Hands On - Hands Off

Drug Free Lesson for PreK and Kindergarten

To start the lesson, we talked about what Red Ribbon Week stands for and why we celebrate this special event. We discuss ways to keep our body healthy. We also talk about the importance of having drug free bodies. Since most young students aren't sure what drugs and alcohol are, we talk about how drugs and alcohol are like poison to the body. It can make you sick and can hurt you. 

I showed this short film about poison so that students could understand what "poison" meant incase there were still any doubts or confusion. I liked the way this video talked about how some things look safe or look like other things and that it's always important to ask first! I would highly recommend this video. The kids loved it and were singing the chorus at the end with the characters. 

Hands On/Hands Off Oral Assessment

To assess students' knowledge of what is safe and what is necessary to ask first before touching, I played a game called "Hands On! - Hands Off!" The red hand represented the color of a stop sign; therefore, that was our "Hands Off (or Stop and Ask First) Bucket." The green hand represented the color of a green traffic light which stood for "Hands On (or GO ahead and touch it - It's safe!)" Something that was a REAL EYE OPENER for me was that most kids thought the itch cream was toothpaste and they thought the sunscreen block was lipstick - This was confirmation to me that this lesson was utmost important for my little ones since some things are bottled or packaged the same way and they thought it was "safe". 

 Speaking of "Hands Off" and Being Healthy…

Since Halloween is right around the corner and we were talking about keeping our "Hands Off" of things, I chose to introduce the "Booger Ghost" to my young kids and we talked about keeping our hands out of our nose and hands off of our "boogers". I chose to read, "I am a Booger… Treat Me with Respect." Oh yeah… it's a real book and it's real gross, but it was also REAL NECESSARY (if you know what I mean)!

The kids were seriously all about this book and listened to it intensely! I hope this will stop some of the "booger issues" we are having in our classrooms since some of our students have been getting sick due to the change in weather and winter months approaching. 

Yes… it's totally gross, but if you want to throw this in just for fun, they sell this candy at Target during Halloween and this could go in your "Hands Off" Bucket!

Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week 2013

All I can say is, "WOW!" What a wonderful Red Ribbon Week we had at Gulf Shores Elementary School! Here are just a few things we did this week that I will be discussing in my long overdue blog!

• Dress Out Days
• Estimation Jar with Drug Free items
• "Pennies for Puppies" Collection
• Drug Free Photo Booth
• Scavenger Hunt
• Instagram Account

DRESS OUT ATTIRE

MONDAY - "Band Together Against Drugs"(Everyone wore red bandanas with a white shirt and jeans.)

TUESDAY - "Join the Fight Against Drugs" (Everyone wore their camouflage.) 

WEDNESDAY - "Our Future is Too Bright to Use Drugs" (Everyone wore yellow shirts and their sunglasses.)

THURSDAY - "Team Up Against Drugs" (Everyone wore their favorite team colors.)

FRIDAY - "Proud To Be Drug Free" (Everyone wore red.)

ESTIMATION JAR

Each day there were different "Drug Free" items in the Estimation Jar. Some of the items included; tattoos, mints, suckers, rubber ducks, pens/pencils, etc. Each class turned in their class guess every day  by 1:30, and the class that guessed the correct number of items or the closest won the prizes in the Estimation Jar and they received recognition over the intercom each morning for being the winners!

PENNIES FOR PUPPIES

"Pennies for Puppies" is a campaign that partners with Baldwin County Schools, and it's goal is to raise money for the purchase of a new dog for the Baldwin County Sheriff's Office. The hope is to raise $14,000, which is about what it would cost to purchase a new dog that can help with drug investigations. 

Since Alabama and Auburn football teams are the biggest rivals in the state of Alabama, we decided to make the campaign a little fun by adding some competition to it. Each day, students had a choice to put their money in either the Alabama jug or the Auburn jug. Each day we announced who won the competition for that day. Auburn won two days and Alabama won three days out of the week. Together, Auburn and Alabama fans raised $427.00! Way to go, Gulf Shores Elementary School!

SCAVENGER HUNT 

I must say, this was probably the biggest hit of all for the week! We had our first "Drug Free Scavenger Hunt" at Gulf Shores Elementary School, and the kids loved it! Each teacher had a bag, which included; directions with a post-it note, a piece of chalk, a set of QR code clues and a set of Red Ribbon pledge stickers. 

SCAVENGER HUNT DIRECTIONS: Click Here!

SCAVENGER HUNT QR CLUES: Click Here!

The scavenger hunt took them to several locations! Here were the places each class had to visit; 

1. My Mailbox

Together, each class had to think of a different "dress out" day for next year during Red Ribbon Week. The class wrote their ideas on the post-it note I provided and stuck it in my mailbox. We received MANY GREAT IDEAS from each class! The 2013 Red Ribbon Leader and our school principal will use the ideas that were given during the scavenger hunt to create our "dress out" days for next year! 

2. Red Ribbon Wall

The next stop at their scavenger hunt was the "Drug Free Pledge Wall". Each student took their sticker they had signed in class and placed it on the wall to pledge they would live a drug free life!

3. Drug Free Photo Booth

The third place students went on their scavenger hunt was the "Drug Free Photo Booth". The backdrop was provided, as well as, silly glasses and photo booth props. 

4. Drug Free Chalk Message

For their fourth stop, each class was asked to write a drug free message somewhere on the sidewalk for others to see! Each message was different and unique and you could find these messages all over our school property on the sidewalks!

Mrs. Altmyer's Class left a Spanish "Drug Free Message" for our Spanish speaking population!

5. Open the Locker and You Get a Prize

For the fifth and final clue, students were asked to walk to the middle school (which is right next door) and find locker number 503. They were given the combination and when they opened it, they found their surprise, which were their red, drug free bracelets. 

INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

We set up a Red Ribbon Instagram Account for our parents and community to see how we celebrated the week! If you'd like to see our pictures, look us up on Instagram by searching "RRWeek". 

Ms. Waggoner and I "mustache" you a question! 

Are you drug free? ...It's the way to be!