Bodies: Lesson 2 - Nutrition and Exercise

Another fun afternoon with your kindergartners today!

We started off with a tray full of mysterious substances and a discussion about which foods are healthy. The kids already seem well-versed in what's good for us, and why. Good for you guys and the kids' schools for drilling that message home! Then we demonstrated what makes up your food, namely:

* carbohydrates (played here by a bowl of sugar for simple carbs and another of oat bran for complex carbs)
*fats (vegetable oil)
*protein (represented by an egg)
*vitamins (Vitamins C and E)
*minerals (table salt and iron filings)

(Click on the photos to see them in more detail)



After pouring things into other things to see what dissolves in what (while making evil scientist cackling noises), we made lava lamps - pour water in cup, layer cooking oil on top, then add food coloring. The dye will not dissolve in the oil, but will not be heavy enough to break the surface tension keeping it from dropping into the water... until you drop some salt on top of it, which will drag the dye down with it.







Caiden and Heather gave a beautifully illustrated and orchestrated talk about carbohydrates, insulin, and diabetes,








And then he demonstrated how he uses a super poker ("It doesn't hurt!") to test his blood sugar.





Last, he showed us his insulin pump, which he uses when his sugar is off or when he's about to eat.



Finally, we talked about fitness and its relation to your heart rate. Everyone got to listen to his or her heart (Thanks to my nurse friend Leanne for the loan of the stethoscope).




Next, everyone drew pictures of themselves resting and exercising.



We measured their heart rates at rest,



did some exercise,



And measured again.



It went up! Resting and exercise numbers were recorded on their charts.



Thanks to Heather and Becky for their portions of the instruction, and for helping while the kids played mad scientist with the "chemicals!"

Next week we'll talk about germs - microscope time! Does anyone have one to loan? I have one, but it would be nice to have a few, if possible.

And remember that in two weeks we're going to talk about heredity. It would be great if the kids could bring in a family tree, perhaps going back to their great-grandparents (or farther, if you're so inclined), and if you have pictures of your relatives and ancestors that you can paste onto them, even better - we'll look for family resemblances!