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Science of the Human Body
Children are very interested in their bodies. Observing and asking questions about the human body allows young children to explore such science concepts as diversity, variation and how certain structures have certain functions. Does everyone in my family have the same eye, hair and skin color I have? How does my wrist move, and what can I do because my wrist moves like that? And how are my toes similar to and different from my fingers?
Infant/Toddler
Name that part: Helping young children learn names of the various parts of their bodies is something most parents do automatically. This vocabulary is very important to children’s language development. In terms of science though, the part’s name is only the beginning, since what this part does is of more scientific importance than the name. So, as you identify a particular part, take some time to talk about its function, too. “ I use my feet to stand and walk” and “That is your knee—it can bend to help you walk,” are both the kinds of statements that begin the process of understanding the functions of body parts.
Understanding senses: Continue with the identification of parts of the body and what they do by focusing on your child’s senses. The senses are your child’s first tools for learning about the world. Help your child make the connection between parts of the body and her senses. Make comments such as: “Here are my eyes, they help me see,” “I use my nose to smell,” &Ldquo;I use my tongue to taste,” “I use my ears to hear, my skin to feel,” etc.
Make some noise: Children are quite good at making sounds with their bodies. Encouraging them to do this is a really fun way to apply knowledge of the names of the body parts to some of their more unusual abilities and functions. Challenge your child to do things such as “Clap your hands,” “stomp your feet,” and “make noise with your lips.”
Preschooler/Kindergartner
Look at yourself: When your child is in the bathroom washing her hands or brushing her teeth, encourage her to take some time to look at her face in the mirror. Ask her to open her mouth to look at her teeth. Do they all look the same? Are they all flat or pointy? What does she think these different shapes of teeth can do? Has she noticed that her eyes have lids that can go up and down?
Alike or different? Children do begin to notice similarities and differences among the physical characteristics of their friends and family members. The most noticeable characteristics have to do with hair color and texture, eye color and skin color. Help your child pay attention to these characteristics by comparing your eye color to hers. Ask, "Does everyone in our family have the same color eyes? How about in our neighborhood?" These similarities and differences introduce your child to important big ideas in biology: heredity, diversity and variation.
Beating heart: Your child’s heart is not visible, but he can certainly feel it beating! Help him become more aware of his heart’s beating by asking him to put his hand on his chest after some rigorous exercise. Point out that his heartbeat is very noticeable now and wonder if it will always beats this fast. Ask him to tell you if he notices a change in how his heart is beating.
First Grader/Reader-Writer
Gather family data: Your reader-writer can begin to keep track of some of the characteristics of your family or the people in your neighborhood. Construct a chart to keep track of, say 10 family members or neighbors. Of the 10, how many have brown eyes, how many have blue? How many have black hair, how many have brown hair? Once you have recorded this information, ask your child, "What do we think it tells us? If we were to find out about 10 more people what do you think we’d find?" For a good activity that provides an introduction to making comparison charts, go to Sid the Science Kid’s Charts activity.
Parts of parts: OK, so now you have kept track of eye color, but what about that black circle (called the pupil) in the middle your eye? Is it always the same? Have your child look directly into your eyes under different light conditions to see that it actually changes size. She should begin to notice that with more light, the pupil gets smaller, and if there is less light the pupil gets larger. Encourage your child to pay attention to and wonder about the purpose of even small parts of her body.
Record your pulse: Have your child use his writing skills, with your help, to record his pulse at different times. First, you should practice finding his pulse by placing an index finger between the bones near the wrist on the palm-side of one of his hands. Once you’ve located the pulse, count the beats in 15 seconds by using a watch with a second hand. Record this number after different activities such as sitting, eating, exercising, etc., to see if the activity has changed the number of beats. One’s pulse rate is usually stated as the number of beats per minute, so multiply the number of beats in 15 seconds by 4 to find this number—for instance if you count 18 beats in 15 seconds, multiply 18 by 4 to find the pulse rate of 72 beats per minute.
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