| Reviewers Comments: | The information presented in this teaching kit is research-based and current. The teaching kit contains a storybook, a lesson plan book, a CD, and game cards. Germs Are Not for Sharing is a storybook for children to learn about germs and the importance of proper handwashing. It is written at a proper level for the 4 to 7 age range and contains colorful illustrations. The storybook portrays germs in a way that would be easy for young children to comprehend. Besides teaching children about hand hygiene and the recipes provided, there is no other nutrition information presented in the teaching kit.
The lesson plan book for educators includes questions, discussion ideas, and activities to help adults reinforce the messages in the storybook. The lesson plan book can be difficult to follow since there is no table of contents and little contrasting text size or color. It includes many interactive activities, including a sneeze demonstration, a handwashing practice activity, and a soap making recipe. Two of the activities incorporate physical activity. While the activities may be new for participants who have not had nutrition education or cooking classes before, some are not innovative and may have been seen before in other curricula.
Each of these activities is appropriate for the 4 to 7 age range, but may not be appropriate for older children since the activities seem to cater to a younger audience. The SNAP-Ed provider could use each activity separately without the storybook. Activities could be used in collaboration with other classes they might be doing, such as an introduction to a cooking series. No prior knowledge of handwashing or bacteria is required of the SNAP-Ed provider to teach these activities.
Some additional materials may be needed to conduct the activities, including soap, spray bottle, crayons, washable paint, glue, balls, and scissors. A printer is needed to print worksheets, stickers, iron-on transfers, and other materials from the CD. These activities require paper, labels, and cardstock. This could become costly in addition to the price of the toolkit.
The lesson plan book contains a reproducible family newsletter for students to bring home so parents can reinforce handwashing messages. It also contains a few recipes. One of the recipes creates a snack that looks like a germ. The other two seem out of place. All three recipes are compatible with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Each includes the Nutrition Facts Panel, serving size, recipe yield, cost per recipe, and cost per serving. The recipes are less than $6 to prepare and use ingredients which are readily available, easy to find, and low-cost.
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