26 October 2012

Lapbook about Health

We have been working on their health lapbooks for two weeks, one week before Columbus and then the week after. It was a lot of work and so the books are quiet big.

This time, we met at a playground, presented the lapbooks in the beautiful sunshine and let the kids play afterwards.

So the lapbook was so big because we wanted to cover a few things that are part of our curriculum and a bit of stuff that Beth wanted to cover. So on the front page you can see ALL the things we talked about, which included: posture, nutrition, exercise, sleep, right thoughts, hygiene, and kindness.

Making the lapbook was fun even though it was alot of work, but it was hands-on and practical and the kids really understood the things we discussed because they are doing them themselves. We had alot of fun with the posture and exercising because we practiced those in the house, counting how many times Coqui or Mami could jump on either leg without falling, etc....

I was looking forward to talk about nutrition as my son had decided a while ago that he doesn't like a lot of food anymore, especially vegetables. So it was good to talk about the food pyramid, or like the plate they are doing now. Beth came up with these two characters, Healthy Herold and Unhealthy Uzziah. SO he had to draw a plate with 'good' food for the boy who makes 'good' choices. And then a plate with the unhealthy choices for the other boy. He had way too much fun with the latter. We even talked about how it makes us feel when we make healthy choices and when we don't make those.

We also did some experiments for this, like counting the glasses of water he drinks per day - which is usually way too little but with this he was motivated to drink more - which has lasted until now.

He also really wanted to trace the different systems of the human body. So we got some tracing paper and a book from the library and went to work. I traced four bodies, you know, only the outer lines of a boy, and he then had to draw (aka copy from the picture) the different systems into the bodies. He did such a good job with that. In the picture, you can see the circulatory system.

Hygiene was one of those things that was good for him to hear. I think boys tend to care a little less how they look or smell or appear to others. It is important for them to know that they don't need to be just handsome but that cleanliness is important to feel good about themselves.
 So we talked about washing hands, and HOW. How to wash their bodies - less dirty to progressively more dirty areas. We talked about their teeth, how to brush them and the role of a dentist. Then we talked about germs - which was a cool topic for the kids. There was quite some laughing going on while working on the worksheets and at the presentation. I guess, for kids, this is funny and fascinating at the same time.


The last thing was talking about clean rooms, folding clothes, and other ways, HOW kids can HELP to live in a clean environment, like their home, the garden, and their community.

Overall, it was two intense weeks, but I think the kids got alot out of it. Which is what we are going for with these lapbooks.

All Three Kids with their Front Page
Coqui's, Chickie's, and Zoodle's Nutritional Plates

And their GERMS...

0 comments: