Exploring Creation with Human Anatomy and Physiology...

In Febuary, some friends and I are going to be getting together for a 2hr. bi-weekly science class to study the human body using "Exploring Creation with Anatomy and Physiology"... 

 

We will each be doing our weekly work at home and then getting together to do experiments and such on Monday afternoons...

I have several human body resources that I will be using with my kids through this and I will be posting about it as we do it~ but I wanted to share some sites and things online that I have found and wanted to share for anyone that is also starting a human body unit...

One of my favorite human body resources is from "GUEST HOLLOW"... this is a science curriculum created by a loving mom for her kids and she has been so gracious to share it with the online community... It covers a multitude of ages, using living books and hands-on activities...

Homeschoolshare has a free unit also that has alot that Iwill be incorporating in our study at home...

A free human body lapbook can be found here... and then there is a great site for "INNER EXPLORATION" of the Human Body you can check out here...

 Anatomy Arcade ~ It offers free, fun, interactive games that teach basic human anatomy. It's designed with high school students in mind, as well as a way for health care professionals to refresh their knowledge. When you get to the site you'll see an icon menu of the games that include:

*Poke-A-Muscle - Learn the names of the muscles of the human body.

*Whack-A-Bone - Learn the names of the bones in the human body.

*The Eye Jigsaw - Drag-and-drop the parts of the eye.

*Match A Body System - Have fun learning about the skeletal, circulatory, respiratory, and digestive systems and more!

*Match A Brain - Discover the parts of the human brain.

*Digestive Jigsaw - Put together the parts of the human digestive system.

Click on any one and a new page opens.  You have to watch a video advertisement before you can play the game. If you register (free) you can bypass some of the ad content and have access to additional features, like book-marking your spot. You can select "Games By Body System" by using the menu on the left side of the screen.  You can also select "Games By Type" such as jigsaw, crossword, word search, matching, animation, etc.

At KidsKonnect you can access the HUMAN BODY and lots of sites with great information about the human body just for kids...

The BBC has these really cool interactive games you can play (and I had fun with a few of them this afternoon)... These include: 

		Organs Game Plumb together your organs in the 3D jigsaw puzzle.
		Muscles Game Put the mystery muscles into the right places on the body.
		Skeleton Game Get the joints and unusual bones in the right places.
		Senses Challenge Put your senses to the test and try not to let your brain be fooled.
		Nervous System Game Wire up the nervous system and senses.
		Puberty Demo Discover the changes that take place during puberty and understand the science.

National Geographic  has something on ever system in the body....

The Virtual Body includes interesting information about the brain, the digestive system, the heart, and the skeleton in a highly interactive format. At this site, every page provides a new adventure. Students can learn the names and functions of each part of the brain, build a human skeleton from a friendly pile of bones, organize the digestive organs, or take a narrated tour of the human heart.

 BodyQuest, a fun-filled and informative exploration of the human body intended for students age 11 and above. There they can tour the human body for an overview of the major body systems, stopping frequently along the way to delve more deeply into each system's individual parts. Students will discover how each body system works and find out how each body part contributes to the functioning of the whole body.

There is a great HEALTH TRIVIA  info sheet that you can find here. Full of quirky odd facts that kids will find fascinating and remember forever...

A body parts wordsearch that you get here.  Especially fun for kids K-4 as the words are easy ones like jaw and shoulder...

Great info about your muscles can be found at this cool site...  This is from the "Discovery Kids" site where you can find out everything a kids ever wanted to know about:

 Find out all about the human body with Wendell the Worm, Yucky's Ace Reporter. You and your kids will learn all about the gross and cool stuff humans' bodies create--burps, snores, gas and more and it has all been put on the "Yucky" site.

And since one of the first things we are going to get into is CELLS, there is this great site to check out...

As we go along and get started, I will be posting what we have done and what we used and worked for us as we have fun with HUMAN ANATOMY!!

Art Showcase

We recently attended an ART SHOW for DS's fall art class...It was taught at Trinity Performing Arts by a fellow homeschool mom... He learned so much, it was wonderful... She taught several different techniques and reviewed artists of that style with the kids... It was weekly for 45 minutes and was very inexpensive,  since all the supplies were included in the class tutition..

Here are some pictures from the show...



One of my favorite wall displays...

 Line and Color Study ~ Piet Mondrian style......

and here are some examples of DS's work...

 


and my favorite is in the Mondrian style... (I call it the "Partridge Family" painting)...

August Homeschool Class at the Zoo...

Today was our first HS science class at the zoo for the 2010-2011 school year... It was fun...

We have a new teacher named "Jason"... Our previous teacher Chad, left to go and start a HS program at a zoo in Ohio.. Jason did a great job, but he looks os young...not much older than the kids he's teaching, even though he says he's 23.. *L*

Today's lesson was on "GEOLOGY"... the kids learned about the 3 types of rocks: igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary...

They got to look at some great pictures of floating pumice from volcano,



 and a great shot of some sedimentary rock from  Antelope Canyon in Arizona...



 then they got to look at several types of rock under a microscope...



They touched petrified wood and looked at a spearhead made from granite... then they finished off the class with a trip outside to look at some man-made rock and compare it and getting to pet a chinchilla...



A pretty good first day of class!!!

Happy Learning!!

Learning about DNA

Our local zoo offers weekly homeschool science classes... We had participated in these in the past, but decided to take the last semester off from them since it took up half a day with the 2 hour drive (there and back)...
I just happened to look at the schedule back in December and saw that in March, the class would be studying DNA and thought this was a great opportunity for the kidlets...
So today, we attended the first DNA class...

In the past, the classes were divided based on age. This year, they are doing it on grade level... I decided to put both kidlets in Gr. 3-5... I was afraid this was a stretch for my 1st grader, but I really didn't relish the idea of spending 4hrs. waiting around at the zoo, which is what I would have had to do, if I had separated the 2 in different classes...
Well, the class was very interesting and not so advanced that my 7yo. DD couldn't understand it... The kidlets learned about genes, genomes, cells, nucleus, DNA, variations and mutations...(which we will be reviewing the definitions again later this week so we are able to take advantage of next weeks class...
We got to go out into the zoo and look at animals with variations in their DNA... (specifically a gibbon, zebras, chimpanzees, and a white tiger)
The chimp got extremely excited seeing our large group and actually threw a stick at us at one time... Chad (the instructor) said to be glad he didn't throw something else... *LOL*
One of the chimps had a baby that was around 2 and was the star, swinging around on a rope and was so cute...
The kids learned a lot I found, as I quizzed them on the way home... (just checking)
So looking forward to DNA 2 next week!!
Happy Learning

Trying something new...

In this month's The Old Schoolhouse magazine there are some freebies that I couldn't pass up. One of these was the opportunity to try ALEKSOnline Math program FREE for a month.
I couldn't wait to sign up DS as an added resource to our current Horizons Math program. Our first day with it will be tomorrow. I am  looking forward to seeing how he likes it and how it fits in with our current studies.

Science Class at the A.M.S.E.

Today we went to class at the A.M.S.E.  It was called "Spaced Out" and was of course about Space...

The kids had a great time... They played several games where they actually got to be the planets, they learned what "equinox" means... They discussed the various Gods that certain planets were named for (ie Mercury, Mars, Venus, Neptune)... they got to look at some really cool maps of the solar system... We discussed "AU"'s and the temp. of the sun... the difference between a rotation and revolution, waxing and waning, what "Mare" are, and the phases of the moon and to use "What's up DOC?" to remember them...

Then they played with a topological box for Mars... and discussed how it would take 9 months to get  Mars and then we would have to stay there for 4 years because of the revolutions of the Earth to Mars...

Here are a few websites that you can look at for more infomation...  

www.space.com

and google: Astronomy Picture of the day...

A.M.S.E. class (ROBOMANIA)

Today we went to the A.M.S.E. for a homeschool class on robotics...

It was really informative... It was taught on the K-3 level and the kids got alot out of it...

They learned the qualities a machine must have to be considered robotic, and the uses / reasons for them in todays world...

Then they got to the best part and that was "PLAYING" with them... They got use a robotic "hand/arm", several remote control vehicles, a robotic spider, and the best one was the Robosapien... DS absolutely loved that one..

 

November Zoo Homeschool Classes

This month we have been studing Astronomy in our homeschool class at the zoo...

All month we have been looking at the universe and its various parts... The kidlets have learned the names of the planets and their position and relationship to the sun...(even my 4yo DD can recite the planets in order from the sun)... They have learned all about the different types of stars and each ones relative life span and make-up... they know what is in the rings surrounding several planets and why certain planets appear certain colors... They talked about the different types of galaxies and what "lives" in each, black holes and why Pluto is no longer a planet... They even discussed the Space Shuttle...

and to end a great month in Astronomy, we are having a "Star Gazing" at the zoo on Thursday evening..

A.M.S.E. class (SKIN and SKULLS)

Today was our class on skin and skulls at the AMSE (American Museum of Science and Energy)...

It was great ... The speaker was extremely knowledgeable and had wonderful hands-on displays...

 

The kidlets (and me too) learned about different animals based on diet (herbivore, carnivore, and omnivore, which was reinforcement from our zoo class) and then about the types of teeth and the purpose of each... She discussed the shape of differnt skulls and features of some and their purpose (like the squiggle line in the skull of deer / goats, and that it functions like a shock absorber)... or the thickness (like a wild boars skull was over an inch in thickness and the purpose of his tusks etc).

She had numerous tracks and foot molds of animals, as well as, many preserved animals for the kids to touch... and lots of skulls to look at and touch... 

HAPPY LEARNING!!!

 

 

October Zoo Class : Oceanography

This month we have been studing "Oceanography" at our homeschool zoo class... 

Week 1: We watched a movie on undersea exploration and discussed how we know more about outer space than we actually do about the ocean depths... We had homework in which the kidlets had to learn the layers of the ocean floor ... and then we colored the earth and labeled the oceans...  

Week 2 : We discussed "WAVES"... the types, the causes, and the moons pull on the earth... We made a mobile at home to represent the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon and relationship of rotation to low and high tides...

 Week 3 : We discussed the Invertebrates and Vertebrates found in the ocean... The kids had hands on with a preserved baby shark, a shark jaw / mouth, a tusk from a walrus, and the shell from a sea turtle...The was review over the previous 2 weeks lessons and then more discussion on Endo / Ectothermic sea creatures...

 Week 4 : Today was the final class in Oceanography... and Mr. Chad discussed different types of fish and the purpose of the their body parts... like spots / changing colors for camoflauge, gille for breathing, dorsal fins for balance, tail fins for speed, pectoral fins for steering, the need for "cleanser" fish, and a review of the past 3 weeks... Including finding the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Artic, and Southern Antartic oceans on a huge ball that looked just like the earth from space, a little tricky since none of the continients were labeled and there was cloud cover on it also... But all of  the kids did fine and it amazes me how much they actually learn without even trying...

...Electricity

We are beginning our unit on "Electricity" ...

 

We took a class today on electricity at the A.M.S.E. (American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge, TN)...

DC learned about atoms and charges...(+,-, and neutral)... they learned of the repel and attraction of protons and electrons... and we did 2 great experiments...

Experiment #1 : Take a piece of plexiglass, wipe it with a piece of fleece to get the static energy going... Then place a pizza pan (with a piece of plastic pipe taked to it for a handle) on top of the plexiglass.. Touch the pan with a small flourescent light bulb... then lift the pan and touch it again with the bulb... The bulb will then light up in your hand... It was really cool and the kids did it over and over...

Experiment # 2:  Blow up a balloon, tape a wire thread (from steel wool) to it with both ends exposed... then take 2 strips of aluminum foil and fold them into about 1 inch wide strips...Then place on strip on a table and place 2 "D" batteries on it (stacking them on top of each other with - + ends meeting) and then place the other foil strip on top... (it takes more than 2 hands) and then touch each piece to the ends of steel wool at the same time... It will cause the balloon to burst... the kids loved this one because it made me jump when it exploded...

Hope you try these at home, because they are cheap and great and really get the electrical charge idea across...