New Year, New Fun: Health and Safety

Health and safety has been our priority around here lately. Health and Safety topics that may have come up in discussion include what to do if you’re on fire, what (not) to do if you’re in the snow and lost (stop/sit down), how  to properly clean your hands, how germs are spread, and the importance of exercise. We’ve taken a walk every day this week, and even ‘rocked’ the park during a second walk on Thursday, which was REALLY warm.

The first half of this year we have primarily focused on our workbooks. We spent a tiny bit of time talking about Thanksgiving, and had a big unit on world religious winter holidays. We took a short break here and there around dad’s travel schedule. He went to Jordan for a week and we were VERY low key during that stressful time and his subsequent paid time off afterward. I love the flexibility that home school affords us as a family.

We’ve talked a TON about the flu and colds since it is raging in this area. Mom and Dad had something that left us coughing (this girl right here for 3 weeks) after other symptoms subsided. We were intentional about hand washing, reminding the kids to cover their coughs, and so on. We also had to postpone or cancel a LOT of plans due to our and other people’s illness. My hope is that the recent cold spells will have kept people inside and NOT spreading germs. Those lessons are hard for kids to learn, but necessary when you have such a big crew. The younger 2 ended up with snuffly noses later, but that also thankfully didn’t spread. Health class has definitely been in session-and a good thing, too, since it’s a requirement of our state.

The older kids have heard about fire safety at their club meetings, but they’d never had a hands-on experience–until this week! Mom also got to use a fire extinguisher for the first time. It is 100% empowering to know for sure how to use one. If you have not used one before, I encourage you to discharge an older one in a controlled environment. Let your kids try, too. Just be sure to get it recharged or replace it afterward! I have a ton of anxiety issues, but after using ours, I’m more confident. I could put out a small fire if necessary. Before, I didn’t even want to think about it! Check out our kids learning health and safety!

 

Now for something completely different..

Santa brought mom a vitamin C brightening mud mask. Mom and all the kids got to try it out. We took fun before, during, and after pictures. The after was definitely zombie like! We’re having ‘spa days’ on Fridays now. This is mom’s subtle way of being sure that the kids have their nails trimmed, and if it has to come under the guise of painting a few piggies, so be it! I also taught the oldest how to take a spit bath in the sink should it come down to it, and how to properly wash her face. Just another day in paradise with an almost tween. If that isn’t health class 101 in a week, I have no idea what is!

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