We have been working on the letter "X" so we made these "X" is for X-Ray pages that I saw on No Time for Flashcards. I drew the bones on cardboard and after they were painted and dried, we glued them onto black construction paper. The topic of x-rays inspired C and R to pull out some of our human body activities.
C and R are painting "bones" in these photos. C is wearing his flotation vest. He wears it often because it is Spiderman and he just likes it. R has a pink vest that she likes to wear too. I don't think they have ever worn them in water!
C and R always enjoy putting together this skeleton puzzle. The puzzle is easy to assemble, but the back of each puzzle piece names the bone so it would also be neat for an older child. The puzzle is from Learning Resources and comes with an activity guide.
While building the skeleton, we sang and read Dem Bones by Bob Barner. There are a lot of interesting bone facts in this book, and it is just fun to look at.
C and R got these girl and boy puzzles for Christmas last year. I definitely recommend them as a learning tool. I love that they are anatomically correct.
The puzzles have a lot of pieces and it is easy for R to get overwhelmed and confused. To avoid that, we approach the puzzle in steps. First, we place all of the pieces right side up. Then we place like pieces side by side (for example, the heads are lined in a row first followed by the torsos).
Finally, she builds each layer. There is a little guide on the front of the puzzle to help. It shows the order of the layers.C is capable of completing the entire puzzle without taking any of these steps. He really enjoys looking at the books we have about the human body while he completes this puzzle. His favorite books are My First Encyclopedia of the Human Body and See Inside Your Body (this is an Usborne Flap Book and even I enjoy lifting the flaps to see what is underneath).
The human body is an ongoing topic of study for us because C and R enjoy learning about their bodies. A few months ago, I traced their outlines and they filled in the details. That is always fun, and we will probably do it again soon.
We lucked out this week because Sid the Science Kid had episodes about bones and muscles! We are big fans of that show. Do your kids watch Sid?
