Apologia Young Explorers Heart Models

Last week, we invested an enormous amount of time learning about circulation in the heart.  This week we made the heart models from the book.  A bit of a mess--okay a big mess!  We created the models, labeled the components, and traced blood flow through the heart. Yeah! We spent a little time reviewing our jobs for Head Start.  I'll post the event next time.  As for the heart model, note the position of the atria and ventricles with respect to one's own body.  Here is a completed model.  I spent time individually with each child quizzing them on blood flow through the heart, emphasizing the fact arteries take blood away from the heart and veins deliver blood to the heart.  Remember red is oxygenated and blue is deoxygenated.  Right and left atria and ventricles and pulmonary arteries and veins are confusing.  Pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs.  Pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood from the lungs back to the heart.  The older kids, ten and eleven, can master these.  The little ones?  Not so much.  I still had them do some copy work labeling their models.  How much will they retain?  Probably not as much as you might hope.  But, they'll be familiar with the terms the next time they encounter the material.  I think exposure is important for elementary or primary level students.  After all, they'll revisit these same ideas either in middle school or high school.  At each stage, the child is more developed and better equipped to assimilate the material.