It’s never too early to care about heart health. Post Avenue Preschool students and staff did just that on Wear Red Day on Feb. 6, the national awareness day dedicated to heart disease prevention and cardiovascular health.
Julianne Sullivan, Post Avenue School Nurse, organized engaging activities to educate students and staff on the importance of maintaining a healthy heart.
As preschoolers are being introduced to so many things, Julianne thoughtfully incorporated the message of heart health in the ways they learn best—movement and play.
Students participated in making a giant red heart, painting a hand red and high-fiving the poster on the wall to leave bright handprints. After painting, each student was rewarded with a bright red heart sticker for taking part in the project.
“Today I wanted to do something fun,” Julianne said. “They love stickers and it’s an excellent way to show them they are doing a great job.”
Julianne also provided teachers with a two-song playlist to incorporate movement at circle time. To the tune of “Thump Thump, Heart Beat” by Pinkfong, and “The Heart Song” by Akili and Me, students danced, wiggled, and jumped to get their heart racing. Teachers, then, prompted children to lay down and place their hand on their chest to feel the rhythm go from fast to slow.
“Wow,” students shouted, noticing the change.
For staff, Julianne set up a resources station offering blood pressure checks, information on disease prevention, and healthy snacks before heading back to their classroom. Julianne enjoys finding creative ways to make health and wellness accessible for students and is actively looking for more ways to support health education throughout the year.
“We just have a lot of fun. I love their personalities and how they are always so active, and that makes it easy to get them involved,” said Julianne.
With Julianne’s support, preschoolers can look forward to fun activities celebrating National Children’s Dental Health Month and Nutrition Month in the coming months.
