What each grade learns › Kindergarten › Health

What does a kindergartner learn in Health?

Your child learns how their body works and how to take care of it through healthy eating, active play, good sleep, clean habits, and safety rules. They also learn to name their feelings, be a kind friend, and understand how they are growing

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36 weeks, 72 lessons, in 9 units. Every school and state does it a little differently, so think of this as the usual path.

My Body and Staying Healthy

Children learn the basic parts and jobs of the body and what it means to be healthy, so later habits make sense to them.

Standards: National Health Education Standards (NHES) 1, 7
  1. Week 1: What being healthy meansAt home: Ask your child to show you three things that help our bodies stay healthy, like eating fruit, playing, and sleeping.
  2. Week 1: Our five sensesAt home: Play a game where your child uses one sense at a time to describe a mystery item, like a sock, an orange, or a spoon.
  3. Week 2: Taking care of our eyes and earsAt home: Talk about ways to protect eyes and ears, like not rubbing eyes and keeping the TV and music at a gentle volume.
  4. Week 2: Bones and muscles help us moveAt home: Have your child feel their elbow, knee, and fingers bend and find where they can feel bones and muscles.
  5. Week 3: Our heart pumps all dayAt home: Help your child find their heartbeat on their chest or wrist, then jump ten times and feel it again.
  6. Week 3: Lungs and breathingAt home: Let your child put their hands on their belly and feel it rise and fall as they take slow breaths.
  7. Week 4: Our brain is the bossAt home: Ask your child to name things the brain helps us do, like think, remember songs, and tell our legs to hop.
  8. Week 4: Doctors and nurses help us stay wellAt home: Play doctor with a stuffed animal using a toy or pretend checkup, and talk about why checkups are helpful.

Eating Well

Children discover that food gives energy and that different foods do different jobs, which lays the groundwork for lifelong healthy eating.

Standards: NHES 1, 5, 7; USDA MyPlate food groups
  1. Week 5: Food gives our bodies energy to growAt home: At snack time, say out loud what the food is helping your body do, like grow strong or run and play.
  2. Week 5: Fruits: colorful and sweetAt home: Make a rainbow of fruit at the table or from pictures and let your child name each color.
  3. Week 6: Vegetables help us growAt home: Let your child pick one vegetable at dinner and help wash or tear it.
  4. Week 6: Grains give us energyAt home: Find grain foods in your kitchen, like bread, rice, oatmeal, and pasta, and sort them together.
  5. Week 7: Protein foods build strong bodiesAt home: Look in the fridge together and point out protein foods like eggs, beans, chicken, fish, and nut-free options.
  6. Week 7: Dairy foods and strong bonesAt home: Talk about foods like milk, yogurt, and cheese, or fortified alternatives, and why bones love them.
  7. Week 8: Water is the best drinkAt home: Let your child pick a favorite cup and keep it filled with water to sip during the day.
  8. Week 8: Making a healthy plateAt home: Give your child an empty plate and let them arrange pretend or real foods into fruits, vegetables, grains, and protein.
  9. Week 9: Everyday foods and sometimes foodsAt home: Sort pictures or real foods into 'every day' and 'sometimes' foods without calling any food bad.
  10. Week 9: Listening to hungry and full tummiesAt home: Before and during a meal, ask your child to check whether their tummy feels empty, just right, or full.

Active Bodies

Children learn why moving every day is important and find fun ways to be active, building habits that support strong bodies and good moods.

Standards: NHES 1, 6, 7; SHAPE America K Physical Education Standard 3
  1. Week 10: Why our bodies need to moveAt home: Play a quick game of freeze dance and talk about how your body feels after moving.
  2. Week 10: Fast and slow movement changes our heartAt home: Have your child march slowly, then run in place, and check their heartbeat after each.
  3. Week 11: Strong muscles: pushing, pulling, and liftingAt home: Let your child safely carry a light bag of groceries or push a laundry basket and name which muscles feel it.
  4. Week 11: Balance and stretchingAt home: Try standing on one foot and reaching for the sky together, counting how long you can hold still.
  5. Week 12: Active play outdoorsAt home: Go outside for a short walk or play and let your child pick the way to move, like hopping or skipping.
  6. Week 12: Warming up and drinking waterAt home: Before play, do three easy stretches together and take a sip of water afterward.
  7. Week 13: Less screen time, more moving timeAt home: Pick one activity your child can do instead of a screen, like a dance party or a cushion obstacle course.
  8. Week 13: Picking a fun way to move every dayAt home: Make a simple chart with pictures of fun movements and let your child choose one to try each day.

Sleep and Rest

Children learn that sleep is when the body and brain recharge and practice calming routines that make bedtime easier.

Standards: NHES 1, 6, 7
  1. Week 14: Why our bodies need sleepAt home: Compare a sleepy day to a rested day and talk about how your child feels when they are tired.
  2. Week 14: How much sleep kids needAt home: Tell your child that kids need a lot of sleep, around 10 to 13 hours including naps, and look at the clock at bedtime.
  3. Week 15: A bedtime routineAt home: Draw or list three or four bedtime steps, like bath, pajamas, teeth, and story, and follow them in order.
  4. Week 15: Getting calm and quiet for sleepAt home: Practice a quiet wind-down, like dimming lights and whispering, about 20 minutes before bed.
  5. Week 16: Dreams and nighttime worriesAt home: Explain that dreams are stories the brain makes and invite your child to share a happy dream or ask for comfort.
  6. Week 16: Quiet rest and tired signalsAt home: Notice together when your child yawns or rubs their eyes and try five minutes of quiet rest with a book.

Clean and Healthy: Hygiene

Children learn how germs spread and the simple habits, like handwashing and tooth brushing, that keep them and others healthy.

Standards: NHES 1, 7
  1. Week 17: Germs are tiny and can make us sickAt home: Put a little pepper in a bowl of water, touch it with a clean finger, then with a soapy finger, and notice the difference.
  2. Week 17: Washing hands step by stepAt home: Practice the steps: wet, soap, scrub, rinse, dry while singing the ABC song twice.
  3. Week 18: When we wash our handsAt home: Make a list with your child of key times, like before eating, after the bathroom, and after playing outside.
  4. Week 18: Covering coughs and sneezesAt home: Practice sneezing into your elbow and throwing a tissue away, then washing hands.
  5. Week 19: Brushing our teethAt home: Brush together and have your child count to 20 for the front and 20 for the back, with a grown-up checking after.
  6. Week 19: Keeping baby teeth strongAt home: Look at your child's teeth in the mirror and talk about foods and habits that help teeth stay strong.
  7. Week 20: Baths and clean bodiesAt home: At bath time, have your child name each body part they wash with soap.
  8. Week 20: Caring for hair and nailsAt home: Practice brushing hair and look at nails together to see if they are clean.

Staying Safe

Children learn simple, clear safety rules for home, outdoors, and with people, and how to get help from trusted adults.

Standards: NHES 1, 4, 5, 7, 8
  1. Week 21: Resting and staying home when sickAt home: Talk about what to do when you feel sick, like telling a grown-up, resting, and drinking water.
  2. Week 21: Things to leave alone: medicine and cleanersAt home: Walk around your home together and point out where medicine and cleaners are kept, reminding your child to ask a grown-up first.
  3. Week 22: Fire safety and hot thingsAt home: Test the smoke alarm with your child and practice getting low and going outside to a family meeting spot.
  4. Week 22: Water safetyAt home: Make a rule list for water, like always with a grown-up and no running by the pool or tub.
  5. Week 23: Crossing the street safelyAt home: On a walk, practice stopping, looking both ways, and holding a grown-up's hand.
  6. Week 23: Seat belts and bike helmetsAt home: Have your child buckle their own seat belt or put on a helmet and check it fits with you.
  7. Week 24: Playground safetyAt home: Practice playground rules at the park, like taking turns, going down feet first, and staying off broken equipment.
  8. Week 24: Safe helpers and unknown adultsAt home: Talk about who your child can go to for help, like a parent, teacher, or police officer, and what to do if they feel unsure.
  9. Week 25: My name, my address, and calling 911At home: Practice saying your child's full name and a grown-up's name, and role-play a pretend emergency call with a toy phone.
  10. Week 25: My body belongs to meAt home: Remind your child that they can say no to touch that makes them uncomfortable and always tell a trusted adult.

Understanding My Feelings

Children learn to name feelings and use calming tools, which helps them manage big emotions and ask for help.

Standards: NHES 1, 4, 7; CASEL Self-Awareness and Self-Management
  1. Week 26: Sun and weather safetyAt home: Before going outside, pick the right gear together, like a hat, sunscreen, or a coat.
  2. Week 26: Naming feelings: happy, sad, and moreAt home: Look at a mirror together and make faces for happy, sad, surprised, and tired, naming each one.
  3. Week 27: Feeling mad and angryAt home: Talk about a time your child felt mad and agree that all feelings are okay, but hitting is not.
  4. Week 27: Feelings show up in our bodiesAt home: Ask your child where they feel excited or nervous, like a fluttery tummy, and point to the place.
  5. Week 28: Feeling scared or worriedAt home: Ask your child to name something that feels scary and talk about a safe step to try, like a nightlight.
  6. Week 28: Calming down with belly breathingAt home: Practice smelling a pretend flower and blowing out a pretend candle while breathing slowly.
  7. Week 29: Asking for help with big feelingsAt home: Practice a sentence, like 'I need help, I feel upset,' and use it the next time your child is frustrated.
  8. Week 29: Trying again when something is hardAt home: Choose a small challenge, like tying a shoe or building a tower, and cheer for trying again.

Friends and Kindness

Children practice the skills that make friendships work, like sharing, listening, and kind words, and learn how to solve small problems.

Standards: NHES 4, 5, 7, 8; CASEL Relationship Skills and Social Awareness
  1. Week 30: Feeling proud and thankfulAt home: At dinner, take turns saying one thing you feel proud of and one thing you feel thankful for.
  2. Week 30: What makes a good friendAt home: Ask your child what a good friend does and make a short list together.
  3. Week 31: Using kind wordsAt home: Take turns saying a kind word to each other and notice how it feels to hear it.
  4. Week 31: Taking turns and sharingAt home: Play a simple board game or build with blocks together and practice saying 'Your turn' and 'Can I have a turn?'
  5. Week 32: Listening with our whole bodyAt home: Practice listening with eyes on the speaker, quiet mouth, and still body while you tell a short story.
  6. Week 32: Including others in playAt home: Role-play inviting a new child to join a game with toys or stuffed animals.
  7. Week 33: Solving problems with wordsAt home: Practice using words like 'I don't like that, please stop' during a pretend squabble over a toy.
  8. Week 33: Telling a grown-up when someone is unkindAt home: Talk about the difference between a small problem and an unkind or unsafe one, and who to tell.

Growing and Changing

Children learn that bodies grow at their own pace and use correct names for body parts, building body confidence and healthy habits.

Standards: NHES 1, 5, 6, 7
  1. Week 34: Respecting differences and helping othersAt home: Look at a few family photos or a picture book and talk about how people are different and how we can help each other.
  2. Week 34: I was a baby and now I am growingAt home: Look at baby photos together and talk about what your child can do now that they couldn't then.
  3. Week 35: Everyone grows at their own paceAt home: Measure your child's height against a wall and talk about how family members are all different sizes.
  4. Week 35: New things I can do by myselfAt home: Choose one self-care job your child can do, like dressing or setting the table, and let them try it.
  5. Week 36: Correct names for body partsAt home: Use correct names calmly during bath time or dressing, such as elbow, knee, and private parts, so your child is comfortable asking questions.
  6. Week 36: Making healthy choices every dayAt home: Offer your child two healthy choices, like water or milk, and let them decide and say why.

Written with AI from what schools usually teach (like the Common Core for math and NGSS for science). Check your state's standards if you need to match them.