Health (HLTH)
The Health (HLTH) domain assesses the development of routines related to personal care, safety, and nutrition. The knowledge or skill areas in this domain include safety, understanding of health and wellness, and personal care routines (hygiene, feeding, self-dressing).
Meet Tano Chu,
Ambassador for Health!
Tano Chu was about to walk onstage when he noticed that one of his shoes felt a bit loose. He looked down to see that his shoelace had come untied. Oops! Tripping on the way to the podium would not be the best entrance for the Health Ambassador! Tano let go of a giggle, and before he could even ask for help, his teacher was lacing up his shoe. Tano smiled, thanked his teacher, grabbed his PACCC water bottle, and headed to the podium.
“Good morning, Palo Alto! I am Tano Chu, Ambassador for Health and, well…Wellness, and all the stuff we’re supposed to do! Like eat broccoli. I’m here to talk about the importance of being safe, practicing self-care, and understanding wellness.”
The audience stared back at him without a peep. Hmmm. This wasn’t the reaction he’d hoped for! That was kind of a long, serious sentence. Maybe he shouldn’t have talked about broccoli. Tano cleared his throat, took a sip of water and thought about why health, safety and wellness matter to kids.
IT MEANS MORE FUN!
Tano leaned into the microphone and explained, “Because when we feel good, we have more fun…like how we feel at recess!”
“Recess!” the crowd cheered.
Phew! That was a close one! The children were cheering, teachers were smiling, and the parents seemed eager to hear some nifty safety tips. In that moment, Tano decided to abandon his prepared speech and play with the recess theme instead.
Talk about a safety tip! Don’t stare into a silent crowd if you can help it!
“OK, so you know how at recess, some of the kids are too small to get up on the swing by themselves, or they need someone to stand on the side of the slide and be ready to catch them if they start to fall? That’s safety!"
“Say it with me! Safety is fun!”
Everyone repeated the phrase and Tano was so happy he had abandoned his boring speech.
“And when you go for a bike ride on the bike path, you put on a helmet! Why?”
The kids stood up and shouted with glee, “Because safety is fun!”
“Yes! Safety is fun. But so is taking care of yourself! It’s why we eat good, healthy food when we’re hungry, drink water when we’re thirsty, and sleep when we’re tired! And what do we do right before we go to bed?”
A murmur of different answers swept through the crowd.
“I’ll give you a hint: You must use a tiny brush, and it’s not for your hair.”
Everyone yelled, “brush your teeth! Brush your teeth before you go to bed!”
“That is correct!” said Tano. “Because cavities aren’t fun at all!”
“And what if you have an earache, a tummy ache, or your nose is running? Then what do you do?”
“Stay in bed and watch cartoons!” laughed one of the parents.
That wasn’t exactly the answer Tano was looking for, but it was close.
“You tell your mom or dad or your teacher… and then what do you stay away from?”
Emery laughed from backstage and shouted “Recess! Don’t come to recess if you’re sick!”
The teachers exchanged a knowing smile and then Tano took a quick bow and said, “Be safe, be kind, look both ways, brush your teeth, and eat yucky broccoli. Because it’s FUN! The end!”
The End.
(Endings are just the backstage of new beginnings. See you back here for more stories!)
Health Progression
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Infant-Toddler |
Preschool |
School-Age |
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Safety |
Tano holds his teacher’s hand as he walks down the ramp on the climbing structure. |
Tano is riding his tricycle on the bike path at school and stops when he sees a classmate standing on the path. |
Tano tells his younger brother that they must wait, look both ways and make sure the road is clear before they cross the street with their Mom. |
|
Self-Care |
Tano extends his arms when a teacher approaches to put his jacket on to go outside. |
Tano puts on his shoes by himself before leaving the house to go to school. |
Tano packs his jacket, lunch and backpack in the morning before heading to school. |
|
Understanding Wellness |
Tano signs “more” during mealtime to indicate he is still hungry. |
Tano tells his teacher that his ear hurts. |
Tano fills up his water bottle before going outside to play and brings it with him outside. |
