Ben answered the Lesson 2 Review questions and we discussed: heredity, environment, the ways media and technology influence health, steps to take to avoid heart disease. We started Lesson 3 Health Risks and Your Behavior. He created a cluster chart of health risks. We read about Real Life Issues.

Aiden and I continued with the video we were watching last week.
As we watched the video we had opportunities to discuss what was happening in the video. We were able to answer questions about the video.

Ben answered the rest of the Lesson 1 Review questions in his notebook. We discussed his answers. We moved onto Lesson 2 and began creating a KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learn) chart about influences on health.

Ben and I reviewed the Health Triangle: Physical, Mental/Emotional, Social health. We discussed nutrition and the food pyramid. He read about spiritual health, wellness, chronic disease and the health continuum. We discussed. He began writing his answers to the Lesson 1 Review.

Ben and I performed the hand-press breathing exercise to train our nervous systems to exit the fight-or-flight response. We finished our lesson on how drugs affect the brain. We began a lesson on Your Total Health. Ben drew a cluster chart and brainstormed the different aspects of health. We read about physical and mental/emotional health and discussed. We observed and discussed the Health Triangle: social, physical and mental/emotional health.

I introduced the vagus nerve to Ben and discussed its health implications. He watched a video explaining what the vagus nerve is and how it impacts health. He took notes and we discussed. He watched a video demonstrating a palm press breathing exercise to balance the vagus nerve to get out of the fight-or-flight response. We practiced the breathing exercise. We then shifted gears to discuss the brain on drugs. He read part of an illustrated student handbook published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that explains how drugs affect three different parts of the brain: the basal ganglia, the extended amygdala and the prefrontal cortex.

I introduced Ben to the topics in Health class that we will be learning about. We completed a chair yoga class together. We discussed how our health encompasses emotions, nutrition, physical fitness, and mental health.

We discussed Ben's activities at camp and attempted to relate it to general topics in health. He mentioned that it was an all boys camp and that he went swimming and on walks. However, he said he was very tired today and grew frustrated when further queried, so we switched gears and Ben researched additional topics in health on the computer. He found an interesting video called "Adam ruins Everything," which dispelled myths about pseudo science ("Adam ruins Nutrition"). It proved to be an excellent choice which aligned with the subject. Ben summarized the take-away expertly, demonstrating excellent comprehension and higher inferential and critical reasoning skills.

Today David and I discussed how male's and female's brains are very similar as well as very different.

David and I watched a video about bullying. We discussed the different types of bullying and how it affects everyone. We talked about how bullying is physical, verbal, non-verbal and even can be cyber bullying.