Hand Wipe Station Product Spotlight .@SCHOOLSin

Whether we want to admit it or not, we have to face the fact that cold season is in full swing. As teachers, we see the GUNK every day. We clean, we wipe, we hold our breath, we try not to touch anything (or anyone)….does any one thing work? Not really.

We must be diligent in providing the necessary items to keep the germs at bay for as long as possible. How much time does it take for your entire class to go to the restroom and WASH their hands before lunch?

F*O*R*E*V*E*R!

So began our test. Students were timed doing this one task for a week. Our class of 18 second graders averaged a total of 15 minute. This is just hand washing!

Next, we placed the SCHOOLSin Hand Wipe Station in the classroom for a week. As students lined up for lunch, they pulled a wipe from the Hand Wipe Station to wash with. As students exited the classroom, the used hand wipe was dropped in the waste basket. WOW, our average dropped to 3 minutes for the entire class!

The SCHOOLSin Hand Wipe Station is very heavy, but we were a little concerned with safety. All it takes is ONE student not paying attention! The Hand Wipe Station was placed in a “corner” for those reasons. Although the Hand Wipe Station has it’s own trash receptacle in the top, it was quicker and easier to use the classroom trash can.

On to the BIG test! With the same second grade class, we moved the Hand Wipe Station in the school cafeteria line all by itself.  No worries! Again students pulled a wipe, cleaned their hands and face as they proceeded through the line. Placing the wipe on the lunch tray, students could use the wipe again AFTER lunch to clean hands and faces. We figured, why not let that wipe pull double duty. Leaving the cafeteria, students tossed the wipe along with their lunch items.  We did not use the built in trash drawer because of the process we were using.

Implementing the Hand Wipe Station into the school cafeteria line was a little more challenging and time consuming up front because, WELL, you all know how exciting it is when something NEW appears and EVERYONE has to try it. By the end of the week, students had the procedure down and it literally took no time!

Our experiment with the Hand Wipe Station included lessons on proper hand washing techniques, how germs are spread and how to prevent them. I wish we had one of those glow kits to really drive the germs home.

After the first week of the teacher tracking the time, students became involved with the timing. The teacher STRESSED that this was not a contest to complete the task the quickest, rather to complete the task WELL with clean germ free hands the goal. Math was incorporated into our lesson with graphing each day where students could see the trend of the time lowering.

Our little testers are such troopers offering more advise as to where we could place the SCHOOLSin Hand Wipe Station, where all students could use them. The conclusion from students:

• We need one for every classroom.
• The playground has lots of germs, we should wash before and after recess.
• Can we have this in our classroom all the time?
• Thank you SCHOOLSin for giving us the Hand Wipe Station.

 

How to you combat the icky, yucky, bad germs in your classroom?

 

We received the product to complete the Product Spotlight, all opinions are our own (and the students).