Germy Monday

We read Cell Wars by Francis L. Balkwill and Mic Rolph. Dudeman was having a squirmy day, but reading the book Star Wars-style helped a lot. After the first few pages, he settled down and we were all rooting for the neutrophils, lymphocites, macrophages, and antibodies. (And humming the Star Wars theme song!) After working on their science notebook pages, the kids watched a BrainPop movie about the immune system and took the quiz.

Then we visted this awesome website:

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/scale/




Finally, we tried a cool experiment to test the importance of hand washing. While I sliced and blanched a peeled potato, the kids got their hands as filthy as possible. They touched doorknobs, dogs, the soles of their shoes, and even the dust behind the TV. Then they each handled one potato slice before dropping it into a plastic bag. Dudeman rubbed another potato slice on the bathroom floor. Supersim let one of the dogs lick one (it's the one with the bite out of it.) Those went into their own plastic bags.

Next, they washed their hands thoroughly with lots of soap and hot water. They handled another potato slice with freshly washed hands before dropping it in another bag.

We'll check on them in a couple of days to see what happens...