Brush the Teeth White

1. 1

   Gather a toothbrush, white washable paint, and red, black, and white construction paper. Cut a large mouth shape from the red paper and several small squares from both the black and white paper. Arrange the squares as mixed black and white teeth.

2. 2

   Show the mouth and explain that the toothbrush and pretend toothpaste can make the black teeth white. Demonstrate dipping the brush lightly in paint and covering one black square.

3. 3

   Let your child paint all the remaining black teeth white.

What to notice

• Uses the toothbrush to brush the pretend black teeth until they look white Health, Safety, and Nutrition
• Keeps brushing until all the black “teeth” are white Cognitive Self-Regulation (Executive Functioning)

Tips

• If your child loses interest halfway through, shift the challenge: count how many black marks are still left to brush away and see whether they want to finish the job.

Developmental benefits

• Movement: Brushing pretend dark marks from the teeth gives your child practice with the movements and sequence of a toothbrushing routine.
• Cognitive: Continuing until all the pretend dark marks are brushed away gives your child practice following through on a clear, manageable task.