I make them wash their hands, really, I do..........

It's a new school year and I have a bunch of new kids. So the whole sanitation thing is a wash and we are starting from scratch. We have talked about it, we have demonstrated, we have lots of soap, hand sanitizer, paper towels, etc. We have talked about how to sneeze and cough to reduce exposure and we have talked about where to puke (in the garbage).

It doesn't do any good.

(part of this is really out of their control, it is a simple fact of going from a limited exposure atmosphere at home to a school setting with lots of kids and "new" germs)

The first week, I had almost 100% attendance, and it's gone down hill from there. I have 23 confirmed kids in my class. Today, I had 7 kids out sick. Roughly a third of my class.