"Hands on" Learning

This week, following a child's request, we have started researching BONES. I couldn't decide if it was appropriate or cutesy to be focusing on skeletons for the two weeks before Halloween, but I'm guessing the interest stemmed from some of the skeleton reading material that has been around the classroom.

At circle time we read a couple books about bones and the importance of the skeletal system. We learned that the hands has 27 bones in all. 

It sure is easy to find skeletons this time of year. The kids enjoyed comparing it to the book.

I filled a rubber glove full of water to show the kids what a hand would feel like without bones. A similar activity can be found here. We used the hand to try and hold a book or a marker, but it wouldn't work.

I saw an x-ray handprint activity on pinterest from this blog and expanded the activity from there. I painted the bones on their right hands and we stamped them onto paper. While I painted we counted the finger bones (One, two, three annnnd a long one to the wrist). I then traced their left hands for them and they drew the bones on with a marker while counting (one, two, three annnnd a long one to the wrist). 

I can't wait to see where our research takes us next week.