Human Biology *Muscles, joints, tendons*

We have had so much fun with our summer selection of Science. It seems like a perfect world to  me when I find a topic that I can teach to all kids on every level... AND THEY UNDERSTAND IT!

We first started off science by showing the kids how the new balance works. They collected several items around the classroom and compared what grams are to pounds and ounces. As Americans this is not an easy feat since we use primarily pounds/ounce instead of grams... But in the science world this measurement is imperative.
For the younger kids just being introduced to weight measurements (besides how much they weigh on the bathroom scale) teaching them together was effective. The older kids had to go back and retrain their brains.

After learning about cells, organs, organ groups and bones we moved on to muscles. There are 3 kinds of muscles. The skeletal, smooth and cardiac. We learned what each muscles does and what they are made of. We then showed many actions that used these different muscles.

Have you ever thought about dissecting a chicken leg and wing? Well, it's just PERFECT when it comes to teaching about skin, fat, muscles, joints, cartilage and bones! The kids took exacto knives and removed the skin first. They then examined the muscles and looked at where they attached. They found each part and labeled it. In the end they got down to just the bone so we could discuss the hard bone and spongy bone.