With the number of coronavirus cases on the rise (not to mention the ongoing threat of the flu), hand-washing in the classroom has never been more important. But it's not enough to merely tell kids to wash their hands — it's teaching them how to properly wash their hands and to know how often to do it. Shauna Woods, a third-grade teacher in Missouri, wanted to make sure her kids were taking care of themselves throughout cold and flu season, which is why she came up with an easy method of getting them to wash their hands. Now that it's going viral, people are applauding it for being absolutely brilliant.
Woods has been teaching in public schools for the last eight years.
Speaking with CafeMom, she says she currently has 20 rambunctious third-graders under her watch — which means 40 hands that can get dirty with all sorts of muck throughout the day.
"We always experience a spike in illness and absentees this time of year due to different viruses and the common cold," Woods explains. "It's a fact of life that many kids are in close corners, interacting with one another all day."
Kids aren't always known for their ability to share, but they are great at sharing one thing: germs.
Woods doesn't just want her classroom to produce less sick kids — she also doesn't want them to fall back on their schoolwork if they have to stay home. So, she started brainstorming ways to keep her kids healthy throughout the winter.
"Within our classroom, students have access to a sink, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant wipes at all times," she says. But of course, little kids and colds seem to always find each other.
"When the absences began to increase within our classroom, I wanted a way to entice students to wash their hands more frequently," she explains.
Finally, she came up with a simple yet effective hack using something she already had at her desk: a stamp and ink pad!
"I was honestly in my car driving, simply trying to think of a way that I could monitor student's hand washing," she recalls.
That's when it hit her.
"I've had a 'Mrs. Woods' stamp for years and have used it to stamp my classroom books," she continues.
Then she wondered about using it for another purpose each morning.
When she went back into school the next Monday, Woods told her students to line up at the sink.
She told her kids to wash their hands and then come over to see her — at which point, she gave their clean hands a little stamp. The plan? Throughout the day, the ink from the stamp would lighten each time her students washed their hands. Then, whoever had a "clean" hand at the end of the day would get a prize.
"They were sold when I told them prizes were involved," she recalls.
Of course, some kids wanted to wash their hands ASAP to get a prize.
But Woods had to gently discourage that by explaining the true purpose of the activity.
"Once we went over the expectations and purpose, it became a routine for all of my students," she tells CafeMom. "Each morning since then, they get their stamp and go about their day. I check for their stamp at the end of the day, and if it's faded or gone, they get their prize."
Before long, Woods posted about her project on her classroom Facebook page, where it quickly spread.
More than 67,000 people have shared Woods' post since it first went up March 2.
"We are doing our best in room 550 to keep the germs away," the caption shared. "Students got stamps on their hands this morning. If it’s gone by the end of the day from washing their hands, they get a prize. We are trying."
And guess what? The plan works!
Woods tells CafeMom that her hack has been a "great motivator and reminder" for her students.
"Let's be honest — some students' biggest worry is if they'll get to recess on time," she says. "Providing a visual reminder and incentive has boosted their hygiene regimen."
But the children aren't the only ones participating in the daily activity. Woods has also been stamping her own hand each morning, so she can be a positive role model for her students.
It's all part of a larger plan to keep kids healthy at Woods' elementary school.
She tells us that every night, the tables and chairs are disinfected and her students know how to "access wipes and sanitizer throughout the day."
But for right now, the excitement over her stamp challenge hasn't worn off on her students, so she'll keep stamping until hand washing becomes "second nature" to her students.
And that goes "whether it's flu season or not," she adds.
