Skeletal System Unit Study ~ 7 Resources and Activities

As you know, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays  ever 
and I simply looooooove 
blogging all of our learning, crafts, treats and general fun.
We're juuuuuust about right to wrap up a study of the skeletal system
in our homeschool......
timed for Halloween...why not, right?
And I thought I'd organize myself as I share
some practical and enjoyable resources in the process.
So here's a gathering, in really, no particular order,
 of a few goodies around the human skeletal system.
Some of these items were used in years past for a study and how much fun we had
re-living the Halloweens and activities we did in 2010 and 2011!

In our homeschool, we don't use a science textbook per se;
Instead, I hunt down resources and sometimes create my own
 to suit our topics and needs.......
~Enjoy~



~1~
Educational DVDs for intro or review: 

Bill Nye's Bones and Muscles

We're huge fans of Bill.

Huge fans.

The way he presents the skeletal and muscular systems here

is fun, thorough and chock full of snippets of info!

Ever hear of Schlessinger Media?
No matter the topic, the systematic offering of facts is
wonderfully engaging!
 Skeletal and Muscular Systems

Eyewitness Skeletal System

We've got a whole shelf of Eyewitness videos and books.

When my kids were small, they were even found immersed in

  Eyewitness books under their covers with flashlights,

waaaaaay after bedtime!

I'm sure you know the series; 

it's  staple in many HSing homes and classroom shelves.

~ 2~ 

Workbook/coloring book
I'm in love with the series of "coloring books" by Wynn Kapit:
The Anatomy Coloring Book is super "advanced." 

Each of the pages on a certain body system  have amazingly detailed focus
and captions on each page that are a wealth of info.
The skeletal system is handled in so in depth a manner.
Names and functions of bones, ligaments, muscles, tendons.
Doesn't it look eye catching?

~3~
Informative/helpful books:
These titles are middle school-ish and fully 
accessible, with practical diagrams and information.

Skeletons: Bones and How They Work

Skeletons: An Inside Look at Animals

No, the above is not solely on the human skeletal system, 
but fascinating and informative nonetheless...

Here's a shot of my little guys about four years ago, studying bones
  and using this title: Uncover the Human Body
 and a few of the resources I mention~~

 The little skeletal system game was found at our local Dollar Tree!!
It's definitely a lot of fun!

 And Skelly, our model?
Not sure where we got it...
it's one of those things that has been in our "schoolroom" forever.
Easily obtainable on amazon or science supply sites.

~4~

~Interactive websites~
These sites are super enjoyable while reinforcing bone placement and names.
At  these sites, kids can
 label the bones, 
play games and reinforce their knowledge!
Enjoy!!

~ 5 ~

Fun and learning with REAL X Rays!!
How cool would it be to  construct a human skeleton
through actual x rays on film??
Guess what....... you can!
I was so excited about these when my friend AnnaMarie shared her set.....
I decided I had to invest in this for our homeschool!
Here are a few shots of how we are using the x rays:

Right now, we've hung and labelled the bones that my son knows.

Tomorrow, from the pelvis down to the metatarsals will be added!

The set provides a label for each bone...

however, I think it's important for my little guy to write his own \

labels...it;s just more interactive than slapping the given label up there.

I just feel it is necessary, given the framework of our instruction.

Many may not.

I'll add the rest of Mr Skeleton when he's completed!

~ 6~

A pretty art project~
Not "scientific," but just fun:
My son created what he is calling a "sugar skull."

Supplies:

8x10 canvas

paint markers

tempera paint and brushes

gems

gravel/sand

I think the making of a sugar skull is kinda individual and pretty
self explanatory....
Enjoy!!

~ 7 ~
Hands -  on Bones!

For some super clever and unique hands-on activities involving bones,
I'm sending you over to my friend,
Anna-Maria at  Life's Adventure,
who blogged her skeletal system activities recently as well.
She's got some pretty cool stuff happening in her homeschool and you  if
you're embarking on this topic, you definitely want to see her what her kids are up to!
I also found my x rays through Anna-Maria!



 ~8 ~
and another unscientific bonus:
Costumes and cookies~

And for a  fun Halloween dress-up  idea.....:
at one point or another,  each of  my kids wore Mr Bones
in years past......
They had to name 10 bones
 before they donned the costume in order to trick or treat......

Gingerbread skeletons??
Yup.
And SO easy too:
The perfect dessert after trick or treating!

Here's what you need:

Gingerbread cookie mix

Wilton icing writer

rolling pin

gingerbread man cookie cutter

(I like the metal cutters, not plastic)

red food color

(for a bit of realistic blood if the kids like!)

Bake, decorate as "skeletally" as possible

 and enjoy!!

Hey, for more fun, treats, crafts, decorating ideas, please head to my 
latest Artful Friday a round up of
Halloween/Autumn Fun:  7 Crafts, Treats, Literature & Decor 

I hope to "see" you there!!

I am grateful to link this post to

 What We're Reading Wednesday

and Conversion Diary's QTs
as well as a few other homeschool/family hops on my sidebar.

 Friends, as always,  

thank you for stopping over and 

spending some of your precious time 

here at my home on the web!
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Until next time,

~Chris

Post dividers and general cutesies,
courtesy of Shabby Blogs

and Visual Insights