The Skeletal System: Part 1 of 5
I'm constantly in awe of the complexity of the human body. It's interesting how as moms, we plan and plan the curriculum for our homeschool year, yet sometimes it just doesn't go as we thought it might. As I've mentioned in a previous blog post, at the beginning of our school year we decided that most of our studies would be centered around astronomy. I decorated our homeschool room with spaceships and telescopes to make it interesting for the kiddos to learn about space. About 2 weeks into school this year, our oldest son started to take a huge interest in anatomy and physiology. I found myself taking them to the library and having them answer their own questions they were asking me. It was about that time that I looked at my agenda and decided to scratch it and revisit astronomy at a later date.
During our study of the skeletal system, our children built a model of a bone to show just how complex the bone truly is. They had a blast putting this together and I think your child will be amazed as well.
Building a Bone Model
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There are many experiments out there that homeschooling moms like myself have demonstrated to their readers on how to build a bone. We took the approach of using items we found at the local hardware store for this project.
Supplies You Will Need
Links
Female to female metal coupling with an outside diameter of 1 3/4" (we found this at the hardware store however, I can't find a link on amazon for it)
Labeling
Prior to having them create the bone model, I wanted to ensure they knew what each component of the bone was and the function of each. I printed labels created in a Word document and had them label and explain the function of each.
Assembling
I had them draw the nerves and blood vessels on the periosteum, using the red and blue Sharpie markers.
They then placed the metal coupling into the PVC resembling the compact bone, which is a thick, hard layer. After this, we cut the sponge to fit inside the metal coupling for the spongy bone and placed the yellow pipe cleaner into the 3/8" tubing for the yellow bone marrow.
There you have it! A model of a bone.
We also switched out the yellow pipe cleaner with the red to model the red bone marrow as well.
I hope this activity can help create a love for learning about the anatomy of a bone.
Looking for more skeletal system activities and resources?
Stay tuned for parts 2-5 in this series. Follow me on Instagram for the latest blog post uploads.
Happy homeschooling and remember to "Willfully Serve His Children" throughout your homeschool day.
Xoxo,
Amanda