Germs of Glitter

9/09

BOSTON—Eighteen children sit fidgeting in a circle on a slightly faded blue and purple rug with hands sprinkled by gold glitter.
“Is this what my germs look like?” a 5-year-old dressed in pink from head-to-toe asks with a puzzled look on her face.
Laura Bradford, as director of the Clinton Path Preschool, cannot explain the complex and scientific difference between bacteria or viruses to the children, whose age’s range from two to five years old. What she can do, however, is help them understand how easily sickness spreads by the use of a simple game.
Just a few moments prior, Bradford pretended to dramatically sneeze out a handful of glitter then shake the hand of the child next to her. In a “hot-potato” fashion, the hand shaking traveled around the circle. When it returned to Bradford, each child saw tiny specs of gold on his or her tiny hands.
“This is how germs spread,” she said to the intrigued children.
Bradford understands the importance of teaching the children the value of cleanliness and hygiene—especially in a time when the country is up in arms about the upcoming flu season and the recent H1N1 flu, commonly known as the swine flu, outbreaks, she said.
A single mom, Bradford has three children of her own—ages 12, 16 and 21—but she is responsible for the health and well-being of eighteen more on a daily basis.
“We’re not really doing anything different this season than we’ve done before,” she said of the way she plans to keep her students healthy. “We wash hands, use sanitizer and wipe down the tables and toys with bleach and water many times a day...just like we always have.”
Bradford, clad in loose-fitting jeans, a knit sweater adorned with multi-colored flowers, and a plastic necklace obviously made by the children that she cares for, has been the director of the preschool, which is nestled in the basement of St. Paul’s Church in Brookline, for nine years.
Even though the school is below ground, it retains no traits of a standard basement. Rather than darkness or gloom, Clinton Path Preschool exudes the warmth and coziness of home. The children treat Bradford as if she is a family member, not a teacher. They hug her, follow her every move, and act so comfortable around her that it may be hard to believe that it is only the third day of the school year.
Many of the children currently enrolled in the program are the younger siblings of Bradford’s previous students, which is also a testament to the dedication she gives the school. Even the class-pet, an 8-year-old lizard affectionately named Rainbow, seems completely content in the comfort of this underground safe haven.
Clinton Path Preschool was founded in 1972 by a group of parents and teachers, she said. This cooperative environment allows parents to maintain a strong presence in the school, as they help perform administrative and maintenance tasks, participate in planning and policy making, and have constant contact with Bradford and the rest of the staff.
These parents have not expressed increased anxiety about the upcoming flu season, although a meeting has been scheduled for next Monday to address the issue, she said.
“At one time or another a child will be sneezing, coughing and have a runny nose,” she said. “It’s just what you have in a preschool.”
Bradford said she is recommending all children receive both seasonal and H1N1 flu shots, in accordance with a notice published by the Brookline Public Schools superintendent, William H. Lupini, on September 3, 2009.
“It is important to teach your children how to reduce their risk of getting the flu and how to protect others from becoming infected,” the notice states. “If we all practice good hygiene, we can limit the spread of flu in our schools.”
Along with receiving the shots, Lupini recommends teaching children to wash their hands often, use sanitizer, cough into their elbows and avoid touching their nose, mouth or eyes, in order to keep from getting sick.
Janet Levatin, a holistic pediatrician in Brookline, said she is weary of the vaccine and recommends using alternatives such as Echinacea to protect the immune system of children.
“I don’t endorse the vaccine because I feel it is hastily put together and not well tested,” she said. “I don’t trust its safety.”
Regardless of any opposition, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention also released a statement on September 4, 2009 recommending that children and early childhood care providers be among the first to receive the H1N1 flu vaccine.
“I’m going to make my own kids get the vaccine,” Bradford said. “I just need to write it down so I don’t forget to tell them.”