Learning about the Skeletal System
Teaching your kids about the human body can be an exciting journey, and one of the most fascinating parts to start with is the skeletal system!
Our bones provide structure, protect vital organs, and allow us to move—but there’s so much more to them than meets the eye. In this post, we’ll explore engaging and hands-on ways to teach your kids all about their amazing skeletons.
Why Teach the Skeletal System?
Understanding the skeletal system helps kids appreciate the inner workings of their bodies and how to care for them. It’s foundational knowledge for more advanced science topics, and learning about bones can also inspire curiosity about biology, anatomy, and health. Plus, this subject offers endless opportunities for fun, creative activities that can solidify what they’re learning.
A Few Facts About the Skeletal System
- How many bones are in the human body? At birth, humans have about 270 bones, but as we grow, some bones fuse together, leaving us with 206 bones in adulthood.
- The longest bone in the human body is the femur (thigh bone), while the smallest is the stapes in the ear.
- Bones are alive! They contain living cells that help them grow, heal, and remodel over time.
- Your bones are stronger than steel—ounce for ounce, bone is even stronger than concrete!
You can learn more about the skeletal system with a Human Anatomy book for your homeschool classroom.
Hands-On Activities to Learn About Bones
X-Ray Art Make “X-rays” by having your kids trace their hands and feet, then draw the bones inside using white crayons or colored pencils on black paper. This visual will help reinforce how bones are structured and how they appear under an actual X-ray.
Create a DIY Skeletal System Model Let your kids trace their bodies on large pieces of paper, then work together to draw and label the bones inside their outlines. This can serve as a great visual aid, and your kids will love customizing their own skeletons!
Play “Guess the Bone” Using either a printable or a set of flashcards, quiz your children on the different bones in the body. Start with major bones like the skull, spine, and ribs, then move to smaller bones like the phalanges (finger bones) or scapula (shoulder blade). This can be turned into a fun family game.
Build a Skeleton with Pasta or Craft Sticks Craft supplies like pasta shapes or wooden craft sticks can be turned into bones. Have your kids glue them onto construction paper in the shape of a skeleton. As they do this, you can talk about the purpose of each bone and how they fit together.
The Skeletal System in Action Help your kids understand how bones work together by doing simple movements like bending their arms or walking. Discuss which bones are involved in each action and how joints like the knees and elbows work. This can lead into a fun discussion about muscles and ligaments, too.
Assemble a “Skeleton” With an x-ray set, you can challenge your kids to put together a skeleton from the x-rays.
Dive Deeper
If your kids are eager to learn more, consider incorporating additional resources like books, videos, and online simulations. A few suggestions include:
- Books: “The Skeleton Inside You” by Philip Balestrino or “Bones: Our Skeletal System” by Seymour Simon.
- Videos: YouTube videos like the one below offer child-friendly animated clips on the skeletal system, explaining more complex topics in a fun and accessible way:
Printable Resources: You can find worksheets and skeletal diagrams that allow kids to label and color the bones. These can be used as review or for quizzes.
If you want to use a curriculum to cover human anatomy, check out Apologia’s Human Anatomy. The curriculum discusses the various types of joints. After reading about this, your children can feel their own joints to consider how they work.
You can complete this study about the skeletal system with an assignment of identifying different kinds of joints and drawing a model of their own skeleton.
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