School Nurse Kevin's FREE Puberty PowerPoint Presentation
Yesterday I taught my 5th puberty presentation this year. As a school nurse, there’s one thing I am sure of: They already know 90% of what I am presenting. But they still giggle. They giggle like a room full of 2nd grade girls when they are playing house and Barbie kisses Ken [smooch!]. It’s a hoot for sure. But why do they giggle? I can say “arm,” “head,” or even “pinky toe,” and all I get is crickets. Say, “penis” and the room EXPLODES! Why? They all have an arm, head and a pinky toe and none of them laugh. So why is any other appendage considered funny…well, that’s because it is. Why? Who knows? Just go with it and let ‘em giggle.
My goal in teaching the puberty presentation is to keep if flowing like a rapid running river. I want to keep the conversations focused on what I have to say and not give any time for the side-pair to begin to converse and loose momentum. Once the class-clown starts in and takes the stage, it’s hard to bring them back. But, I have my ways.
One way I keep the “show” going is to present my puberty presentation as a “performance.” After all, I am competing with the digital stimulation they get from Fortnite, YouTube and the 50 games on their PS4. They have the attention span of about 0.46 seconds before…POOF…their attention is solid GONE!
I had two PowerPoints that I use to present the growing up class; one for the girls and one for the boys. By default, I am responsible to teaching the boys. And, when my cards are played right, I can get a girl nurse to present to my girls. But, there’s always pay-back and the expectation that “I’ll teach your boys but you are teaching my girls.” And that is perfectly A-OK with me. I am happy to. This year I had told myself that I am going to put out an email to the whole school nurse team and see if anyone would teach my girls. ONE…yes…ONE nurse responded and said she’d do it. My feelings got all hurt and I stuck my bottom lip out real far as I felt sorry for myself. “I ain’t gonna teach the other school nurses’ boys. Phooey on them. They can get their PE teacher to do it!” Needless to say, I am a softie and have already done the two for my “favorite” nurse and two for “one of those other nurses” and…well…I have three more scheduled. Yes, I am forgiving.
I like to get my puberty teaching done before Christmas. I have two schools and teach one school before Thanksgiving break and one I teach before Christmas break. The goal is to have these 5th graders grasp these bits of important information and let it settle in their brains and then be pushed back into their memories after being obscured by either a great big turkey or a great big fella dressed in a red suit. This way, the Monday morning conversations will be about “what’d you get for Christmas” instead of “scrotums” or “menstrual cycles.” It’s hard to hold your emotional bearings when a kindergartner comes to your office and asks, “Nurse Kevin, what’s sperm.” You just know one of those 5th graders got a laugh from that…until I find him anyways…
So, the two PowerPoints I had were B-O-R-I-N-G! Pure and simple, the “shows” were dry and full of Google-found-images. I took the boy’s presentation and just redid the whole thing from the ground up. I wanted to change the girl’s presentation but have not had time this year and probably will not until next year (sorry). Fear not…I have included the current girl’s presentation link as well (what I have anyway). There is no charge for these presentations. You can modify the presentations any which way you want to. But, there is one thing you can not do (“can not” seems so bossy (sorry – it is what it is)). You can not sell the presentations. There are reasons for this and thanks for understanding.
The Nitty-Gritty
When you view the boy’s presentation, you will be sorta confused as to what or where I was going with the images. I have a scripted presentation and know what to say when a slide pops up. I also know what the next slide is and where the presentation is heading. For example, I’ll ask the boys, “Do you know what the penis is?”
They all say, “YES! (giggle-giggle-giggle).”
Then I say, “Do you know what the testicles are?”
“YES! (more giggling).”
Then, I ask, “Do you know what the scrotum is?”
This “new” term gets a bunch of puzzled faces and their heads tilt slightly to the left or the right like puppies who have heard a strange-squeaking-sound. They don’t know. Then, the slide with the two marbles suspended over a marble bag comes up. The two marbles are animated to “fall” into the bag. I can almost see the little lightbulbs go off above their little 10-year-old heads as they “get it.” Then I hear, “OOOHHHHH (followed by giggling).”
You’ll see a section where the Earth blows up. This is because if no one bathed and aliens found our stinky planet, they would blow us all up. This is not true…but it’s kinda funny when they all laugh and say, “No they won’t nurse Kevin!” Then I say, “But why risk it? Take a bath EVERY DAY!” *GIGGLE*
Then there’s Frank. “Say Hello to Frank.” Frank didn’t brush is teeth. Frank meets a girl. But Frank’s breath smells like…you’ll see…
Here’s the plan: Next year I will make a new girl’s presentation and make a video on how to present both puberty presentations. But for now, you are more than welcomed to download the two shows here:
Disclaimer: By downloading either one of these presentations you agree to not sell them, agree to not make them available for download and agree to not give them away. They are for your own personal use and to be presented to an age-appropriate group. The slides contain graphic images of the human anatomy and specifically to the human reproductive system. If you would like to share these presentations with other school nurses, please feel free to share a link to this page and share away. By downloading these presentations, you agree not to hold the Go See The Nurse or any author of Go See The Nurse liable for anything. Whew… Sorry…these things just clear the air if the air ever gets cloudy.
The files are in *.ZIP format and are LARGE FILES. They do contain the *.MP4 video files of the Proctor and Gamble’s videos. (Girl's Version) and (Boy's Version)
Boy’s Growing Up PowerPoint Presentation - 774mb (BIG FILE)
Girl’s Growing Up PowerPoint Presentation - 217mb (Big But Not As Big)
If you have any questions, feel free to give me a message and I’ll try to answer it. ENJOY! And, give me some feedback. I’d love to make these presentation the best ever!!
Now, on to more important topics: SPRING BREAK TIME!!
How a School Nurse Answers Questions Like a Presidential Candidate:
School Nurse, what will you be doing over spring break?
"That's a great question and an important one. And I WILL do something this spring break. But, let me take a step back and answer the broader question: What will we ALL be doing this spring break? As a district? As a nation of school nurses? This spring break, I will be doing something comprehensive and productive, though fun. We all should."
But School Nurse, what exactly will you be doing this spring break?
"What I am going to do involves three things: First, it's going to be productive. Second, it's going to be comprehensive. Lastly, I am going to make sure that it is cost-effective, so I don't get into a deficit. Last break I said I was going to do something, and I did. This spring break will be no different."
When we get back from Spring break, I will publish the long-awaited article on The School Nurse’s Guide to Stevens-Johnson syndrome. It’s a rare disorder of the skin and mucous membranes but is pretty dog-on serious.
See you on the flip side…
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