto the plates or palettes.
- Tell your children to dip the dental floss into the paint.
- Next, tell them to lay the floss across a piece of paper.
- Then instruct then to fold the paper in half and slowly pull the floss out of one end at the crease.
- Repeat the process on different parts of the paper until a beautiful pattern forms.
Tip: Show your children how to make the painting before they try it themselves, and guide them along the way. This might be trickier for younger children, especially if they are still working on their motor skills, so help them fold the paper and pull the floss out of it.
Paint with Toothbrushes
This next craft teaches children about brushing their teeth.
“Brush” the Tooth:
- Trace or print out an outline of a tooth on yellow paper.
- Set the paper teeth in front of your kids, along with some white paint
- Have your children brush the teeth clean by painting white paint onto them with a toothbrush.
Tell your children that they should gently brush the tooth so they don’t tear it. Explain that they need to gently brush their teeth in the same way that they brush the paper teeth.
When your children realize how much fun they can have with toothbrushes and dental floss, it will encourage them to practice good hygiene.
If you’re looking for more ways to keep your children’s teeth healthy, Dr. Amanda Foust of Dental Impressions of Ankeny can help. Dr. Foust provides dental care to families in her comfortable Ankeny, Iowa, dental office. Call (515) 965-0230 to schedule an appointment.
Thanks to PreschoolRock.com for the cute craft ideas!
