November 30- December 4, 2015
Show Me Your Muscles!
We powered up on "Muscle Munchies" this week in Nutrition Expedition! I brought in nibble trays filled with potatoes (contain vitamin B6 that helps breakdown glycogen in order to release glucose, or muscle fuel, to give our body a boost), sunflower seeds (contain vitamin E that boosts antioxidants to fight the free radicals your body produces during exercise, and magnesium that regulates muscle tone and relaxes muscles), garbanzo beans (contain protein to help us build healthy, strong muscles), brown rice (a good source of magnesium) and cottage cheese (a good source of protein). Click on the links above to read more about the health benefits of each food item.
I also introduced the children to Mr. Muscle! He is a cute, plush representation of a muscle cell that I ordered a few weeks ago! The children were able to see how he contracts (bunches up while exerting energy) and extends (stretches out when relaxed). We also learned by studying him that muscles are made up of bundles of stretchy fibers, almost rubber-band-like.
In order to show the children how a muscle functions, I found this resource on how to make a muscle model:
Per instructions, I cut a paper towel tube in half lengthwise, then rolled and taped them to form two smaller tubes. These represented the two bones in our forearm: the radius and the ulna. For the upper arm bone (the humerus), I used a whole paper towel tube. I attached all the "bones" together using rubber bands, so that the arm would function like it had an elbow joint (see link above). Using two long balloons, I partially filled them, making sure to push the air to the center of the balloon so that each had two long ends. I then attached one to the front of the "humerus" to represent the bicep muscle; I also connected it to the "wrist", so that the balloon would stretch when I extended the arm (this represented when the muscle was resting/relaxed). I attached the second balloon to the back side of the humerus to represent the tricep muscle. The kids thought this was really neat, and turned out to be a good way to demonstrate how muscles contract and relax!
Finally, the older children viewed this funny Kids Health video about muscles:
Super Sleuth Questions
1. What are your skeletal muscles attached to? (answer: your bones!)
2. What does it mean when your muscle contracts? (answer: it bunches up when you are using it)
3. Do you use more muscles when you smile or when you frown? (answer: when you frown)
