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Mavi was so excited about this. He has always been so curious of the human heart and how it works. Because he reads some biographies, he would encounter terms like “died of heart attack” LOL and most probably triggered his curiosity and enthusiasm in learning about the heart. So I worked hard to create learning materials for our study and I’m so happy that they turned out pretty good, and Mavi loves it!
Objectives why we study the human heart:
Learn how the heart works
Learn why it is one of the most important organs in the body
Learn its functions
Learn how to avoid getting heart diseases
Learn how to maintain a healthy heart
Learning about the human heart might be too advanced for a 7 years old. But Mavi was persistent, and because I created the materials suitable for his age (lots of graphic presentation) he was engaged the entire time we talked about this important internal organ. Another advantage of learning this at home is that I get to filter “complex” concepts. This means, I set aside information that he can’t absorb yet and save it once he’s old enough to understand complex functions of the heart.
So let me share with you how we worked on our human heart. Links to the materials used are provided by the end of the post, including where to buy heart models.
The Human Heart and its Parts
It’s always been a practice that we always start learning about different parts of our subject. And in Mavi’s case, he learns and absorbs everything with the use of 3-part cards. We’ve been using this technique since he was 3 years old and so far he’s used to learning this way. The retention is great, he can remember the parts by working on these cards over and over again.
Of course, having a heart model adds up to the fun in learning. It’s the closest we can visualize what the heart really looks like, unless we dissect a pig’s heart 
Aside from the 3 part cards, we also used the definition booklet that comes with it, so handy whenever I need to describe each part, its function and how it works. We took turns in reading and discussing the parts.
Afterwhich, Mavi worked on the activity sheets. It’s basically making his own heart anatomy booklet (less the description).
How the Human Heart Works
This is for Mavi to understand how the blood flows in and out of the heart. To demonstrate how this works, we used our materials mentioned below, plus pipe cleaners to trace the flow of blood.
In this part, we used the materials Human Heart and Cardiovascular Information Diagrams to learn how the heart works. I created diagrams to see how the blood flows in and out of the heart, and the blood distribution.
As you see, we used pipe cleaners to demonstrate the blood flow in the left ventricle (blue pipe cleaners) and the red pipe cleaners for the right ventricle.
So now, Mavi knows which part of the heart is responsible for distributing oxygen in the lungs and the part which distributes blood to the rest of the body.
Heart Diseases
I just have to include this to answer Mavi’s question about “heart attack”. Included in my Cardiovascular Information Diagrams, is a presentation of the different heart diseases. One main focus of our study is the coronary heart disease which is the main cause of a heart attack. Here, I pointed out which part of the heart is affected and how is causing the problem.
Our model comes with arteries showing the progression of fatty residue that limits the flow of blood flow. See how Mavi discovered that there’s no enough space for the blood to flow when the walls of the artery is covered with fats.
Now his question is, can he still eat fatty foods? Now that’s another story and will be included in my Circulatory System post next month.
By the way, if you wish to demonstrate this with your kids, you can either use a straw or a hose, tissue rolls can also be used, and for the fatty residue playdough would be best.
And that’s about it, our human heart study. I hope you find this post helpful!
Materials Used:
Where to buy Heart Model (US):
Where to buy Heart Model (UK/Europe):
Eason’s (if not available online, visit the store)
Hamley’s (if not available online, visit the store)
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