Children learn by doing, and science experiments and projects are a great way for them to learn about their bodies and their health in general. These health science projects are appropriate for elementary-aged children, and can be done in school, at home with a parent, or with a group of children in a homeschool co-op program.
Eating Well
Have the child make a Healthy Eating Pyramid to hang on his refrigerator or bedroom door. Draw a large triangle, and separate it into the sections found in the food pyramid. There is a link to one in the Resources section. Have the child draw or list different types of foods found in each category. Have the child check off the number of servings of each category of food that he eats in a given day. Ask him to keep a journal of how well he did satisfying the guidelines for each food group over the course of a week. This will help the child to recognize good eating habits and minimize the need for parental nagging for the child to eat better.
Cleanliness
This experiment gives a shocking glimpse at the flora and fauna that live on human hands, as well as on other household surfaces. Collect four tops from peanut butter jars, or similarly sized receptacles. These will need to be thrown out after the experiment. Pour about a quarter cup of tomato soup concentrate in each peanut butter lid. Use one cotton tipped applicator to swab the child's palm (do not have the child wash his hands first for best results), then swirl the applicator through one lid of tomato soup. Repeat the procedure with different cotton swabs on various household surfaces. Good places to swab include a doorknob, the telephone and the toilet flush handle. Swish these through separate lids of tomato soup concentrate. Label each container. Observe the tomato soup each day for seven days, and have the child draw what they look like each day. Different types of bacteria and viruses found in various areas will begin growing different colored molds in the soup. Discard the soup and the lids when the week is over.
Dental Health
Ask your dentist for disclosing tablets. These are tablets that the child can suck on that will turn red in the presence of plaque. Ask the child to brush his teeth, then have him dissolve a disclosing tablet in his mouth. Show him the areas of plaque, and demonstrate more effectively brush. Teach the child floss his teeth as well. Have him brush all of the red off to remove all of the plaque.
Show the child how soda negatively affects teeth. Place a baby tooth (from your child, another child, or from your dentist, if he will allow you to have one) in a glass, and pour about an inch of regular cola on top of it. Check the tooth each day, and have the child draw pictures of the results. As the days wear on, the cola will erode all of the enamel off of the tooth. This will give kids a great visual to remember when making choices about drinking soda, and also when brushing their teeth.
Tags: tomato soup, child draw, each category, from your, have child
