April 18- 22, 2016
Circulation Crew!
Life is a highway, a circulation highway, that is! We learned all about the components of blood and how it circulates. What an amazing process it is!
We again viewed this adorable video about a red blood cell and his journey. I just can't get enough of his cuteness!
I'll break it down like this: the red blood cells travel from the heart (upon being pumped out) to the lungs, where they pick up oxygen molecules along the way. After leaving the lungs, they travel along the arteries, releasing the oxygen to different areas of the body where it's needed. Upon completing that hefty task, they acquire carbon dioxide molecules (and other waste from the digestive system) on their journey back up through the veins, where the kidneys filter the waste, and the lungs exhale the carbon dioxide. It is a very intricate system! This is all happening at lightening speed inside your body, without you even having to think about it! Amazing :) Read more about this process here: Texas Heart Institute.
I shared pictures of the 4 main components of our blood: red blood cells (our bodies contain around 35 trillion donut-shaped RB cells, which carry oxygen through our circulation system, and collect carbon dioxide for release), white blood cells (vary in shape and size, vital to our immune system, and destroy germs/bacteria/infections; we have far less WB cells than RB cells), platelets (help our blood to clot, or thicken, in order to stop bleeding from a wound), and plasma (made up of mostly water, this helps the cells travel through the circulatory system and strengthens the immune system to ward off infection). Check out the infographic below:
In order to give the kids a more visual and hands-on perspective of what blood actually looks like under a microscope, I found some great ideas on Pinterest! I was able to purchase some red water beads (red blood cells) from our recent teacher conference. I put them in a sensory table with water (plasma), ping-pong balls (white blood cells), and red foam pieces (platelets). They had a blast with this sensory experience!
We also made our own blood sample, using karo syrup (plasma), cinnamon candies (red blood cells), dried lima beans (white blood cells), and dried lentils (platelets). The children put the ingredients into a Ziploc bag so they could view it easier and bring it home! For the babies and toddlers, I made blood sample bottles for them to view in their classroom.
The 3-and-4-year-olds did a heartbeat challenge to see if they could transfer or "pump" as much blood as a heart can in one minute. I showed them a gallon jug filled with water, explaining that our heart pumps just over a gallon (1.3, to be exact) of blood each minute, or roughly 2,000 gallons per day. That equates to approximately 1/4 cup of blood per beat. So, I found this awesome timed challenge in which the children had to see if they could transfer 1.3 gallons of water from one dish tub to another in one minute. However, they could only use a 1/4 measuring cup to do it. We quickly discovered that it was impossible! It gave them a little perspective on just how amazing our heart muscle is!
Super Sleuth Questions
1. What is blood made up of? (answer: red and white blood cells, plasma, and platelets)
2. What color do red blood cells turn when they aren't carrying oxygen? (answer: blue)
3. How many gallons of blood can your heart pump in 1 minute? (answer: just over 1 gallon)
