I recently watched a really fun & practical science experiment in a kindergarten class. It shows children in a really active and visual way- how important tooth care is. Which is perhaps a particularity important subject right now… with all the Halloween candy that’s still floating around:)
Because of the similarities between tooth enamel and eggshells, you can use hard-boiled eggs to demonstrate to small children just how important Brushing their teeth is!
I did this fun little project with my 3 year old- and she really seemed to get the point!
Here is what we did:
1) Boil 2 to 3 white eggs. You only need 1 or 2 eggs for the experiment, but the shell needs to be un-cracked, so it helps to have an extra one!
2) Fill a small glass with dark soda. Place a hard-boiled egg in the cup and leave it for 5 hours or overnight.
(I found overnight to be a little too long, and made the shell a bit too stained and brittle. 5-6 hours seemed perfect to me.)
3) Check the egg in the morning and discuss the stains that have appeared on the shell! Talk about how the eggshell is a lot like tooth enamel, and ask your child what they think can remove the stains?
4) Place some toothpaste on a toothbrush and let your child go to town, brushing the stains off the egg!
Explain how brushing their teeth keeps their teeth clean and white – just like the egg shell!
Since we did this experiment my daughter has been excited to brush her teeth, and actually does a better job of it. I think the visual really helped her!
I’d love to hear how you get your child to practice good hygiene!
About Shannon SchmidShannon traded in her sensible NYC TV producer shoes (they were best for taking the subway), for a pair of Texas Cowboy boots when she married her best friend! He's at fault for making this Yankee a Texan! Shannon writes about all things that make a house a home. Her chief blogging inspiration is being the proud & slightly neurotic mom of a preschool age daughter.
You can find Shannon on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and her new favorite place to hang out, Google+.
Saw this RTed on twitter. Excellent!
@Crystal Posey, Thanks Crystal! I thought it was an excellent way to get kids excited about something they sometimes see as a chore! Or should I say…Eggcellent? Hehe;)
love this!!! educational and fun!! makes me want to brush more now too lol:)
Brilliant!!! Such a cute idea. 🙂
This is a great activity. JDaniel and I will be doing it.
Does it actually get white and clean again or no?
@Danielle, Yes it does! The areas that really get brushed good get totally white again. And you can see what areas got a less thorough cleaning because there will still be brown soda spots:)
@MilkandCuddles,
GENIUS!!!
I LOVE this! We will definitely be doing this within the week!
(I also love your blog title – so cute!)
What a gret idea! Can’t wait to try it with my little one!
Great post! I linked to it on FB.
What a great idea, I can’t wait to show my kids, thanks 🙂
Great post!!!!!!!’
Cute! Thanks! Visit me at http://raisingdieter.blogspot.com/2011/11/guess-what-i-made.html for a giveaway!
This is really cool and different. When I was in middle school I did a science experiment like this. You take 2 eggs (i don’t think you boil them or anything) 1 you put in toothpaste for a few days and one you don’t. Then you put both eggs in a glass of vinegar overnight. The egg you had in toothpaste nothing happens to and the egg you don’t put in toothpaste gets real soft or sometimes cracks. Shows how the toothpaste keeps your tooth healthy/hard/cavity free.
I used this idea on my 9 year old the other day, after reading this post. Needless to say, she “gets it” now on how important it is to use a little more toothpaste than what she uses, and to take a little extra time brushing. Great post and very useful!
Positive reinforcement is always the best method to encourage children to brush their teeth regularly, flossing however, is an additional challenge. We’re often asked how long each brushing should take…the time it takes to sing the ‘Birthday’ song. Our young patients enjoy humming Happy Birthday to themselves when they brush their teeth.
This was sooo helpful:D.I couldn’t do tooth in coke for my science fair so this hepls a lot. On youtube it said you have to leave the egg in for a… YEAR!
@Farati, A Year? LOL. Well that might do some other things to the egg – but 5 -8 hours will def stain it enough to make your point, and brush off with effort 🙂
Good luck in your science fair!
Great post. I am experiencing a few of these issues as well..