Fun Ways We Learn About the Human Body in Our Homeschool
We are getting ready for a new homeschool year, and I am so excited! One of the things I am looking forward to most is diving into the human body in science. This year our homeschool science focuses heavily on the human body and its systems, and I just know my girls are going to love learning about how their bodies work.
I have been preparing some really fun resources to use with my kids, and I cannot wait to share them with you. Today I want to show you the tools, activities, and books we are planning to use to make learning about the human body interactive, memorable, and so much fun. Whether you are getting ready for Cycle 3 like we are or just looking for great resources to teach the human body at home, I hope this post gives you some ideas and gets you excited too!
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Felt Bodies and Organs on the Wall
One of the things I am most excited about for Cycle 3 is our felt bodies! These are large felt bodies that hang up on the wall, and kids can snap organs on and off in the appropriate spots. Heart, lungs, intestines, stomach, brain — they can place each one where it belongs and take them off again.
My girls have already been playing with these all the time! They will walk by and snap a heart into place or pull all the organs off and try to put them back in the correct spots. It has become such a natural, everyday way for them to get familiar with where things go in the body. And because the felt bodies are right there by our table, the kids interact with them during meals, while we are doing other schoolwork, and even just during free play.
What I love about this kind of resource is that the learning happens almost without kids realizing it. They are playing and having fun, but they are also building real knowledge about the human body that sticks because they are using their hands and seeing it over and over again.
I have patterns available for people to make the bodies and organs using felt or paper! You can find them in my shop here.
Systems of the Human Body Activity Book
Another resource I am so excited to use is our Systems of the Human Body Activity Book! This book takes kids on a journey through 10 body systems with beautifully designed pages full of interactive activities. Kids get to color organs, label body parts, and explore fascinating facts that bring each system to life.
What I really appreciate about this book is that it goes beyond just coloring. It includes flowcharts, match ups, fill in the blank activities, and more. It gives kids a way to dive deeper into how their bodies work through hands on activities that keep them engaged and learning.
My plan is to use this activity book on our science focus days to help us dig a bit deeper into whatever body system we are studying that week. It is a perfect companion to the weekly memory work and will give the girls something tangible to work through. From the beating heart to the tiniest blood cell, this book is designed to help kids discover how their bodies work in a way that is both fun and meaningful.
You can grab the Systems of the Human Body Activity Book in my shop here!
Science Placemats at Mealtimes
If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know how much I love using placemats as a learning tool. I am so excited to use our Cycle 3 Science and History Placemats this year to help us learn about the human body and dig into chemistry!
These placemats are designed to go along with all 24 weeks of memory work. They do not just review key facts, they also dive deeper with timelines, captions, and thoughtfully designed images. My plan is to set out the science placemat that matches with our memory work for the week so we can read over it together and talk about what we see during meals.
This is one of the simplest tools I have found for adding depth to our learning. There is no prep required. You just set them out on the table and the conversations happen naturally. Kids will point to an image and ask about it, or notice a new detail they did not see the last time. It sparks curiosity and helps them dig deeper into the science topics without adding anything to your to do list.
These placemats are designed to coordinate beautifully with Cycle 3 memory work, but they also stand on their own and make a great supplement to any science study. I have placemats that align with the science and history memory work for all 24 weeks! They will be available in my shop soon so stay tuned!
How It All Works Together
What I love about these resources is that they are all designed to work together so naturally. Here is how I am planning to use them on a typical science focus day. I will set out the science placemat at the table so we can look at it together during breakfast. Then during our subject focus time, the girls will work through a few pages in their Systems of the Human Body Activity Book. Throughout the day, they can play with their felt bodies on the wall, snapping organs on and off. And in the afternoon or evening, we will read a picture book about the body to round things out.
None of these things take a huge amount of time on their own. But layered together throughout the week, they will give my kids a rich, hands on understanding of how their bodies work. The repetition across different formats, visual, tactile, and through reading, is what really makes learning stick.
Our Favorite Human Body Picture Books
I have also been gathering some wonderful picture books about the human body that I cannot wait to read with my girls this year. I love having books on hand that connect to what we are studying because it gives us another way to explore the topic together. Here are some we are excited to dive into:
- The Magic School Bus Presents: The Human Body by Dan Green
- Lift the Flaps: Human Body by IglooBooks
- Inside Your Outside! All About the Human Body by Tish Rabe
- 50 Amazing Facts About Bones by Jessica Jung
- The Magic School Bus Inside the Human Body by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen
- First Encyclopedia of the Human Body by Fiona Chandler
- Lots of Things to Know About Your Body by Sarah Hull
These books range from fun and silly to more detailed and informational, so there is something for every age and interest level. If you are studying the human body with your kids, I would highly recommend adding a few of these to your library list!
I hope this post gave you some fun ideas for teaching your kids about the human body! Whether you use all of these tools or just one or two, the most important thing is making the learning hands on, engaging, and joyful. I am so excited to start Cycle 3 with my girls, and I hope this gets you excited too whether you are beginning Cycle 3 or just looking for fun ways to explore the human body with your kids. Please comment below with any questions or share your favorite ways to teach the human body at home!
