Georgia Teacher Of the Year, and Pre-K Teacher, Johnathon Hines Shares His Tips for a Protected Learning Environment
Teaching in a Pre-K classroom means two things are guaranteed: learning takes place through hands-on experiences and those experiences can lead to germs spreading. Every day I come into the classroom and plan out how to take on both of those challenges so that my students can stay healthy and miss less school. My goal is always help stop the spread of illness-causing germs to keep kids in school where they learn, grow, and thrive.
Here are several ways that parents can also ensure healthy habits extend from home to the classroom and back again throughout the school year.
1. Teach kids about germs
Kids can’t know about fighting germs if they aren’t aware of what germs really are. In my classroom, we spend time talking about what kinds of germs exist throughout our school and how we can combat their spread. I always encourage parents to do the same at home too.
2. Promote consistent and proper hand washing
Kids learn best from modeled behaviors. I demonstrate for kids how they should be washing their hands regularly and even allow them time to practice. Practicing at home after play time and before dinner is a great way to promote regular and proper handwashing.
3. Disinfecting high-touch classroom surfaces
Being the teacher of the classroom means I am the first line of defense against germs for kids once they enter the school building. It is part of my daily routine to disinfect my classroom at the start of the day and the end of the day, using Lysol Disinfectant Spray.* It can be used to disinfect so many of those hard and soft surfaces that can be germ hotspots in the classroom. I also encourage parents to disinfect items that kids are bringing back and forth to the classroom like backpacks, coats, and certain school supplies for another line of defense.
4. Use special times for quick cleaning throughout the day
Sometimes after an engaging lesson, I find that our classroom can use a germ-lift. With the help of my assistant teacher, we get kids engaged in an activity outside the classroom or sneak in a quick clean during their recess time, to allow time for wiping down and disinfecting the hard surfaces in the room like desks and chairs with Lysol Disinfecting Wipes.* It’s quick and efficient like the mid-nap cleaning sessions parents sometimes do at home.
5. Be Sure to Use Products That Are Effective
Lysol makes great products for me to use within my classroom, as well as for parents to use at home.Lysol Disinfecting Wipes and Lysol Disinfectant Spray kill 99.9% of viruses and bacteria, when used as directed including 8 cold and flu viruses and COVID-19 virus, and can be used on many surfaces like desks, door handles, and light switches. It’s very important that the disinfecting and cleaning I do within my classroom, allows kids to come back into a protected and disinfected environment day after day.
*use as directed
