I get asked often how I am so creative and how I am able to put together such interesting unit studies.
Some amazing mamas feel that somehow they are not able to do what I do. But they are so wrong.
You see sweet mama, I have eleven years of homeschooling under my belt. Eleven years of trial and error. Eleven years of learning what works for our family and what doesn’t. I have eleven years of tools and ideas in my head. When I first started homeschooling I was unsure of my ability to teach my children. I questioned myself. I read all sorts of homeschool books, talked to so many different homeschool mamas, and got ideas from other homeschool mamas online. Now, I’m able to pick up some library books and I am able to put together our own unit studies all on my own. We do a mixture of buying resources as well as our own hands on activities.
So here is a reminder to you sweet mama, if you want something to come natural to you, just practice something over and over again. At first you’ll borrow ideas from others and then you’ll have enough tools to make it your own.
“Do not compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.”-Tim Hiller
Dissecting a Kidney
We each have two kidneys. Our kidneys are so important because it removes toxic waste from our bodies. Our kidneys job is also to maintain the right amount of salt in our body.
A kidney looks like a bean-like shape. On each side of our spine of our back, the kidney is located. The kidney seems like a basic organ.
A kidney has an artery known as renal artery which delivers blood to the kidney.
A kidney has a vein known as the renal vein which takes the filtered blood away from the kidney.
A ureter delivers waste from the kidney to the urinary bladder. When there is too much waste our body tells us that we need to pee.
We love dissecting everything we can. We ordered our kidney from Home Science Tools.
Kidney and Blood Filtration
We can think of kidneys as filters. It is their job to filter blood in the same way that cars have oil filters to remove contaminations from motor oil so that it does not return to the engine.
Any extra material in blood has to be removed or else the materials could accumulate and build up to toxic levels.
We love kits that can help us understand a concept better.
In this kit we created an artificial kidney and exposed the blood (not real) to a filtration process very similar to our kidney. Here we put “blood” in a dialysis tube. This tube is designed to allow certain materials to pass through it while preventing other material from crossing it.
We ordered this kit from Home Science Tools.
Urinary System
The Urinary System is far from what many understand it to be before discovering what it does. First the kidney filtration begins by removing any unnecessary or harmful bacteria in the blood and turns it into urine. The urine then travels through a tube that leads to the bladder known as the ureters. Then there’s the bladder which I’m sure needs no explanation. And the urethra is what removes urine from the system. The urinary system is very important for many reasons and really shows the importance of the kidneys.
We made a model of the Urinary system using homemade playdough. We bought a large roll of brown paper from the dollar store and covered our table with it, this way the cleanup was easy.
To make the play dough you will need 1 cup of flour, 1/4 cups of salt, 1/2 cup of warm water, a few drops of oil, and some food coloring. You want to mix the salt with the flour. In a separate bowl mix the water with the food coloring and oil. Then slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. If it is still sticky add more flour.
Urine Test
Urine Tests can tell you about your health. When I was pregnant with my daughter Esther I loved eating a dessert that had poppy seeds in it. I craved it. So when I went in to give birth to my baby, I had to take a urine test and doctors found traces of opium. A woman who works for the child protective services came in to talk to me. I basically had to convince her that I was not an addict. I’m so glad I was able to remember that I had eaten the dessert filled with poppy filling. My explanation was valid.
We ordered on amazon Urinalysis Reagent Strips. On-line we were able to check our results. It was a great experience for my kids and I.
Some of us need to drink more water because dark urine is a sign that a person is dehydrated.
The amount of water a person needs to drink all depends on their age, weight, and gender. A newborn baby needs to drink 74% of their body weight. A man needs 60%, Woman 50%, and an elderly person 40%.
Thank you for reading our blog post. We share a new blog post every Tuesday and Thursday at 8pm.
Cristina Petrini
I love how you managed to make an afternoon of study and homework a fun adventure!
Lisa
This is so unique! I can’t remember learning about the liver in school let alone at home! What an educational kit for kids.
Chad
This is amazing, such a fun way to learn a difficult topic. You’re so creative, i am so impressed.
wander women abroad
WOW what a great wat to make learning fun with the kids! I will have to try something similar with my kiddos
Erika
It looks as if you make learning so much fun. Your kids look so engaged and enthusiastic.
kumamonjeng
The setting of the house is like a classroom and I am so proud of you and the kids. They get to sit down together and listen to your teaching. May I ask how do you make them all sit down together and listen? I think it is quite challenging to make them sit quietly and listen.
Samantha
We are a homeschool family as well! Love seeing into your ‘classroom’! Looks so fun! Thanks for sharing!
Sam
What a great way to be hands on! The kidney kit is really cool; actually all three of these are cool. It’s a great way to learn and to remember what you experienced (and to know how much water to drink).
Gladys Nava
Oh wow! It really looks great that kids love to learn about the kidney. It looks also a bonding moment.
Emmy
I’ll be ordering from Home Science Tools now. My homeschooler is only in the second grade, but he loves this kind of stuff. I ordered him an age-appropriate anatomy book from Usborne, but I think he would prefer this since he learns best when it is hands on.
Jasmine Hewitt
this is a really engaging way to learn. I love the concept and design!
Lyosha
Kidneys are very important! I have learnt it when I was little via family memeber’s issues. I always keep an eye on my kidneys
Alexandra Cook
What a unique and creative way of learning. I love this idea. This makes the kid easier to understand our body system.
Becca Wilson
I absolutely love this! Teaching kids new things with hands on approaches is such a great idea. I would have even learned something here.
Shannon Gurnee
That is so awesome that you are able to homeschool your kids in this way! It looks like they are having a great time while learning.
Kalyan Panja
Thanks for providing more information about the kidney. Your suggestions are good.
Nati
You do such an awesome job homeschooling your kids! This unit is definitely TOP CLASS!