Animal Cell Models

I have to say, I'm enjoying our science studies this year.  Truly.  We are taking a break from the Apologia series and going back to Real Science 4 Kids.  We're using the middle school series for grades 5-8 that covers Physics, Chemistry and Biology.  I have three of the kids using it this year and they are in 2nd, 5th, and 7th grade.

So far this year we've finished Chemistry and we're well into our Biology studies.  I break each unit up into 2 lesson. The first lesson is me reading aloud from the student book while encouraging the kids to take notes on what they are learning.  I write notes on the board for my 2nd grader to copy in a very simple form.   She doesn't always keep up with her note taking but it's amazing how quickly she is developing this skill of hearing information, picking out important concepts, writing them down, asking clarifying questions, and using her notes to retell what she has learned.  All the kids are learning this to varying degrees (see there's more to science than just science!)

Then the second lesson is dedicated to the lab experiment or activity for that chapter.  This keeps our lessons in enjoyable bite-sized chunks without me or them experiencing science over load.

Right now we are in chapter 2 or 3 learning about plant vs. animal cells.  I extended this chapter quite a bit by purchasing a model of a plant cell that they can take a part and reassemble.  I used this in our year-long study of botany last year as well.



I also printed out plant cells for them to color as we discussed the different organelles.


In a different lesson we learned about the animal cells and then made a model of our own.  I happen to have a bunch of thick Styrofoam  in the house due to a recent furniture purchase.  So we used a box cutter to cut out circles and use them as the base of our model. 

I then gave the kids pony beads, craft sticks, pipe cleaners, fuzzy balls, macaroni noodles, and a bit of left over modeling clay to create the organelles.   It was nice that I didn't have to buy any new materials for this project.  I was able to pick through our art cupboard and use materials that I have been gathering and using over the years in our homeschool.  If you aren't already in the process of building an art cupboard, I would highly suggest it!  It helps keep our room organized and provides many of the materials we use in any number of projects.

The kids had a great time with this activity.  Everyone was happy and busy.  I even heard, "Mom, I love homeschooling!" during this project.  Ahhh...so worth it!





 I think they turned out pretty great!