Some of us have really been looking forward to learning about the human body. We love playing doctor, nurse, and veterinarian in the Honeybee’s class. Dramatic play gives children an opportunity to explore and sort through their own thoughts and feelings. Through dramatic play, children learn to solve problems, coordinate, cooperate, and think flexibly. Pretend play supports early literacy, recognition of social cues, and language development.
Apart from playing doctor, the human body is just interesting. It’s US. What’s going on in there? We are putting food in our mouths, our hearts are beating, and we are growing. What is under my skin? Why do I poop? These are big questions that that really get talked about every day.
Let’s get started by creating a model. Do you have big paper? You could tape together some paper grocery bags, use newspapers, or even use a piece of fabric that you could later attach to cardboard. Have your child lie down on the paper or fabric and trace their outline. Then we’ll work on what’s inside for the rest of the week.
Today we’ll start with the bones. What holds us up? What’s in there?
If we were together we’d learn a simple skeleton song that we could do together at circle time.
How could you make some bones for your model skeleton. Ask your child what they think you should use. You could select some sticks of various sizes and let your child paint them white. Remember, this is all going to get glued down by the end of the week, and the final product is really an incredible work of art.
We always read this book in our classroom while we are studying the human body, and it would be a wonderful book to have at home. You shine a flashlight on the underside of the page and you can see inside the human body.
If you are looking for fun craft to do with our bones, you can make this with q-tips and glue. The photo of your child makes it wonderful. You may have to cue body parts and ask questions. Where is your leg? Do you have bones in your feet?
Let’s do a science experiment. You’ll need your playdough, a ruler, and some drinking straws or sticks of various lengths. The first challenge is to build a play dough person with just play dough. Measure your tallest try. Next build a play dough person with straws or sticks to support it. How much taller is this person? You could just build a playdough column and measure that against a supported column. Add in a writing tool and create a simple chart with drawings to extend your experiment.
If you celebrate Halloween, do you have an old skeleton that could become part of your dramatic play collection. Add to the fun with things to wrap and weave into the bones like ace bandages, strips of fabric, and flexible wire. Ask your child questions and take notes.
Here’s a non skeleton song for you today.
Show me your faces Garden Children. Put your hands in the air. Wherever you are we wish you well.
