Suggestiond for telling 5 year olds about my job?
September 17, 2010 5:41 AM Subscribe
I am looking for suggestions on how to liven up a presentation about my job to a kindergarden class.
I volunteered to give a 15-20 minute talk about my job to my daughter's kindergarden class next week as part of their unit on jobs. I have done this sort of thing before and am not particularly stressed by it, but would like to hear any ideas everyone out there might have to make it more fun for them. I am an anesthesiologist at a children's hospital and in addition to alking about work I already plan to bring some things to hand out as souvenirs: head covers, surgical masks, that sort of thing (will probably leave the needles and syringes at work, though). Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
I volunteered to give a 15-20 minute talk about my job to my daughter's kindergarden class next week as part of their unit on jobs. I have done this sort of thing before and am not particularly stressed by it, but would like to hear any ideas everyone out there might have to make it more fun for them. I am an anesthesiologist at a children's hospital and in addition to alking about work I already plan to bring some things to hand out as souvenirs: head covers, surgical masks, that sort of thing (will probably leave the needles and syringes at work, though). Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
For kids that young, even a lecture at a basic level would be boring. Give a mock demonstration with volunteers. You could have kids volunteer as nurses, doctors, and the patient.
posted by JJ86 at 6:09 AM on September 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by JJ86 at 6:09 AM on September 17, 2010 [2 favorites]
Best answer: You might want to consider structuring your presentation as a story, describing a child's journey through the hospital, from not eating food for 12 hours beforehand to pre-surgery prep to the anasthesia. That might help them to think about how everyone in the theatre works together and what makes your role important.
posted by Happy Dave at 6:10 AM on September 17, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by Happy Dave at 6:10 AM on September 17, 2010 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Honestly, if I recall my kindergarten self correctly I would have found the souvenirs you describe to be awesome. So, maybe hand those out first and demonstrate how to put them on so the kids can wear the masks and gloves while you do your presentation.
posted by ghharr at 6:11 AM on September 17, 2010
posted by ghharr at 6:11 AM on September 17, 2010
Best answer: I love Happy Dave's idea of the story. Kindergarteners LOVE props, so bring along tons of the stuff you're going to hand out (but maybe not latex gloves - allergy risk and all that). If you were a radiologist, an X-ray would be cool; is there something like that that you use every day you could bring along?
posted by cooker girl at 6:20 AM on September 17, 2010
posted by cooker girl at 6:20 AM on September 17, 2010
Best answer: So is there someway you can demonstrate your craft on a small animal?
The correct kind of small animal to use for this is a teddy bear.
posted by emilyw at 6:26 AM on September 17, 2010 [14 favorites]
The correct kind of small animal to use for this is a teddy bear.
posted by emilyw at 6:26 AM on September 17, 2010 [14 favorites]
Best answer: My daughter had surgery at a children's hospital, and about a week before they had her in for a visit where the doctor explained what would happen, including the anesthesia. He gave her a mask and gloves and a little breather piece, and showed her how she was going to breathe to go to sleep. She practiced for a week, and played make believe putting her dolls to sleep. It turned something scary for us into something cute, which in retrospect was pretty great.
Perhaps you could supply some stuffed animals (or have the kids bring one in) and play "you're the doctor"? For example: (1) Walk them through putting on the masks and the gloves, teaching them about germs and how they can make you sick. (2) Then hand out the mouthpieces, explaining that there's a kind of medicine that you give to patients that makes them go to sleep so that the doctors can work to make them better. (3) Then do a little mini-consultation (and have them do one too) to the "patients," to show how you prepare the patient for surgery. (4) Then administer the anesthesia by putting the mouthpiece over the dolls and talking softly as you go. (5) Then confirm with the kids that their dolls are successfully asleep and ready for their surgery; each kid will probably gladly play along and find that they are sleeping soundly.
Maybe that's a bit over the top, but my Kindergartner would flip for a mom or dad that came in and did that. And it nicely demonstrates what you do and why you do it.
posted by AgentRocket at 6:29 AM on September 17, 2010
Perhaps you could supply some stuffed animals (or have the kids bring one in) and play "you're the doctor"? For example: (1) Walk them through putting on the masks and the gloves, teaching them about germs and how they can make you sick. (2) Then hand out the mouthpieces, explaining that there's a kind of medicine that you give to patients that makes them go to sleep so that the doctors can work to make them better. (3) Then do a little mini-consultation (and have them do one too) to the "patients," to show how you prepare the patient for surgery. (4) Then administer the anesthesia by putting the mouthpiece over the dolls and talking softly as you go. (5) Then confirm with the kids that their dolls are successfully asleep and ready for their surgery; each kid will probably gladly play along and find that they are sleeping soundly.
Maybe that's a bit over the top, but my Kindergartner would flip for a mom or dad that came in and did that. And it nicely demonstrates what you do and why you do it.
posted by AgentRocket at 6:29 AM on September 17, 2010
Can you get syringes without needles? I've heard them called "dosing syringes". I know, not part of your job, but similar and *so cool* to a little kid.
I don't know how creative you're feeling, but a short simple song (just make new lyrics to a simple tune you already know, like "When the Saints Go Marching In") about anesthesiology, or some important points about it, could be way fun.
posted by amtho at 6:37 AM on September 17, 2010
I don't know how creative you're feeling, but a short simple song (just make new lyrics to a simple tune you already know, like "When the Saints Go Marching In") about anesthesiology, or some important points about it, could be way fun.
posted by amtho at 6:37 AM on September 17, 2010
Give the props out *last* or in the middle of your time.
posted by amtho at 6:39 AM on September 17, 2010
posted by amtho at 6:39 AM on September 17, 2010
Give the props out *last* or in the middle of your time.
Agree 100% (former K teacher here) - don't give a single thing out until you are ready for that item to consume 100% of the kids' attention. If you want them to roleplay using the items, that's fine, but don't give them out early or you'll lose them right off the bat.
I like the story structure for your presentation and the roleplaying idea. This could be somewhat scary for some kids, so use gentle humor, and emphasize care and comfort and healing and the good outcome you are all working toward.
posted by Miko at 7:00 AM on September 17, 2010
Agree 100% (former K teacher here) - don't give a single thing out until you are ready for that item to consume 100% of the kids' attention. If you want them to roleplay using the items, that's fine, but don't give them out early or you'll lose them right off the bat.
I like the story structure for your presentation and the roleplaying idea. This could be somewhat scary for some kids, so use gentle humor, and emphasize care and comfort and healing and the good outcome you are all working toward.
posted by Miko at 7:00 AM on September 17, 2010
You didn't mention bringing gloves, but one of the answers did. Check with the teacher before you do this; some schools ban latex because of allergies. I know schools in my area don't let anyone bring in latex ballons (you have to bring mylar instead). The school nurse does have latex gloves but also knows which students are allergic.
posted by scarnato at 7:12 AM on September 17, 2010
posted by scarnato at 7:12 AM on September 17, 2010
Best answer: I'd hand out the masks and head covers, and tell everyone to put them on to help prepare the patient - a teddy bear or similar - for surgery. As they are putting on their masks (with the teacher's help probably) you give some of the backstory - the doctors need to fix something inside the patient and your job is to [insert short explanation here]. Explain that part of your job is making the patient relax/be calm, then demonstrate by saying one of your calming things to the teddy bear. Then tell the class you will need their help to come up with things to say to relax the bear. Call one of the kids up to say something calming. After they do, explain a bit more about the process - a sentence or two. Then check the bear and call on another kid to come up and say something calming. Then say a bit more about your job/the process. Then call the next kid, etc. Repeat until everyone (who wants to) has a turn. Then announce their success! Optionally hand out "Jr Anesthesiologist" stickers/certificates. Leave some time for questions.
Adjust the pacing to the class size as needed. If it is a large class with only the one teacher to help put on masks, I might save those to hand out at the end and have them just put on the head coverings to help prepare the patient.
posted by mikepop at 7:20 AM on September 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
Adjust the pacing to the class size as needed. If it is a large class with only the one teacher to help put on masks, I might save those to hand out at the end and have them just put on the head coverings to help prepare the patient.
posted by mikepop at 7:20 AM on September 17, 2010 [1 favorite]
There is a risk in having an exciting presentation with kids this young - overstimulation. I once had to teach Grade ones and twos about programming using the Logo language. This is the one where kids can give an on-screen 'turtle' commands like "pen up, pen down, forward 10, right 90' etc. to draw on the screen.
There was only a short time to do this presentation, so I skipped the physical props and asked for volunteers - one to be the turtle and one to give the turtle commands. Instant chaos; everyone wants to be a part of the demo or give commands. After a noisy few minutes trying to get them to raise hands instead of shout we pick a few volunteers. Then the problem-solving part: we want to get the turtle to draw a house. Boring, right? Nope, everyone wants to chime in, figure it out, ask if it can be done differently ("can the house be green?" and "I want to name the program 'Freddy'"). Fun, but bordering on unruly. Of course the teacher would be out for coffee right now.
So when we get down to acting out the commands they're really excited. I mean, 'buzzing around' excited. People pushing in front of the designated turtle, wanting to do the steps themselves. It took most of the session to do one run and we'd agreed on two sets of kids doing this, so the second bunch felt a bit shortchanged.
tl;dr - Don't make things TOO interactive for really young kids. I'd never thought that programming concepts would be a source of overstimulation, but there it was. In retrospect it might have been a mistake to tell them they could draw on the floor with chalk.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 7:54 AM on September 17, 2010
There was only a short time to do this presentation, so I skipped the physical props and asked for volunteers - one to be the turtle and one to give the turtle commands. Instant chaos; everyone wants to be a part of the demo or give commands. After a noisy few minutes trying to get them to raise hands instead of shout we pick a few volunteers. Then the problem-solving part: we want to get the turtle to draw a house. Boring, right? Nope, everyone wants to chime in, figure it out, ask if it can be done differently ("can the house be green?" and "I want to name the program 'Freddy'"). Fun, but bordering on unruly. Of course the teacher would be out for coffee right now.
So when we get down to acting out the commands they're really excited. I mean, 'buzzing around' excited. People pushing in front of the designated turtle, wanting to do the steps themselves. It took most of the session to do one run and we'd agreed on two sets of kids doing this, so the second bunch felt a bit shortchanged.
tl;dr - Don't make things TOO interactive for really young kids. I'd never thought that programming concepts would be a source of overstimulation, but there it was. In retrospect it might have been a mistake to tell them they could draw on the floor with chalk.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 7:54 AM on September 17, 2010
When I was in Pre-K, an anesthesiologist came in to give a talk. She brought all kinds of hospital goodies which were the coolest.things.ever. Seriously, I remember kids fighting over getting cardiac leads placed and seeing their rhythms on a portable monitor (can you get your hands on one?) We also read a book about going to the hospital the day before the presentation, so the presentation was somewhat contextualized and we got a lot of the "what is a hospital?"-level questions out of the way.
I was three, and I remember the whole thing vividly. I even took my used leads home and put them in my treasure box. I think it really influenced my decision to go into the health field.
So don't underestimate the powers of these sorts of presentations! They plant seeds.
posted by charmcityblues at 9:20 AM on September 17, 2010
I was three, and I remember the whole thing vividly. I even took my used leads home and put them in my treasure box. I think it really influenced my decision to go into the health field.
So don't underestimate the powers of these sorts of presentations! They plant seeds.
posted by charmcityblues at 9:20 AM on September 17, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggestions so far; keep 'em coming!
As far as worries about latex, we are well aware of the problems with latex allergies in some patients and our hospital is latex-free; I would have to go out of my way to find latex gloves. Although syringes were great fun for me as a kid, I don't want some parent getting all worked up about their 5 year old coming home with "drug paraphernalia." Unlikely, and this is a private school where there is less of that zero tolerance nonsense, but it only takes one person complaining... Also, I don't want to bring too much stuff to give the kids as there is enough clutter for the teacher to deal with already.
So don't underestimate the powers of these sorts of presentations! They plant seeds.
That's why I try to do these sorts of things every chance I get; glad to hear it made an impression on you (by the way, I am a native of Charm City, even though I haven't lived there in over 40 years).
posted by TedW at 10:31 AM on September 17, 2010
As far as worries about latex, we are well aware of the problems with latex allergies in some patients and our hospital is latex-free; I would have to go out of my way to find latex gloves. Although syringes were great fun for me as a kid, I don't want some parent getting all worked up about their 5 year old coming home with "drug paraphernalia." Unlikely, and this is a private school where there is less of that zero tolerance nonsense, but it only takes one person complaining... Also, I don't want to bring too much stuff to give the kids as there is enough clutter for the teacher to deal with already.
So don't underestimate the powers of these sorts of presentations! They plant seeds.
That's why I try to do these sorts of things every chance I get; glad to hear it made an impression on you (by the way, I am a native of Charm City, even though I haven't lived there in over 40 years).
posted by TedW at 10:31 AM on September 17, 2010
Best answer: I had surgery as a child (about kindergarten age), and I remember the anesthesiologist meeting with me and letting me choose something to smear inside the breathing mask so it would smell nice and less scary. As I recall, I chose the bubble gum scent, but I remember really enjoying getting to smell the bottles with all the different scents.
posted by adiabat at 11:03 AM on September 17, 2010
posted by adiabat at 11:03 AM on September 17, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks everyone; it went great! all the answers were good; I marked the ones that I more or less used. I had everyone put on a mask and hair cover an then took a stuffed monkey through the course of getting his appendix out (glossing over the details of the surgery part) I wanted to bring a Madeline doll as most of them know that book, but the only one I could find was only 9 inches tall, which was too small for my purposes. I didn't have a monitor to bring but did hook up ECG leads, BP cuff, and so forth, as well as bring a breathing circuit and facemask. I left everything I brought in the class, with instructions to take off the monkey's dressings in 10 days and to call if there were any complications.
Thanks for all your suggestions!
posted by TedW at 5:49 AM on September 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
Thanks for all your suggestions!
posted by TedW at 5:49 AM on September 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
So is there someway you can demonstrate your craft on a small animal? Without harming it, of course.
posted by Mutant at 6:06 AM on September 17, 2010