For some reason I have been avoiding the whole alphabet-themed lesson planning like the plague. But...my son has taken an interest in learning time, and we needed to find more activities that he could participate in. Oh, and my daughter absolutely loves alphabet crafts. So I (at first) reluctantly accepted their desires to start focusing on one letter a week.
To my surprise, alphabet-themed weeks are in no way limiting! Instead it helps focus my mildly scattered mind on a few topics. Focusing on one letter at a time is helping my daughter to get a better grasp on listening for initial sounds.
For "B" week we focused on "bones" and "bears". I admit, we had waaay too much fun with bones that we hardly got around to bears, but we did do a few activities.
Here is what we did this week!
Here is what we did this week!
Skeleton Nomenclature Where are the Bears? Geography Activity
Make a Model Spine Paper Plate Bear Art
Make a Model Rib Cage Make Clay Bones
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Science: Anatomy
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Obviously, focusing on "bones" lends itself well to the study of biology. We also talked about dinosaur bones. We used the following books (which many were, conveniently, written by authors with names that also start with "b"):
> "Bones" by Stephen Krensky: a well-written non-fiction book with interesting bone facts
> "Dem Bones" by Bob Barner: goes along with the song "Dem Bones". Cute illustrations, but the kids were a little confused about the "dry bones" part :) And a lot of bones are omitted.
> "Dinosaur Bones" by Bob Barner: a lot of facts about dinosaur bones--perhaps too many for little learners, but the book is written so that they are
optional.
> "Bones, Bones, Dinosaur Bones" by Byron Barton: tells a sequential story of how paleontologists find bones and put them together in a museum.
Nomenclature
We practices the scientific names of some major bones with these {FREE} skeleton nomenclature cards:
There are 13 cards (both blank and colored) for the (1) skeleton, (2) skull, (3) pelvis, (4) spine, (5) rib cage, (6) hand bones, (7) foot bones, (8) humerus, (9) radius, (10) ulna, (11) femur, (12) tibia, (13) fibula. You can get these free nomenclature cards at my TPT store.
Model-Building
We built a model of the spine for our vertebrate/invertebrate unit, but it would also be useful to include here! We definitely referenced our model during bone week.
You will need:
-a pipe cleaner
-wagon wheel noodles
-soft foam beads
Assembly: string noodles and soft foam beads on a pipe cleaner alternating one by one. The wagon wheel represent the vertebrates in the spine, and the soft foam beans represent the discs that keep our vertebrates from rubbing each other, and ultimately causing damage. Now use the model to demonstrate how your spine can bend!
You can also make a model of a rib cage! To facilitate the understanding of the function of the rib cage, get a wire whisk and pieces of clay or play-dough. The whisk represents the rib cage, and the clay/play dough represents our "squishy organs" such as the heart and lungs that the rib cage protects. Demonstrate how easy it would be to damage a lung or heart if it wasn't in a cage by playing with some play dough (you can even attempt to shape it into a heart/lungs). Then place your play-dough organs in the wire whisk. Now try to damage the organs. Have a discussion about how our bones protect other important parts (like the brain).
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Science: Geography
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Where are the bears? We also did an activity to locate the regions in which many bears live. We read Bears, Bears Everywhere by Bob Barner.
This book provides some information on how bear species differ by diet, cub rearing, and location. We talked through the map in the back of the book to understand the dispersal of bears around the world. Then we got out our own large felt continents. I found and printed pictures of bears that were in the book . Then we matched the bears with the continent that they live in.
We also read Brown Bear, Brown Bear (again, we did a Brown Bear unit not too long ago) but this time we encouraged our oldest to read it on her own!
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Math--Number Bonds & Counting
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| Bone Bonds! |
I am working on two fronts with my children. My youngest is just starting to associate the written number and the word. My oldest is learning to break numbers into smaller numbers via number bonds. Number bonds are a new(er) addition to the Core Curriculum that I was previously unfamiliar with, but the skill makes sense to me!
I created the "Bone Bonds" puzzle for children who are just beginning to explore number bonds. Of course, you can get it free through my TPT store. This activity is a series of 13 puzzles that include all number bonds from 1 to 5 and one worksheet. Cut the bones apart on the dotted lines, and then work with your child to put them back together. Draw notice to how many different ways you can get to the number five! (i.e. 1 and 4, 2 and 3, 3 and 2, etc..)
Krista Mahan Teaching Momster also has very cool skeleton-themed number puzzles that we used that is FREE at the TPT store. They can be adapted for younger and older students.
Krista Mahan Teaching Momster also has very cool skeleton-themed number puzzles that we used that is FREE at the TPT store. They can be adapted for younger and older students.
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Literacy--Bones and "to be"
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We found a beneficial reading activity (for free) from Sally Landers called "Cuttin' It Close--Skeleton Close Read". This is activity helps with reinforcing some of the scientific bone names.
Finally, we are doing a series called "ABCs for Life" to supplement our science and literacy-centered fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants curriculum. For the letter "b" we discussed what it meant to "be".
We defined "to be" as how we behave or act. The main point for us was to understand that there are several ways "to be" and that it changes all the time throughout the day. I wrote "be" on one note card and a series of ways to be on other note cards. For example, "silly","quiet", "loud", "calm". We then talked about how, even though we change our way of "being" all the time, there is a piece of us--that is connected to God and each other--that always remains loving. We must remember to find our way back to this way of being in all we do. Allow your child some creative space to draw a map to guide him/her back to "being love".
Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day
*~Be Love~*
-Dee J.
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