Piecing Together Anatomy

This school year, I’m wanting to introduce the kids to anatomy and nutrition. For one, Oldest has been hounding us with questions about how do we eat, where does food go, what is sweat, what do our bones do, and tons more. And conveniently, year one of the classical cycle recommends a study in anatomy since this is the “science” that this time period was most familiar with (think mummification and preserving body organs).

Purchasing a science curriculum would have been very appealing, but it wasn’t really in the budget and probably isn’t in our time-frame either. To fit it in, anatomy and nutrition will need to be very relaxed—once or twice a week and rainy days. I really liked the look of Apologia’s anatomy; but once again, my children are young, and a full curriculum wasn’t really a wise stewardship of funds right now. So, I’ve worked to piece together some resources for our study.

(I did have a friend loan me Answer in Genesis’s God’s Design for Life books and will be using the human body book as a read aloud.)

Usborne’s See Inside Your Body (I already owned.)

Notebooking Pages (my only purchase)

Toddler-size skeleton poster

Experiments, worksheets, and lots of other ideas (Spell Out Loud blog)

Little D’s Nutrition Expedition lesson plans/activities and My Plate printables

For my own prep, I read Gary Thomas’s book Every Body Matters. The book gives a great Christian perspective on why health is important for your spiritual growth.

Thomas illustrates how becoming physically fit can lead to:

  • increased sensitivity to God’s voice
  • renewed energy for God’s work
  • greater joy for living
  • a fortified soul better able and more willing to serve and love others

The goal in this pursuit is not sculpting thinner or more athletic-looking bodies. The goal is to cultivate stronger, well-nourished bodies that are primed to become, in the words of the apostle Paul, ‘instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the master and prepared to do any good work.’ –(from back cover)

As we embark on these lessons of how are bodies are made and what our bodies need, I want to have the right perspective and I want to teach from the right perspective. Healthy bodies are not a priority so that we live longer or have more energy, because it makes us feel good or it makes us feel better about ourselves; we were created to bring glory to God. Understanding our bodies and what our bodies need is important, not that we can serve ourselves better but that we might serve God better!

I hope to post a little bit more about this book in the month’s ahead, and I can’t wait to share this journey—both with my children and with you!

 

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Published by Tracy
Our life is creative and full, challenging and blessed. I'm a pastor's wife and homeschool mom to my crew of three kids with ADHD/dyslexia. I'm passionate about helping women find joy and hope in treasuring Christ, loving their families well, and finding creative ways to disciple and teach in their homeschools. Visit growingNgrace.com to find grace for the messes and mistakes, and knowledge to pick up the pieces and make something special. Let’s grow together!

4 thoughts on “Piecing Together Anatomy

  1. We started on Apologia Anatomy last yr. Unfortunately, we did not finish it last yr. We plan to finish it this yr. though.

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      Post Author Tracy

      Kelley, you’ll have to check out the SpellOutLoud link in the post. She has some great ideas to complement Apologia from her co-op class (K-2) that she taught.

  2. Thanks for sharing this Tracy! For our science co-op, I will be teaching an eleven week unit on the human body next spring. Your post has helped me get some great ideas to incorporate.

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