Body Systems Unit Study

Body Systems Watercolors

I mentioned in this post, that Quirky and I, for school this year, for several weeks worked on a Body Systems Unit study. We have studied body systems in previous years, but not in detail...she was not ready and the information just would not stick.  So I mapped out a few weeks for us to review what we had previously learned and dig deeper into new material. I came up with a short list of guiding questions to keep us on task. We checked out numerous books from the library, utilized several different apps, and used the internet. I even bought body system posters at local school supply store. The unit itself took far longer than I intended,
but Quirky was so enthralled with subject that I didn't have the heart to rush her. She took copious notes in her research journal on each system, and included sketches in her journal. She asked question after question. Early on I realized the "guiding questions" that I had come up with would be unnecessary, with curiosity as her guide she was learning for more than I intended. In fact, there were days of, "Mom, do I have to stop or can I keep working?" I couldn't be more proud of how hard she worked and how beautiful her posters turned out. The artwork I expected to amazing...she rarely disappoints, but she took the topic brought it to life visually. She made these wonderful posters that are both creative and educational. It's funny when I first pulled her out of public school, and started homeschooling again, I felt that I needed to be the teacher and feed her the information. Now I realize that my role is more a facilitator or guide. I lead her in the right direction and let the desire to learn to take over. When given ample time and space to learn in her own way and at her own space she does amazing things...I guess that's the beauty of homeschooling.

For those of you who may be curious about some of the resources that we used:

Apps:
Human Body by Tiny Bob ( available in iTunes )
My Incredible Body by Zybright ( available in iTunes )
Essential Skeleton by 3D4Medical.com, LLC
Interactive Science Glossary: Life Science by CPO Science

Books:
E.O. Wilson's Life on Earth by E.O. Wilson, Morgan Ryan, Gael McGill
What's Science All About by Usborne
Life Science by Holt, Rinehart, and Winston

Websites:
Kidshealth.org
Neuroscience Resources for Kids
The Human Body 14 StudyJams by Scholastic