The basic ideas behind most learning activities haven’t changed that much throughout the decades, they have only been made more user friendly, colourful and placed on a wide screen monitor. When I ask kids what they did this summer I hear “ We went to the Delta fair and I went on all the rides”, “ I went to the Toronto zoo and rode a camel”, “ Mom and Dad took me camping and we made banana boats”. When I ask them what they liked the most, “ Playing on the computer at Grandma’s house.” My point is that learning and enjoying learning comes down to just a few things: “ If I can taste, touch, smell, hear and see it, I want to learn it and I want to experience more of it”. Whether you are using a new interactive Leapfrog or a pair of shoelaces and a fancy song, keep in mind the five basic senses humans have been using since the beginning of time that continue to create a desire to learn.

At the Lyndhurst Dental Centre we provide children with a variety of such activities while they are waiting for Mom or Dad to be finished their cleaning appointment or by having our annual creative Tooth Fairy Contests. What I try to keep in mind is to also keep such activities simple and inexpensive. I am hoping that some of the following ideas I have been using, may come in handy for you as parents.

1. To teach kids the names of fruits/vegetables, or unhealthy/healthy snacks, and    encourage problem solving:

1 piece of bristle board
1 marker
1 strip of Velcro (you can buy precut/ adhesive Velcro at any local dollar store)
Pictures of a variety of foods (Vegetables, fruit, junk food, and snacks). You can get    these pictures on the Internet by using a search engine, from food magazine, or just use the packaging they came in. These packages are meant to be colourful and enticing so that they usually are easily recognized by children. 

I divide the board based on what I am going to teach them. For example: Healthy/ unhealthy foods use the marker and draw a line right down the middle of the bristle board, mark it appropriately. Cut the food items out so they are manageable and place one piece of Velcro on the Board and one on the back of the food item.  Explain what distinguishes a healthy food from an unhealthy one and have the children use those criteria to divide the foods and place them on the board. This works great in classrooms and large groups of children.  What makes this interesting to kids? They get to stick it to the board, the items are colourful, and they get to decide and socialize with the other kids.

First, I need 2 volunteers, one to be the dentist and one to be the patient. 
1 lab jacket (white sweater)
1pair of safety glasses (regular clear glasses)
1 pair of sunglasses
1bib
1 dental chair (reclining chair)
1 dental light (flashlight)

Have the patient sit in the lazy boy chair. The Dentist, who is wearing the white sweater and a pair of plain glasses, is then going to introduce him/her self, place the bib on patient, and hand the patient the sunglasses. The Dentist is then going to recline the lazy boy chair and turn on the flashlight.  What makes this interesting to kids? They get to dress up, see the similar items to the ones used in the real office and get to become familiar with the sequence of a first visit.

So by now you are saying these are great activities for younger children but how do we keep them learning? In general, prior to performing any procedure I show the children anything and everything I will be using and I build on what they already know, and what they have experienced. For example: When I am explaining that we are going to take x-rays of teeth to a six year old, I would say something like this,” It is just like taking pictures of your teeth. The x-rays machine is like the camera and the film goes in your mouth. And just like a regular picture you have to stay very still when I take it. ” So what does this really teach them"? This conveys the message that the x-ray machine exposes the film, which is in their mouth and in order for the film to turn out they need to relate the information of standing still for a photograph to sitting still in the chair. When pit and fissure sealants need to be placed on those permanent molars I start off by showing them and letting them touch a handheld model of a molar before and after the sealants has been placed. They can then see what it looks like and feel how smooth the tooth will be. Prior to the procedure I will again introduce some new vocabulary by relating all the items in the procedure to others the child should recognize. For instance: The etch used to lock the sealant in place is like glue. The tip of the brush for the sealant is like a tiny paintbrush. And finally, the sealant is like a skating rink placed on the top of the molar.   These are items very familiar to any child who has entered Kindergarten. Believe it or not the child at the end can usually repeat every step in this short procedure and they can remember it as well.

So let’s review, for young children provide that array of crayons, that loud drum set, that messy Play-Dough and continue to build on the basics to create an enjoyable learning atmosphere, that is what unlocks the gates to endless learning.