All about the Body Project
Following a child’s interest is one of the most powerful methods of teaching.
Preston has always been interested in the body and the function of each organ. To expand on this we began a progressive project to learn about the function of each organ through fun art works.
We began by outlining the boys on large pieces of paper.
Brain
The first organ we focused on was the brain, the super computer of the body.
Use hot glue or pva to attach thick string or wool to the printable outline.
We painted over the sting with a brain-coloured paint(I mixed pink and orange).
Heart
The heart is a large pump and this is the concept I wanted to boys to learn through this artwork. We used a thickening medium mixed with paint in small needle nose bottles to simulate this function. The boys used the bottles to pump paint onto their outline.
Lungs
This project was the boys’ favorite and the one that made me the most nervous. To demonstrate what our lungs do we attempted bubble painting on the lung outlines.
To create the bubble painting I mixed the following in a glass:
½ cup water
Washable watercolors to desired colour
2 teaspoons of dishwashing liquid.
The boys then used straws to blow into the cup until the bubbles covered the top of the cup. We lay the paper on top of the bubbles positioning the lung outlines accordingly.
Stomach
To imitate the function of the stomach breaking down food, the boys used flour sifters to breakdown (sift) the paint before they added it to their stomach outline.
Liver
The liver has two large blood vessels that carry blood to it. To imitate this function, we used straws to blow paint across the outline of the liver pintables. The straws carried the air to pushed the paint across the page.
Kidneys
Our kidneys act like filters to our body. For this art project the boys painted through glitter shaker lids to filter the lumps from the paint.
Bladder
The bladder is possibly our least glamorous organ. It acts as a storage container for all our liquid waste before it is expelled. For this organ the boys used plastic bags to paint the printed outline of their bladder.
Intestines
The intestines absorb any nutrients left before the waste is expelled from the body. For this organ the boys used salt painting. The salt absorbs water from paint mimicking the function of the intestines. Using thinned paint the boys painted the entire surface of the printable. Both coarse and fine grains of salt were sprinkled over the wet paint. Once dry, we brushed off the salt and a fantastic pattern was revealed.
Our finished artworks!!