All that glitters...

Children at Wheldrake with Thorganby School had a lesson on healthy living, thanks to York Against Cancer. Their teacher Sophie Tams, serves on York Against Cancer’s Education Committee and she devised the lesson as part of the charity’s mission to teach children about healthy lifestyles.

As part of the lesson Sophie Tams pretended to sneeze, showering the children in glitter in the process. After they had enjoyed the joke, Sophie explained that this was how germs are spread. She showed them her glitter-covered hand and then touched hands with a pupil, showing how the glitter had transferred onto them. Sophie asked the youngsters to wash their hands to show them that by doing this the ‘glitter germs’ had gone.

The pupils also got to learn what germs look like by viewing images of microscopic bacteria. They learnt about how to avoid catching and transmitting germs by using tissues, not touching their noses and eyes and washing their hands thoroughly with soap and water.

“York Against Cancer devised the lesson as part of a course produced to help primary schools educate children about hygiene and health. By making the lesson interactive and fun there’s more chance that the pupils will take it on board,” said Sophie.