We have to be careful when we cough or sneeze, especially when there is a virus going around! Learn why it’s important to cover your mouth and do a fun craft to remind yourself to be healthy and keep others healthy, too.

Superheroes Cover their Mouths

INTRODUCE

• EXPLAIN: When we cough and sneeze, there’s snot and spit that comes out of our mouths and noses, and those can be filled with germs! Those germs hang out in the air and can travel over 26 feet! That means one sneeze could potentially get everyone in a room sick.
• ASK: So what do we do to keep our germs from spreading when we sneeze or cough?
• WATCH: Cover your Mouth When You Cough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG4n0r8-UPA

EXPLORE

• EXPLAIN: By covering your sneeze or cough, you can help keep everyone from getting sick! That’s a real Superhero thing to do! We’re going to practice sneezing like a Superhero by using our capes to cover out mouths.
• INSTRUCT:
  1. Pretend you are wearing your Superhero cape.
  2. Grab your cape down by your side.
  3. Bring it up to your face and wrap it around so your elbow is over your mouth.
  4. Pretend to sneeze and cough into your Superhero cape!
• INSTRUCT (see how below):
  1. Trace your hand on a piece of paper.
  2. Cut out your hand.
  3. Glue or tape your hand to the end of your paper towel roll.
  4. Color or decorate your hand and paper towel roll to help you remember to cover your cough and sneeze.
  5. Bend your paper towel roll in half like an elbow.
  6. Hold on to the end of the paper towel roll that doesn’t have the hand.
  7. Bring the bend of the paper towel roll up to your mouth and pretend to cough in it.
• EXPLAIN: By coughing into your arm, you keep the germs from spreading out across the room, and you also keep the germs off your hand so you don’t spread them around

CONNECT

• DISCUSS: How are we behaving like Superheroes by covering our cough and sneeze?