Tuesday 30 April 2013

Healthy Teeth - Human Body Project

Nathanael lost his third milk tooth today! Inspired by his tooth loss and our current project theme The Human Body we have focused our work on teeth.  We started by reading "Topsy and Tim Go To the Dentist" by Jean and Gareth Adamson which used to be my book when I was a child. We then made some of our own books, in the shape of toothbrushes, toothpaste and teeth!
 

 
Taking ideas from the book he read, Nathanael wrote some tips in his own book about keeping teeth healthy. He chose to write, "Eat good food, visit your dentist and brush your teeth when you get up in the morning and in the evening."
 
We carried out a science experiment a few days ago using the second tooth he lost. It was placed it inside a glass of coke overnight and when we took it out it looked like this...
 
 
...disgusting! The children concluded that coke shouldn't be drunk on a regular basis and that you should definitely brush your teeth after having it.
 
 
Much fun was had when the older children made a model of their mouths. They used two rice cakes, mini marshmallows for the teeth, icing sugar for the gums and ham for the tongue!
 
 
Finally they used their sense of taste to eat it! Thanks Gateway for the idea for this last activity.

Sunday 28 April 2013

Saturday 20 April 2013

Our Week

This week we have enjoyed spending time with friends, going on our family day out to Eureka! and adventuring in the woods.

 
 
 
 
Continuing with our Human Body project, we drew around Tabitha
on to a large sheet of paper and labelled the positions of her organs.

 
The children measured their hand spans using squared paper.
 
 
In History, the children had their knowledge tested with a quiz which inspired Nathanael to make his own History board game.
Sharing a book with Granny at the library.
 
 
This week we got Abigail's CT scan results and they show she needs surgery to correct the blood vessels to her heart. We are waiting for a date, but expect it to be in the next few weeks at
Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool. It is going to be a complex procedure, but we are trusting our little girl to God's care.
 
 

Wednesday 17 April 2013

Maths Fun - Human Body Project

I am trying to integrate as many fun maths activities into our week as possible. Today, to tie in with our current project on the Human Body, we measured with ribbon the circumference of different parts of our bodies.


 
Laying the different lengths of ribbon out on the table to make a simple graph, we then spent some time comparing the lengths and measuring the ribbons in cms using a tape measure.
 
 
 
The children discovered that Mummy's waist measurement was twice the size of their own and that Nathanael and Tabitha could both fit inside that ribbon! Time for a diet, I think.

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Monday 15 April 2013

Bones - Human Body Project

The children and I are thoroughly enjoying our current project on the Human Body.
  We have spent the last few days finding out about bones.  We started by reading the Acorn book Our Bones, and making bone shaped fact books. They discovered that our bones join together to make a skeleton. Today we made some playdough, following this simple recipe, and created a skeleton.
 
 
For a bit more fun, we made some pink playdough, and added some muscles to our skeleton!
 
 
We learned about joints and how the skeleton holds our body up.  The children loved the way in which this book describes how our body without bones would be like a wobbly pile of goo!
 
Using cotton buds the older children made skeleton art work.
 
 
They also each made a moving skeleton with split pin joints.
 
 
Milk helps build healthy bones, so together we made banana milkshake. While they drank it, I read to them from Psalm 139, where it describes God knitting us together in our mother's womb.  We then prayed together and thanked God for each other and the bodies that he created for us.
 
 

Friday 12 April 2013

The Senses - Human Body Project

As a continuation of our project on the human body, we have been exploring our five senses.
 
Taste. We carried out a taste test. The children found this really good fun, although Nathanael and Tabitha were the only ones brave enough to try it! Blindfolded, they were each given a spoonful of something to taste such as lemon juice, honey, icing sugar and brown sauce. They had to try and use words to describe what it tasted like, and try to guess what it was.
 There were lots of yucks and disgustings!
 
 
We read about the taste buds on the tongue, and made a paper model of our mouths.
 

Sight. The children tried to put on their socks and shoes, while blindfolded, to imagine what it would be like to be without sight. They managed to do it, but it took longer than usual; they said that they had to feel with their hands, rather than with their eyes. While at the library this week, the children felt a braille sign and tried to imagine what it would be like if they couldn't see to read.
 

 
Touch. We used the blindfolds again, this time to feel what objects were in my bag.
 
 
Hearing. I played some familiar sounds from a sound effects CD for them to try and identify. 
We then made our own ear books and copied into them our memory verse from Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!" 
 
Smell. We tried eating a banana while smelling an onion.
Amazingly, the banana tasted like an onion!
 

Our Week

We have had an enjoyable week, catching up with old friends and making some new ones at
Gateway Christian Education group. Our days have been filled with our usual schedule of Home Education. Tabitha's reading is progressing well with lessons from An Ordinary Parent's Guide To Teaching Reading (this book is a great resource and I would highly recommend it.)
 
We have also had several trips to parks and libraries this week as well as our fornightly gymnastics class.
 
Some of the things I have photographed this week...
More fun at Broadbottom

 
where it was even warm enough to take our coats off!
 
 
There has been lots of imaginary play.
 
 
This is what story time looks like in our house, with four book loving children.
 
 
In History, we have moved onto the Victorian era
 
 
and have learnt about Florence Nightingale, the lady with the lamp.
 
 
Last but not least, there was great excitement in our house when we recieved a parcel from South Africa. Thank you se7en for our Lady Jane Grey book.