Homeschool Human Body Class - The Brain

I'm having so much fun teaching this class! We have studied the Human Body in our Homeschool Co-Op and I have been in awe of the intricate way God created us! Absolutely AMAZING!

After our GROSS Digestive System (scroll down for blog entry), we have moved on to learn about other body systems. This lesson was the beginning of the Nervous System. Today's focus was "All About the Brain!"

Hunter always seems to volunteer when something will be placed on his head! Poor Guy! Today he was my Human Brain Model. I wrote all of the different parts of the cerebrum on a shower cap, so the children would be able to see the different portions of our amazing brain! We talked about our frontal lobe, temporal lobe, etc... and what they each control.

Our first experiment today was to figure out whether or not we needed the fluid around our brain. A few weeks ago, when studying the skeletal system, we discussed the fact that God created our bones to protect major organs - heart, lungs, brain. Today we were trying to determine if the cerebral fluid around our brain was really necessary. (Unfortunately, I did not try this at home first!)

Here's what we did:

1. ) Two raw eggs were placed in plastic containers. One egg was surrounded with "water," and the other egg was surrounded with...nothing...just the "air" in the container. The water represented the cerebral fluid around our brain.

2.) The "air" container was shaken to see if the egg would break. It broke IMMEDIATELY! SPLAT! (The top was not secure on the container, so raw egg flew out onto some of the students. These things seem to only happen to me!) It helped us to see what would happen if our brain rattled against our skull! Oh my!

3.) Next, we shook the "water" protected egg with the same force. Then we shook it up some more! The egg did NOT break - it was safe and secure in the fluid! When our brains are "jarred" or hit with some force, it is the cerebral fluid that keeps the brain safe from harm! Isn't God's creation amazing?
Yes, the egg has a "smiley face" on it. Well, it needed to look like a person?!?
After the egg experiment the children were given play dough to create a model of the brain. They were to make a model including the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brain stem. I think they boys went a little crazy with the brain stem. Perhaps they thought we were still discussing the end of the digestive system!?! Hmmm....

Olivia drew her model on the board b/c the smell of play dough makes her sick! However, I think she did a good job, don't you?

I love these kids - it's been such a joy to learn with them!!