Lucas was given his clay sculpture and instructed to use a carving tool to create the remaining fur portion of his sculpture. Lucas and I took the sculpture to the oven and baked it at 200ﾟ for 10 minutes. Once the sculpture came out of the oven and cooled I had Lucas paint the entire sculpture in gray paint. We let the sculpture dry and applied a coat of white paint for the fur. Lucas let the layer dry and applied a second coat, painted the eyes black and the nose pink to complete the sculpture.
Nikki was given her clay sculpture and instructed to start creating the arms of her character. I had her use a piece of armature wire, cut it to the length of the arms, cover the armature wire with tin foil and clay, and attach the arms to the body. Nikki continued the same process for the rear legs and tail of her sculpture.
Lucas was given his clay sculpture and we worked on creating the legs and tail. I showed Lucas how to use an etching tool to create fur across the back of his sculpture.
Nikki was instructed to find a creature or reference image that she would like to use for her sculpture. Nikki found an image of a creation that was half owl and half cat. I walked her through the process of balling tinfoil to create the body and head. I instructed her to cover the foil with clay and use armature wire to connect the two pieces. We followed the same process to create the wings of her sculpture.
Assignment
n/a
Session Minutes
45
Minutes Student Attended
45
Lesson Comments
Lucas and Nikki had a friend that came with them to work on the project.
Review of topics covered last year and organ systems left to discuss.
Lesson Outline
Nikki and I spoke about her trip. She showed me shells, skulls, and an unidentified bone that she had collected. We spoke about the structures and tried to figure our what animal the bone might have come from. It is still a mystery.
We then listed the organ systems we covered last year, answered the last question regarding the genitourinary system where we had left off, and then listed some topics we would like to cover in the coming sessions. They include: endocrine system, infertility, labor and delivery, inheritance of traits (genetics).
Assignment
Continue to work to identify the mystery bone.
Session Minutes
60
Minutes Student Attended
60
Lesson Comments
Nikki seems to have had a wonderful experience in her travels. She expresses herself very well, and seems to apply her knowledge to the things she sees and discovers on her own. She appears more and more self-motivated and eager to develop her knowledge. This is wonderful to see. Sh is very intelligent and it was a pleasure seeing her again.
(I needed to leave 5 minutes early, so the session was actually 55 min).
Review and complete the female reproductive system
Male reproductive today we first spoke about what Nikki found on the internet regarding the formation of the chicken egg compared to the human egg.
Next we reviewed the female reproductive system. Nikki had questions about infertility (a topic which she brought up after researching her last assignment). We talked about what infertility is and some of the reasons that a couple could have difficulty conceiving, both male and female factors.
We then went over male reproductive anatomy. We spoke about the formation of sperm as compared to the formation of the egg.
We also spoke about why urination and ejaculation cannot happen simultaneously. The homework this week is for the teacher!...I am going to speak with a urologist and an infertility specialist for some subspecialty detail on our lesson today.
Review outstanding topic from last session: short video on vision and focus/ nearsightedness and farsightedness.
Begin genitourinary system, form and function. Review outstanding topic from last session: short video on vision and focus/ nearsightedness and farsightedness.
Begin genitourinary system, form and function. We spoke about why the 2 systems are grouped together, as they are derived from the same embryonic tissue and their corollary structures. We began with the urinary system, identifying the parts and then describing the various functions of the kidneys and how they help maintain homeostasis in the body. We then moved on to the female reproductive system. Again we began by identifying the parts and found some fun illustrations on the internet about the reproductive organs of the chicken. Next time we will talk more about the female reproductive system (starting from what Nikki found doing her assignment), and then move on to the male reproductive system.
Assignment
I asked Nikki to look up more about the formation of the eggs in birds and see how that compares to humans.
Review homework.
Anatomy and physiology of hearing and balance...
Anatomy and physiology of vision..We started with a short video on how sound waves are transmitted from the environment through the ear and up to the brain. We saw some gross anatomical structures and how neuronal cells have unique adaptations in different organs.
We then moved on to how balance works, again looking at the gross and microscopic anatomical features.
Assignment
Draw and label eye. Investigate differences between human and bird's vision.
Review Nikki's homework...
Learn about the cranial nerves and their functions...
Begin discussion of the anatomy and physiology of the ear..Today we began with Nikki's homework. She did an excellent job with "birdbrain" and the crossword puzzle. She pointed out some similarities and differences between the bird and the human brain. Her drawing led us to focus on the structure and function of the ear later in the session.
After the homework we talked about the cranial nerves. We saw how, like other nerves in the body, they occur on both sides...that is, they are paired. We talked about the functions of the 12 cranial nerves, saw that some have motor and some have sensory functions (some have both) and some have autonomic functions (like the vagus nerve).
Then we proceeded to outline the different parts of the ear (outer, middle, and inner), and the functions of those parts.
Next week we will focus more on how the structure of the ear is uniquely adapted for its function, and then we will move on to the eye and examine its structure and function in the same way.
Review homework. Talk about the homunculus and dermatomes as a review to lead us to the following topics:
-the central and peripheral nervous systems
-the cells of the nervous system: the neurons
-the somatic and the autonomic nervous systems
-gray and white matter in the brain and spinal cord
-functions of the different parts of the brain
Assignment
"bird brain" - research what the bird's brain looks like and see how it compares to our brains. Review the handout on the function of the different parts of the brain and complete the crossword puzzle.
Session Minutes
120
Minutes Student Attended
120
Lesson Comments
Today was a busy day! First we reviewed Nikki's homework. She did a beautiful drawing of the homunculus (spelling was reemphasized). The drawing demonstrated how some parts of the body are disproportionately represented based on the different number of neurons needed for the function of individual body parts; we discussed this in more detail. We also reviewed what dermatomes are and discussed how that relates to the disease called Shingles.
Next, we discussed and illustrated the components of the central and peripheral nervous systems. We then focused on the neuron, the cell type that makes up the nervous system. We discussed how it is uniquely adapted for the conduction of electrical signals throughout the body. Integrating form and function, we discussed and illustrated the somatic and autonomic nervous systems. The somatic nervous system interacts with the outside world; hence, there are sensory and motor components of the somatic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system deals more with one's organs and functions more automatically; as part of that discussion, we differentiated between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Lastly, we circled back to the functions of the different parts of the brain, how the brain has two hemispheres, and how the different hemispheres control the different sides of the body. We used the example of a stroke, or a blood clot to parts of the brain, to illustrate how that would affect functions in different parts of the body.
Nikki was very engaged and inquisitive. We had a wonderful lesson.
Review homework.
Complete circulatory system.
Begin nervous system.
Assignment
Nikki will review our lesson with drawings. I am particularly excited to see Nikki's illustrations of the homunculus.
Session Minutes
120
Minutes Student Attended
120
Lesson Comments
Today we started by reviewing Nikki's homework. She did an excellent job of the diagrams of the bird's heart and major vessels. For the digestive system of the bird, she beautifully illustrated the differences she found between the human and avian digestive systems. Definitely A work!
Next we picked up where we left off with the circulatory system. We talked about how the vessels become smaller and smaller until the level of the capillaries where gas and nutrients exchange occurs at the different organs. And of course, we illustrated how the capillaries then joined into larger and larger vessels to return to the heart for another pump around the body.
The next organ system we decided to focus on was the nervous system. We started with the brain and discussed the different lobes of the brain and how they have different functions. We talked about the cerebral cortex being the control center of the brain and learned the meaning of "homunculus."
