Body Group continues

Do you think skin is an organ?

This question was how we began our recent body group. I started by approaching our circle time and explaining that I will invite children to body group who are listening and sitting. I then invited one by one by playing the "if you can see me, touch", using different areas where we have skin; eyebrow skin, foot skin. Once we were lined up at the back door we all sat down on the rug and began are warm-up songs. Next I repeated the first question and the children were ready and replied quickly. M said  "what is an organ?".  I explained that they are very important and we need all of them to live. Then I asked  what things pump our blood, help us breath and give us energy for food? The class responded with the heart, lungs and stomach(intestines). "Do you think those are organs?" "Yes" said AK. Then what does skin do thats so important? I asked.

We went over all the functions that skin could have. "It protects from the sun" said T. We talked about how skin could be similar to the heart and other organs. We also worked out that the skin, the heart, and all of our other organs all have a very special job. The discussion first led to how skin can be many colors. Why? We rolled up our sleeves to find out and began comparing arms. "You're darker than T" W told me. I explained that people are born with different melatonin that makes skin darker and protects us from the Sun. "Yeah I get darker when I lay in the sun in the summer" M said. T mentioned using sunscreen and I said, "I don't often wear sunscreen when T needs to use it."

Next we talked about hot/cold. I passed around a bowl of ice and we took turns putting our finger on it. We discussed what it felt like. "It hurt" said AS. I explained if we touch a stove skin allows us to feel so we don't hurt ourselves. "It protects us", said W. Yes, and it also keeps our body the perfect temperature!




Last I had everyone find their elbow and pull the skin. Some kids were grossed out and we asked why can we pull our skin. We came to the consensus that skin is stretchy and flexible. Then we all did our best stretches to prove the point.

We ended by drawing what skin does with a little flip book. Everyone excited to express what they had just learned.