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LHMS Newsletter

cover up your coughs & sneezes, otherwise you'll spread...

LHMS Newslettercover up your coughs & sneezes, otherwise you'll spread...
During cold and flu season, we would like to express how grateful we are to our families that have kept their children home to fully recover and lessen the spread of illness.


At school, we are encouraging the children to cover up their coughs and sneezes with their elbow. Please help them to do the same at home. The staff has been diligent about hand-washing, sanitizing the environment and materials.


Please continue to keep your child home if they are unwell. If you are unsure whether to keep your child(ren) home or send/return to school, please see Illness Guidelines below.


Stay healthy!

Using Montessori Principles for Lesson on blowing your nose, coughing and hand-washing

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Blowing Your Nose

Rather than taking a tissue and wiping your child’s nose, you could use this as a time to improve your child’s independence and self-respect. Simply say: “Let me show you how to blow your nose.” Then, while your child watches . . .


  1. Get a tissue.
  2. Fold the tissue in half.
  3. Cover your nose with the tissue.
  4. Demonstrate how to blow your nose. You could say, “See how I blow my nose gently.”
  5. Wipe your nose carefully to be sure your nose and face are clean.
  6. Throw the tissue in the wastebasket.7.
  7. Invite your child to practice blowing his or her nose.
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Coughing

Tell the children that when we cough, we need to know what to do so we don’t cough onto someone else. Tell them that we are all going to practice what we should do when we cough.


  1. Turn your head to the right a little away from the children.
  2. Place your right forearm about an inch away from your mouth.
  3. Exaggerate a cough.
  4. Once finished with the cough, close your mouth.
  5. Remove your right arm from in front of your mouth.
  6. Turn your head back to face the child.
  7. Tell the children that you don’t use your hand, because if the germs are on your hands, we can spread them more easily.
  8. Ask the children, “Shall I show you again?” Repeat cough.
  9. Invite each child to practice what to do when they cough.
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Hand-Washing

Start off by explaining why it is important that the hands are kept clean. Talk to them about the germs that we are unable to see and yet are everywhere.

If your child is wearing long sleeves, point out that these need to be either rolled up or pushed up so that they don’t get wet! As always, demonstrate first.


    1. Open the tap and wet your hands, both the palms and the top of your hands.
    2. Close the tap!
    3. Demonstrate how to use the liquid soap – cup the hand slightly and pump out the soap onto the palm.
    4. Rub the palms together and rub each soapy palm on top of each other.
    5. Interlock the fingers and move the fingers back and forth so that your run soap between the fingers
    6. Open the tap and rinse the palms well. Tell your little one that the hands need to be washed until the slimy feeling goes away!
    7. Close the tap.
    8. Pat hands dry with the hand towel.
    9. Apply a bit of hand lotion to keep the hands nice and soft!! (optional)
    10. Now ask your little one to do it on his own.