That's A Wrap

Vania's " I Spy " Cookies
Can you find the cookie in the mound of sprinkles ?

Lots of little stuff to wrap up for Greece /human body unit. Not a lot of Greece activities going on these last couple weeks but lots of little science experiments. As you can imagine the human body study could go on for infinite. But i was trying to at least give them a brief overview of the major body systems with a few experiments to demonstrate how each work.


For the digestive system we did 2 experiments. First we took 2 clear jars and filled them with warm water. Next we added a TBSP of vegetable oil to each. In one jar we then added a few drops of dish liquid. Then stirred each. This was to demonstrate how our stomach acid breaks down food. Of course the one with just oil broke up into larger drops of oil. But the one with dish liquid broke the oil up into tiny particles and made the water cloudy.

Next we took a balloon, vegetable oil and a piece of bread to demonstrate how the esophagus moves food down to the stomach. That is the picture above :) We cut off the bottom of the balloon then coated the inside with vegetable oil. Next, we took a piece of bread and made it into a ball with our hands and put it into the mouth of the balloon. The goal was to work the ball of bread through the balloon to the end demonstrating peristalsis.

The Respiratory system was next on the list. They had a contest to see who could hold their breath the longest. Zane won at 1 minute . I also showed them how to count respirations using a stethescope before and after running up and down the stairs ( thanks Vania & Carson for volunteering ). We went over what a normal respiration rate was and why it was different for small children verses and adult.

The other picture above is Carson spreading honey on an index card. The honey is to demonstrate the mucus that lines our noses. Each kid took a card covered in honey and placed them around the house to collect particles of dust etc for a week. The objective being to see how the hairs and mucus in our nose help to filter the air we breathe in. We learned a valuable lesson with this one. Always let dad know what is a science experiment :) Within a week he had randomly discovered all 4 cards of honey in unexpected spots after throwing things on top ofthem i.e. groceries. The first one, hidden under the clock on the piano, he exclaimed "WHAT IS THIS !"Sounding as if he just discovered another bowl of food in the kids bedroom. " WAIT!....NOOOOOO it's for science ! " I yelled as I realized from the other room what he was talking about. I should've right then pointed out the other 3. But no...they were surprises too:)

We did a few Nervous system experiments but by this time winter break fever had set in so no pics. The best and simplest one was finding out which eye was our dominate eye. We took a sheet of paper and put a black dot the size of a quarter in the middle of it. Then stood back, stretched our arms out & formed a picture frame using our hands around the dot . Then you alternate closing your left and right eye. Whichever eye you can still see the dot in the frame with is your dominate eye. I think we were all left eye dominant. They all said they could see it with both eyes until we narrowed the frame down to just a peep hole.

To finish up before break we made 72 Christmas cookies to pass out to our neighbors. They had made Christmas cards the week before so we added these to our plates of cookies . It happened to be 60 degrees that day so Vania & Carson walked around and delivered the cookies in their wagon. Super cute. The coolest thing was for them to see how appreciative the neighbors were of their unexpected cookie delivery :) Never hurts to spread some Christmas cheer !


Lastly, I did manage to squeeze a little review of the body in with the Name That Organ Bingo. I've pretty much discovered that anytime candy is involved it motivates them. Isn't chocolate supposed to stimulate the brain ?

Well that's a wrap ! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year :)
Bambi

Greece Week 4 & 5

Yep, I'm behind again so this will be a quick overview of some of the things we've done in the last 2 weeks. If I don't get busy on this post I will be combining 3 weeks :)

This is what Calcium depletion does to your bones. This is the bone experiment we started in week 3. We soaked a chicken bone in Vinegar for 8 days. After 8 days the chicken bone was squishy & easy to bend. Kinda freaky :) A great lesson to refer to when the kids don't want to finish their milk.

I bought 2 bunches of asparagus to try as another example of Greek food. Not well received as you can see from the picture. I ended up eating both bunches for lunch last week. Good thing I like asparagus .


Each kid made a bowl or cup out of red clay to demonstrate how the Greeks made pottery. After they dried a couple days we sprayed them with a glossy finish. Now they adorn the top of my kitchen pantry out of harms way. I love to look around the house and see the projects we've worked on :)


We've added a "Christmas " day to our week where we talk about the history of Christmas and do some fun holiday stuff. I look forward to this day of the week. Especially with all the hustle & bustle it's nice to have some scheduled down time to enjoy the holiday. Last week we made hot cocoa mixes and put together a Christmas package for our pen pal in Rwanda.

Only one more week of regular scheduled school time and then we will take a break until the new year. Change is on the horizon & schooling will be a little different for the new year. I have found that trying to meet all 4 of their individual needs/wants has not been successful with the unit study approach. The older 2 want to be more independent & the younger 2 need more of my undivided attention. So, it is in the works to make that happen. Divide & conquer :)