Dem Bones: Learning About the Skeletal System

After learning about cells, the next thing we're on to is the skeletal system.  It's pretty cool how God gave us bones so that we don't look like a bunch of blobs. Not only did He gives us bones, but He also did some really amazing things with our bones so that they could repair themselves, move easily, and keep our inners...IN!

The kids learned the names of the bones, which some are hard to remember because they're so many! Here's a fun fact:   Did you know that the smallest bones in your body are in your ear! They are called the malleus, the incus, and the stapes. They are so small that they could all fit on a dime together and still have plenty of room left.

Pretty cool huh?

Because my kids, like most, enjoy playing games, I found a really neat game online for them to play. There's different levels for different bone areas. For example,  they can pick the arm, the leg or the core.  They begin on level one. They have to place the bone to the correct spot. If they get a high score, they get to go onto level two which is the scan level.  They are given a name and with an X-ray scanner, they have to find that bone. Again if they get a high score they move onto level three which is "whack a bone."  They take a mallet and basically whack the correct bone.  The game goes on and on with the leg, core, etc.  They really like it and think it's funny when they get to whack a bone!  Here's a link if you would like to try it out.  Bone Game

Another thing we did for review was labeled a poster of bones. I would point to a bone and the kids had to tell me what it's name is.

For a fun project, we made our hand X-rays.  Super easy and super cute!  All they did was trace their hand onto black construction paper with a white crayon. Then they glued Q-tips to make the bones.  FUN!

 

Later today we're going to be doing an experiment where we analyze a chicken bone. That takes about three days, so I'll write about it and our findings!

Let me end with a cute and catchy song, which I am sure you already know!
 Dem Dry Bones