(Picture Source: Hopkins County Schools/Facebook)
Kindergarten students in Hopkins County experienced a hands-on lesson in healthcare recently during the “Bear Hugs & Band-Aids” event at the Hopkins County Career & Technology Center. School officials said the special event was sponsored by HOSA, a club for future health professionals.
Career & Technology Center Principal Alaina Lancaster shared that every Hopkins County kindergartner received a new teddy bear on Friday, December 5. She said students took their bears through a series of check-up stations, checking vital signs, recording weight, length, and temperature, listening for a heart rate, and even getting X-rays. Lancaster also mentioned that the bears were provided thanks to funding from the Community Schools initiative.
Lancaster explained that the final station focused on First Aid, where students wrapped their bears’ “broken bones.” She added that she overheard some adorable conversations, like students saying, “My bear has a tummy ache.”
According to Lancaster, the event was designed to ease young students’ anxieties about doctor visits and introduce them to the healthcare field if they think they may want to become a nurse. She pointed out that about 450 kindergarteners participated in the program at the Hopkins County Career and Technology Center.
