Ages 4+ · Life Skills · A healthy body
Wash, wash, wash!
💧wet🧼soap🫧scrub🚿rinse
Five steps for clean hands.The big ideaWash your hands with water and soap, then dry them.
How it works
Dirt can hide on our hands, even when we cannot see it.
If we eat with dirty hands, the dirt goes into our tummies.
Soap and water wash it away: wet, soap, scrub, rinse and dry.
Example 1: Wet and soap
- Turn on the tap and get your hands wet.
- Pump some soap.
- Rub it round and round between your hands.
Example 2: Scrub, scrub, scrub
- Scrub the backs, the fronts, and in between.
- Sing a little song while you scrub.
- Keep scrubbing until the song is over.
🫧bubbles🎵a little song🤲backs and fronts
Scrub with a song.Example 3: Rinse and dry
- Rinse until the soap and the mud swirl down the drain.
- Dry on a soft, fluffy towel.
- Now your hands are clean.
Example 4: When we wash
- Wash before we eat.
- Wash after we use the toilet.
- Wash after playing outside, too.
Words to know
- soap
- Slippy, bubbly stuff that cleans.
- scrub
- To rub hard and well.
- rinse
- To wash the soap off with water.
- dry
- No water left on our hands.
Watch out
- Wiping on a shirt does not get hands clean. Use soap and water.
- A quick splash is not enough. Use soap and scrub.
- Blowing on hands does not get them clean.
Try it
- What gets hands clean?
- Name the five steps.
- When do we wash our hands?
- Do we wash every time we wave?
Answers: 1. soap and water · 2. wet, soap, scrub, rinse, dry · 3. before we eat, after the toilet, after playing outside · 4. no
Try at homeNext time you wash your hands, do it with a grown-up and scrub for as long as a little song.
For grown-upsWash together before the next meal. Say the five steps out loud, and scrub for as long as a little song.