Healthy Living Week!

Healthy living week started out grand, I had a lot of outdoor physical activities to do with the boys, we were going to be active and eat healthy and even get the boys in the kitchen to learn how to make healthy foods. We were going to piggy back off of Farm Week where we learned about how food grows and where it comes from, but, of course, my boys got sick. Really sick. So we did a lot of indoor projects that didn't require as much physical activity because they were coughing up a storm with Croup.

Start The Week Off Right With A Hike!
The boys love riding bikes and going on Colorado Adventures each Sunday, so I thought I'd make the week fun by getting them back on their bikes and going for a walk on one of the trails by our house. It turned out to be a miscommunication between Eric and myself and I thought it was a ONE mile hike, but it actually was a THREE mile hike, too much for the boys. At least they made it to our destination (and back) with a little cheer leading from me and a few snack and water breaks enjoying our lovely Rocky Mountain View.

Yes, I did end up holding Theo and I had to put Hank's bike in the stroller because his "legs couldn't do it any longer", but at least we were outside and enjoying the day.

Kids In the Kitchen:
After our hike the boys were hungry, I mean, like if I didn't feed them now they may eat the couch. But instead of unwrapping something from the pantry, I made them help me cook a healthy breakfast. We made smoothies and eggs. The boys helped as much as possible during both of these projects and actually, it helped them eat too. Sure they were already starving, but they took pride in the food that they prepared.

GERMS! 
I've had a few friends do a Germ Week with their kiddos and I decided to barrow some of their ideas for our Healthy Living week. You can check out their blogs at Going Homemade and Counting Curls!
What we did in our Germ study was use some cookie sugar, rubbed it on damp hands and then I had the boys wash it off. The sugar dyed their hands a bit and I explained that that's why we wash our hands and brush our teeth, because we want our teeth and hands to be germ and sugar free!

As we washed we sang (to the tune of Row, Row, Row You're Boat):

Wash, wash, wash your hands,
Scrub the germs away,
Hurry up and rinse them off
So that we can play.

A Book A Day Keeps The Doctor Away:
Or in our house about 30 books a day keeps the doctor away (well, not this week, we ended up at the doc about 5 times between the two boys, but you get the idea). This week at the library I was pretty disappointed in the selection. I should have ventured to a different library, but I didn't have time. These were our favorites this week:

The Holes In Your Nose, The Soles of Your Feet and Every One Poops by Genichiro Yagyu
Ella Kazoo Will Not Brush Her Hair by Lee Fox
Monsters Love Colors by Mike Austin
Time to Pee by Mo Willems
Bear Feels Sick and Bear's Loose Tooth by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
I Like Fruit and I Like Vegetables by Lorena Siminovich
Bones by Steve Jenkins

I also found a variety of books about different parts of the body and exercise at our library.

Pretend Play-Doctor! 
Pretty soon our week took a turn for the worst when Henrik got sick. I figured that the best way to lay low was to sit on the couch and pretend to make each other feel well. The boys had a blast playing doctor and taking care of one another. We've still got that play set out! They won't let me put it away!

Bones and Body Play:

I quickly discovered that my boys love bones, so I took advantage of that and the week turned into healthy bodies and bone week. We talked about what bones are made of, what they do for our bodies and what it would be like without them. I took a piece of string cheese and a dog bone and had them compare the difference between the two. I asked them which bone they'd like to have in their bodies to keep them upright and strong and I asked them to tell me how to care for their bones. The boys (Henrik) had a lot of questions about bones and so we just went on and on learning about as much as possible. I love it when they really get into something!

I found these skeletons at JoAnn's and figured they would be a great activity and then reusable for Halloween! I had the boys color the skeletons and as they did it I asked them where the different bones were and what they did. I was really impressed with the results.

Another project was to take a body outline that I got online and glue the bones and muscles to the body. I used noodles, beads, pike cleaners, string and of course google eyes. The boys thought it was really fun to make a person. During this activity we talked about how our muscles and bones work together and the boys couldn't resist showing me their muscles the whole time they were doing this craft.

I think their all time favorite project (even through fevers) was the paint X-Ray. It's pretty easy to do, you just need white paint! The boys LOVE painting their hands for projects and when I told them we'd paint their arms to see their "x-rays" they were thrilled. Of course, this project led to finger painting!

ChooseMyPlate.gov

Before the boys got really sick (and we basically took a TV/movie break for a few days) I wanted to include a lesson about how to choose a healthy meal. I talked to the boys about the different food groups and where the different foods were made or where they came from. I also copied the new food plate from choosemyplate.gov and cut out different foods for the boys to place on their plate. I had to do it by food group, like I asked them what things had proteins or which things were fruits (we talk about this stuff already at meal times because we tell Henrik why he needs to eat- he's our picky one) so it was actually pretty easy for them when I broke it down and had them focus on one thing at a time.

After they made their plates they asked for forks so they could pretend eat the food they made. It was pretty adorable.

Rainbow Meals:
Pretty easy, a huge hit and healthy!