Red Ribbon Week Activities

For years we've had dress-up days for Red Ribbon Week. Things such as "Put a cap on drugs" (hat day) or "I won't get mixed up with drugs" (wear mix-matched clothes) seemed to fill up our week, but there was no follow through or education on the dangers of drugs, ways to say no, or drug safety.  It was pretty much left up to the teacher to create ways to get this important message to their students.  Here are a few things I do in my classroom.  I hope you can find them helpful!!

This idea has been done before, but it's always one of my favorites of the year!  Ask each child to bring in a baby picture.  Then, brainstorm some things they might be born to be (a football star, a respectful kid, etc.).  We sit in a circle on the floor and put all of the baby pictures in the middle.  I introduce the term Born to Be Drug Free and ask What do you think that means?  How can we relate that to the baby pictures we're looking at?  After this discussion, I give each child a die cut red ribbon and they write their name on it and draw pictures of things they can do instead of drugs.  It makes a great bulletin board display!

Click the file below to print the bulletin board sign from Google Docs:

Then, I love doing this Candy or Medicine activity!  I raid my candy cabinet and look for pieces that could be mistaken for medicine (Skittles, Tic Tacs, Good 'N Plenty, Sweet Tarts, Altoids, etc.).  Then I look for medicine that resembles candy (cough drops, Tums, Sudafed, etc.).  I put each item in a mini baggie and number them 1-15:

Be sure to always keep these in a secure cabinet!!

Then, I pass out the worksheet.  I hold up each bag and walk it around to each table for everyone to see (I do not let them hold the bag).  I make a big deal, "Is it CANDY or MEDICINE?" and they write C for candy or M for medicine on the chart.  After we've gone through all of the bags, I hold up each one again and ask students what they thought it was and why.  They are often VERY surprised by how many of the items they thought were candy are actually medicine.  We discuss why kids might confuse medicine for candy (they look so much alike!!).

This activity opens up a GREAT discussion about medicine safety...what if they left medicine on the counter and a younger sibling put it in their mouth because they thought it was candy?  I also show them some of the medications that are for adults and we talk about how they should never take medicine from people other than their parents/grandparents.  I point to a bag with an adult medicine in it and tell them that this is for someone of my height and weight.  What if a child took it?  What if they are at a friend's house and they have a headache...should they take medicine from their friend?  What if that friend gave them medicine they've seen their parent take when he/she had a headache?  Is it ok for you to take it?

The in-depth discussions about medicine safety are endless!!

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