Human Body Labook & Unit

Noah has always had a huge interest in learning about the human body, but when he was younger, he was really enthralled. So, I created this lapbook template and a month-long co-op series for our homeschool group, which also included a mini-unit on the brain and five senses. Unfortunately, I don't have the co-op lessons in a format that's easy to share, but you can download the lapbook template and brain/five senses unit to use. This is our most-downloaded lapbook template by a landslide!

A note about free curriculum downloads:

I am happy to share curriculum I've put together; just because I like to reinvent the wheel doesn't mean everyone else should! All I ask is that you sign up to follow my blog and/or Facebook page before downloading. As with all our free curriculum downloads, please notify me of any errors or problems with the download links. If you're new to lapbooking, be sure to check out my how-to video, which includes links to other great lapbooking sites.

For the lapbooks, check out the lapbook archive and corresponding unit study posts; I'll usually have pictures of our completed book to help you along the way. If you like the way it turns out, please consider sharing thoughts or pictures of your experience on our Facebook page.

Enjoy, and happy homeschooling!

Fun Field Trip Ends Our Human Body Unit Study

The last planned activity for our human body unit study was an outing to the kids' races at the Watermelon 5K. Truth be told, we'd have been there anyway - unit study or no unit study. The kids love these races; Noah has been running them since he was two, and Ava started earlier.

Track Shack does a wonderful job with their events, and the kids' races are no exception. They are free events for kids 12 and under held in conjunction with local 5K and 10K races. Kids race in one of three age groups: 6-12, 4-5 and 3 & under. It's usually a bit chaotic, and they seem to pick the start locations and distances on the fly . . . but hey, did I mention it's free?

I didn't get to see Noah's race (due to the aforementioned chaos), but I was able to get Ava to her starting line on time. She is adamant about running by herself and often looks over her shoulder to make sure I'm not following her. And to my surprise, she's always at the front of the pack.

Both kids always agree that the race was not long enough and usually run back and forth to the finish line for 15 minutes after the race is over. As always, it was a great start to our weekend and a great tie-in with what we've learned about the importance of exercise!

Wrapping Up The Human Body Unit Study

Is this not the cutest??? We finished up our last in a series of five co-ops for the SLC human body unit study today with a class on the brain and five senses. It's amazing that I worried about being able to fill up a month's worth of classes, but now it feels like we barely had time to touch on each topic.

We started by learning about the different parts of the brain and the nervous system, then did an activity to show how the body and brain communicate. Each of the kids took on a role (nose, nerve, brain, spinal cord, hand) and helped relay a message from the nose to the brain ("A fly landed on my nose.") and from the brain to the hand ("Use your hand to shoo the fly away.") We wrapped up this section by making these adorable brain hats.

Next, we moved on to the five senses. We first identified each sense and did an activity to identify which sense(s) help us experience certain things (soft, blue, loud, etc.) Then, we broke up into groups and traveled through four activity stations:

• Touch: Here the kids explored five objects they couldn't see, making note of how the object felt and trying to guess what it was by touch alone.

• Sight: At this station, the kids learned how pupils react to light and determined their "near point" of vision.

• Hearing: After learning about the workings of the inner ear, we learned that the outer ear funnels sound into the ear. Could we hear better with bigger ears? Some of the kids thought so after they tried on a pair. They also learned how the ears help us stay balanced (and had some good fun getting dizzy).

• Taste/Smell: Our final station was a taste test to see how our senses of taste and smell are related. The kids sampled three foods - first by smell alone, next by taste alone and finally with smell and taste combined.

We'll spend the rest of our week reviewing the worksheets and wrapping up our lapbook. It's been fun to spend an entire month on this topic, but it's made me very aware that there is SO much more to cover just on this topic alone.

Art Projects for Human Body Unit Study

So we try to do an art project every Tuesday, either at home or at the museum. And since we had a free morning (and have been seriously slacking on our classroom time), I found a few that tied in well with our current unit study on the human body.

• Complete the Face - For this one, I printed out a picture of half of Noah's face and let him complete the other side (we actually did a full-body version as well, which is not pictured). This was his least favorite of this morning's art projects, I think due to a lack of confidence in being able to get it "right". Once I assured him there was no wrong way to do it, he enjoyed it a bit more.

• Body Part Art - This one was his favorite project by far, and honestly, he did a much better job of drawing on the internal organs than I could have without looking at a picture. Once done with the organs, he actually went back and did callouts of several of them to show more detail. I have to admit . . . this one's my favorite, too.

• Build a Body - After cutting out body parts (head, torso, legs, etc.) from magazines, I let him mix and match them to make a few bodies. He really liked this one too (but for some reason insisted on adhering them with tape instead of glue).

Ava was busy stamping while he worked on this project, but in the middle of it all, she asked for help drawing a skeleton. That inspired Noah to draw a skeleton as well (not pictured), and while a bit out of proportion, it was pretty detailed. He is definitely an anatomy buff, and I'm glad that I decided to give unit studies a try. He's really been enjoying it, and I can tell he's learned a lot.

Human Body Interactive Fact Finder

We are very fortunate to have an amazing collection of "teaching tools" - books, toys, DVDs and more. Some have given me buyer's remorse, and others I wouldn't want to live without. So, I'm going to attempt to share one of our favorites every Tuesday - hence "Teaching Tool Tuesday".

The first one not only fits in well with our current human body unit, but it's probably our all-time favorite. Noah spotted the Human Body Interactive Fact Finder in a catalog and added it to his "wish list" this past Christmas. He was thrilled to receive it as a gift, and it's been a favorite toy ever since.

What I like best is that it does more than just show where each organ is located. The buttons on the base let kids learn more about each organ, including it's location, size, function and the corresponding body system. There's also a quiz mode with more than 1000 questions to let them test their knowledge.

Before I knew it, my five-year-old was spouting off "the lungs are located inside the ribcage" and "the heart is part of the cardiovascular system", plus some interesting facts that I didn't even know. That is perhaps my favorite part of homeschooling - when the kids teach me something.

Human Body Lapbook

January 2011 Update:

Just finished some upgrades to the blog, including getting all the lapbooking templates on a more reliable file hosting site. This one has been problematic to download in the past but should work perfectly now (and if not, please let me know!) You can download the template here. Happy homeschooling!!!

Original Post:

Okay, I love this lapbooking thing. I know I've only done two so far, but I think they've both turned out really cute!

This one corresponds with our human body unit study, so it touches on each of the topics we've taught: external anatomy, internal anatomy, DNA, cells, nutrition, exercise and the brain / five senses. I've posted the template for this one; here are the supplies you'll need:

• 3 file folders (one for the book and one for each flap)
• Print out of template
• 2 small paper brads
• 1 fastener (we used this to hold all the handouts for this unit)
• Scissors, glue, hole punches, ribbon, markers & paint

For the cover:
I punched two little holes, tied a ribbon to each and made a bow to hold the lapbook closed. Then I put paint on Ava's hands and let her make handprints on the cover. Cute!

Outside of top flap:
When you open up the cover, you'll see the outside of the top flap. The "All About the Human Body" page they write their name on goes on the top, and the "Our Bodies are Made of" mini-book goes on the bottom. This one folds inwards from the top and bottom.























Outside of bottom flap:
Lift up the top flap to reveal the outside of the bottom flap. Paste the "How Our Bodies Grow" chart here.























Inside of the top flap:
Punch two holes at the top for your fastener; any handouts related to this unit go here.























Inside of the bottom flap:
The "You Are What You Eat" and "Be Active" mini-books go here.
















Left flap:
Inside the left flap is for internal anatomy; the "Important Internal Organs" and "Major Systems" mini-books go here.
















Center:
This section is "All About Me". First, have your child trace their hand, double over the paper and cut it out, leaving it attached at the tip of the thumb. Open it up and use ink to make a print of each finger. The "Birth to Now" mini-book shows how your child has changed since they were born. Fill out the "stats" and glue on the pictures. The "How Many Parts" pocket holds flashcards that use body parts to practice some math. Finally, the "What Are Genes" mini-book lets your child see what traits they may have gotten from family members.


Right flap:
The last section is about the brain and five senses. "The Human Brain" fan book attaches with a brad, and "The Five Senses" mini-book folds in from all sides.























Whew! I think that's it. Enjoy!

Anatomy Apron

I am a complete sucker for teaching toys, and i'm definitely fueled by the fact that Noah loves them too (more so than regular toys in most cases). So when I stumbled upon this anatomy apron while doing research for my next human body co-op, I just couldn't resist. I'm trying to be more cautious with my purchasing these days, so I did consider making one instead. But with it being Ava's birthday week and all . . . well, I caved.

A trip to Lakeshore Learning was in order, so I stopped on my way to dance class one night. I have to go to Lakeshore alone with with a limited amount of cash; if I went with my debit card (or with two little ones egging me on) I'd leave with half the store. I couldn't resist a little peeking around and did end up with a science kit (on clearance - they're having a great sale now!) in addition to my intended purchase.

Just as I expected, Noah was beside himself when he saw it. Ava was napping, so she hasn't seen it yet, but I think it will be a great tool for her. The student helper at My Art Studio today talked with her intently about the different organs as they glued them onto her "body"; I still think of her as my baby and forget she can be learning this stuff too . . . but that's another post entirely.

Body Art

So I should probably have mentioned by now that we're doing a unit on the human body this month. I love the idea of coordinating our SLC co-ops into monthly units, so I decided to put one together to see how it works.

A friend and I are teaching a series of five co-ops on the topic, as well as coordinating two field trips. And of course, we're doing a lapbook because I love them now.

Class 1: External Anatomy (how we're the same & different, DNA)
Class 2: You Are What You Eat (how what we eat affects our body)
Class 3: Inside Your Outsides (cells, internal organs, body systems)
Class 4: Move Your Body (how exercise affects our body)
Class 5: The Brain Game (the brain and the five senses)
Art Project: Body Art at My Art Studio
Field Trip: Kids Race at the Watermelon 5K

Today was our field trip to the art studio, and they did a wonderful job creating a project for us. The kids traced their bodies on large sheets of paper, then glued on internal organs. Each child created a paper shirt, which lifts up to show the organs underneath. Then, they were free to color or paint their face, hair and bodies any way they liked. It was fun to see the variety and creativity in their projects!