Vinemont Elementary School students react after seeing how easily germs are spread. The activity was part of the SWELL program put on by Wallace State Community College nursing students Thursday. (Christy Perry for The Cullman Tribune)
VINEMONT, Ala. – Wallace State Community College nursing students brought their Safety and Wellness Education for Lifestyle Learning (SWELL) outreach program to Vinemont Elementary Thursday morning. The program included a puppet show skit and eight stations featuring different health and lifestyle topics. The SWELL program was presented by instructors Bonnie Bibb, Tara Richard and Alicia Standridge, along with more than 40 first-semester nursing students.
Vinemont Elementary is one of many schools the group has visited throughout the school year. It recently brought the program to Cold Springs, Good Hope and West Point primary and elementary students. The students participate in the SWELL program during their scheduled PE times.
In Vinemont, the fourth graders were the first class of the day. The students watched an informative puppet show addressing dos, don’ts and misconceptions regarding controlling asthma. SWELL made it fun, keeping the kids engaged.
Following the puppet show, the kids were split into smaller groups as they rotated around to the eight stations, where the learned about sun safety, hand washing, poison control, fire safety, fitness, nutrition, helmet safety and seat belts.
Bibb said her favorite station is helmet safety, sharing, “We use eggs to show them how our brains are similar to eggs. Once you break an egg you can’t put it back, and our brains are similar. We drop an egg without protection and another that is protected to demonstrate how helmets protect the brain.”
Kids also had the opportunity to wear goggles that demonstrate the symptoms they might expect to experience if they have a concussion.
At the hand washing station, the nursing students put different color paints on the kids’ hands and had them shake hands and high fives, showing how easily the paint transferred, just as germs do.
Each student was given a goodie bag to take home with a toothbrush, toothpaste and a sticker with phone numbers to poison control.
Said Bibb, “What we are planning on for next year is to add a station for dental and brushing teeth.”
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