Gather the preschoolers in a circle. To illustrate the concept of sharing germs, ask one student to fully immerse his hands in a container filled with mud, then shake hands with the student sitting next to him. In turn, that student shakes hands with the next student, and so on. After everyone in the circle has shaken hands, ask the students to examine their hands and see what happened (everyone's hands are dirty). Distribute a paper towel to each student, asking them to try cleaning their hands with a dry paper towel. Not all the dirt comes off. The preschoolers can use magnifying glasses to see the dirt that remains. Finally, the students all take turns dipping their hands into warm, soapy water, illustrating how soap and water are essential for eliminating germs.
Gather the preschoolers in a circle and give each student a brown paper bag filled with a couple of different foods (a doughnut, an apple and raisins, for example). Place two large baskets or containers in the center of the circle, one labeled with a smiling face and the other labeled with a frowning face. Each preschooler takes a turn removing a food from her bag and placing it in one of the baskets, determining whether the food is good or bad for dental health. When the preschoolers are finished, examine each of the foods in the baskets and discuss with the students why they made their decisions. (Some foods have a lot of sugar and can cause tooth decay, and some foods that are healthy can actually get stuck in the teeth and be hard to remove.) Ideally, a dental hygienist could visit the classroom and lead this activity.
Gather the preschoolers in a circle. Give each one a bingo card created with images of healthy foods (celery, carrots, apples, nuts and so on) and healthy activities (running, exercising, jumping and so on). Instead of the word "BINGO" at the top of the card, write the word "HEALTH." The first student to fill five spaces with bingo markers wins a healthy prize. Keep playing the game until all the students win a bingo prize. This activity will introduce the preschoolers to healthy foods and ways to promote physical health.
Dress each preschooler in a dress-up costume of someone who works in the health field (a nurse, a doctor, a dentist, a veterinarian, a psychologist and so on). Have the kids sit in a circle. One preschooler can stand up and the other students can take turns describing what that person does. The preschooler standing up can even act out what these health professionals do (similar to charades).