Brain-Based Obstacle Course

A couple of weeks ago, my friend C and I were going to put together a "Brain-Based Obstacle Course" to wrap up our Internal Organs unit of study. We had no idea what we were going to do, we just wanted to make something fun for our kiddos with a little bit of review. Illness and Spring Break kept us from getting back together until this week. We let the kids run wild inside C's house while we tried to figure out what to put in our obstacle course. We had fun setting it up. Our kiddos had a blast getting through it.

The occipital lobe controls vision. We
blindfolded the kids to have them complete
a task without being able to see.

Big Sis led them up to the maze.

Without their sight, they had to hold
and follow the rope to complete this part
of the course.

It was fun to watch them.

This task used the frontal lobe for planning
and problem-solving to make it across the
uneven path of squares while hopping on
 one foot.

We taped some boxes together for
a tunnel. The kids crawled through
on their knees.

Then they slid through on their backs.

When Boogs went through, the
other kids shook the box and
yelled, "Earthquake!"

E went through last.

A mini-obstacle course through
two chairs and a table challenged
the control and coordination of
their muscles. This coordination is
 controlled by the cerebellum.

Yes, I know they should have been wearing helmets.

Everyone took a turn.

Even Big Sis.

It was a beautiful day. B made
quite a few baskets.

Boogs loves and looks forward
to Wednesday afternoons.

See, I did make him wear a helmet while bike riding.

H had a heavy load to pull.

Look at those smiles of joy! Go faster H!

The kids are wearing their organ t-shirts made by using downloads from Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational's blog.

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Finally Finished Our Internal Organ T-Shirt

Boogs and I have been spending Wednesday afternoons with friends working on an internal organ study. I found the idea on Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational's blog. Our kiddos have really enjoyed working on their shirts, learning about their organs, filling out their booklets, and hanging out with each other. We finished the t-shirts last week and made our brains today. We made brain hats with sentence strips, cotton balls, and pink paint. We also made a clay model and discussed the 6 parts of the brain and their functions. The clay model idea came from the Science Sparks website. Boogs loved working with the clay.

Working on their booklets.

Molding the clay.

Using the model from Science Sparks to make the brain.

E completed his with help from his big sis.

Boogs finished his brain. 

B completed her clay model.

Making brain hats

They were so proud.

We discussed the parts of the brain. Then I labeled them.

We discussed how important it is to protect your brain by wearing a helmet for biking, skateboarding, and riding a scooter. How to protect your brain by not diving into pools of water that you don't know the depth. We also discussed how exercising and eating well help your brain stay healthy. Next week, we are going to wrap up our organ study with a "Brain-based Obstacle Course". (Click here to see the obstacle course.)

Be sure to check out the wonderful sites I have linked to on my side bar.

Thanks, Pinterest!

Sadly, I am addicted to Pinterest. But, that is not such a horrible thing. We had a group of family and friends over for lunch yesterday and I found the recipes for our meal on Pinterest. Everyone loved the Antipasto-kabobs appetizer!

We also had Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup

Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce

Creamy White Chicken and Artichoke Lasagna

with salad and garlic bread to complete the meal. It was enough food to serve 18 people and it was all delicious! My mom made a sugar free (Splenda) birthday cake that was surprisingly good. 

I have also been scoping out Pinterest for lunch inspiration, kid crafts, workouts, cardmaking ideas, and educational ideas. I fell in love with the Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational website. My friend and I are working with our kiddos on Wednesday afternoons to complete the organ t-shirt. We started last week and read/skimmed through a couple of books about lungs. Our kids loved painting their t-shirts and did not even complain about having to write in their body booklets.

I also got the idea for the oil pan magnetic board from Pinterest. Boogs and I have been enjoying it. I am a little OCD in that I had to kind of organize the Magnetic Poetry words. I recently bought a roll of magnetic sheet to use for our own words and pictures.

The only problem I have with Pinterest is that it soaks up my time. I can sit down to have a quick look and all of the sudden an hour has gone by. Oh well...there are worse ways to waste time.