Dem Bones

Children have more bones than adults! As children grow, some of these bones fuse together. Both calcium and weight-bearing activities are essential for this normal growth process to take place.

Learn the importance of calcium in building strong bones.

NEW WORDS

Bone

Bounce

Jump

Low-fat

Milk

Did you know that the difference between whole milk and low fat milk is the fat content?

In fat free milk you get ALL of the calcium and NONE of the fat! Whole milk is good for growing babies, but beyond age two, whole milk adds unnecessary fat.

Teaching Health Through

Music & Movement

The Zombie Song

Art

Bone Collage

Literacy

Dem Bones

Music & Movement

The Hello Song

Music & Movement

The Clean-Up Song

Demonstration

Bones Demo

The dancing in the Zombie song, sung to the same tune as the Marching Song, is a great weight-bearing activity. Weight-bearing activities are important to develop and maintain healthy bones in both children and adults. Encourage children to do a zombie jump, or ask, “How might a zombie bounce?”

This art project is less about the finished product, and more about the process of how calcium builds strong bones. The activity offers a great opportunity to get children to start talking about it.

Bone Collage

The text is fun to sing and dance with the class. Try it at different speeds! There’s also a colorful, friendly skeleton with lots of great information about the human skeleton.

Dem Bones

Ask children to share some of the songs they sing at home as part of their bedtime routines. You can also sing a variation of this song, substituting the words good night for hello.

Just like a family meal, clean-up time is a family activity as well. In school, this song can be used with any lesson, and is a nice way to keep children moving through clean-up activities.

The art project can be a little confusing on paper — this video makes it easy to understand. The importance of calcium cannot be overstated, it is essential for healthy bones.

Activities

Create a safe space to bounce. Practice your bouncing skills by bouncing on one foot, two feet, forwards and backwards. Challenge: change direction and speed.

Recipes

Vanilla fat-free or low-fat yogurt topped with cereal and blueberries.