Joy School - Bones

We continued on in our Bodies Theme this week by learning all about our bones in Joy School.

Lesson:

The lesson began with a demonstration. She handed out gloves, and we looked at their shape. They matched our hands, but they were floppy; the fingers couldn't stand up. Then she had the kids put their hands into the gloves and we saw that they were now firm and able to move. This is like our bones. Our bones make our bodies stand up , they give us form, and they let us move. Without them, we'd be mushy and formless.

Then she took out a puzzle and the kids took turns adding pieces and we saw how the pieces all fit together to make a person.

The last thing we learned about was the inside of bones and how they have little holes all through them. The kids were fascinated to learn that their bones actually make their blood. Big news!

Science:

We compared hard-shelled eggs with an egg that had been soaked in vinegar all night. The kids got to feel it until...

The soft-shelled egg burst and the inside came out. This was to show us how strong, healthy bones in our ribcage protect our organs.

Snack Time: Skeleton Cookies

She had made up the dough in advance, and the kids got to form their own cookies, which was very fun. Here is the recipe in case you wanted to make your own.

Ingredients:

4 egg whites

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 cups salted almonds

Directions: 1. With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg whites and sugar with orange peel and baking powder until blended.2. Gradually add nuts and flour, beating until mixture is thoroughly mixed.3. Cover and chill until firm enough to handle, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.4. Lightly flour your hands and pinch off a 3 tablespoon size piece of dough.5. On a lightly floured board, use the palms of both hands to evenly roll an 8 inch long rope.6. Cut rope in half; roll each half out again to 8 inches.7. Fold 1 inch of each end back onto rope; pinch ends to make bone-end shapes.8. Repeat to shape all the dough.9. Place bones 1 inch apart on buttered and flour-dusted 12 x 15 inch baking sheets.10. Bake in a 325F oven until cookies are lightly browned on bottoms, about 20 minutes.

Forming our dough.

The finished product. They were very light and yummy. If I were to do anything differently, I would make a little citrus glaze and drizzle it on top. Yummy!

Video Clip: We watched another section of the same episode of Magic School Bus that we saw a bit of last week for muscles.

We also watched a clip from an Eyewitness Documentary on bones.

Craft Time: We made paper skeletons.

It was a good activity to help them develop their fine motor skills with the cutting. I was surprised how well he did with his scissors. He's really growing!

After the pieces were all cut out, we used a hole punch at each joint, and then joined the bones together with yarn.

She also had plans for a song and a wiggle time game, but we used up all our time with these activities. Too much fun for the time allowed! I guess we'll have something to carry over for next year!