Introduction

Good hygiene is essential for maintaining a healthy lifestyle and fostering positive social interactions. Teaching middle school students the importance of daily hygiene practices, especially at nighttime, can help them develop lifelong habits that contribute to overall well-being. This blog post will introduce an easy-to-implement activity, discussion questions, and related skills to help educators teach nighttime hygiene habits to their students.

No-Prep Activity: The Nighttime Hygiene Checklist

This simple activity requires no preparation or materials and can be easily incorporated into a classroom setting. Ask students to create a personal nighttime hygiene checklist, including all the steps they need to follow in order to maintain good hygiene before bed. Encourage them to think about each step, from washing their hands to putting on clean pajamas. Once they have created their checklists, have students share their lists with a partner and discuss the importance of each step. This activity promotes self-awareness and helps students understand the connection between good hygiene and overall health and social comfort.

Discussion Questions

1. Why is it important to have good hygiene every day, not just some days?
2. How can maintaining good hygiene impact our relationships with others?
3. What are some challenges that might make it difficult for someone to maintain good hygiene? How can we overcome these challenges?
4. Why is it important to have a consistent routine for nighttime hygiene?
5. How can we remind ourselves to follow our nighttime hygiene routine every day?

Related Skills

In addition to teaching students about the importance of good hygiene, there are other skills related to social-emotional learning that can be incorporated into classroom discussions and activities. Some of these skills include:

• Self-awareness: Understanding one’s own emotions, strengths, and weaknesses, and recognizing how personal hygiene impacts health and social interactions.
• Self-management: Developing healthy habits and routines, such as a consistent nighttime hygiene routine, to promote well-being and social comfort.
• Responsible decision-making: Making choices that contribute to personal health and positive social interactions, such as maintaining good hygiene practices.
• Relationship skills: Building and maintaining healthy relationships with peers by practicing good hygiene and understanding its impact on social interactions.

Next Steps

Teaching students about the importance of good hygiene and helping them develop healthy nighttime routines is just one aspect of social-emotional learning. To access more resources and sample materials related to hygiene and other essential skills, sign up for a free sample at Everyday Speech. These resources can help educators create a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for their students, promoting overall well-being and success.