This month for preschool we focused on anatomy, or as I told Z learning about our bodies.

The first week we talked about our immune systems and circulatory system. The boys played with water beads and ping pong balls to learn about red and white blood cells.

They looked under a children’s microscope that showed examples of blood cells and how our bodies heal wounds. While they watched a cartoon from my childhood (featuring a eccentric teacher and a very special school bus) about the immune system, they also did a coloring sheet of the heart.

After this they had a chance to learn about the vital organs of our body using an apron puzzle. Z especially enjoyed how the small intestine is actually longer and is stuffed inside the large intestine.

Their snack was strawberry jello with marshmallows representing blood and white blood cells.

The next week we learned about bones and muscles. The boys worked to put together a puzzle showing the bones of the body, their location, and names.

Then we did several versions of the “dem bones” videos and songs teaching how the bones of the body are connected. While they watched these videos, they got to glue bones of the body together to create a skeleton on a black paper like an x ray.

For snack time we did a small lesson on the difference between muscles and bones. For muscles I cut out gingerbread men from bread showing how they can walk, dance and move but not stand up on their own.

I showed them with some homemade peanut butter biscuits how bones stand up well but are too stiff to move very well and that’s why we need muscles. The boys enjoyed making peanut butter and jelly treats from these after our talk.

For our last week we learned about nutrition and hygiene. The boys enjoyed playing with a dentist and doctors kit. Z came over to me several times asking what a certain tool did.  When I explained he took it over to his friends to practice on pretending to be “doctor” with them.

After this they practiced brushing a laminated picture of teeth that was colored with plaque (whiteboard pen).

They boys also learned about germs and why we wash our hands. We had them cover their hands in glitter then wash them until all the glitter germs were gone.

They learned about nutrition by putting different toy food into categories like protein, dairy, carbs, and produce. For snack time we made a mouth with teeth using apple slices, peanut butter and marshmallows.

For our field trip this month we chose to go to a local children’s museum which has a pretend-play doctor’s office and then let the boys run around in a play center at lunch.