A Day with a Doctor

Today, the Cardinals welcomed Xander's Dad, Frank, a cardiac surgeon, into our classroom to learn about what he does and what he has to share about a very integral part of our bodies, the heart! As we sat down with Frank, the Cardinals were smiling with delight, listening to him explain his daily routine at the hospital and hearing Xander add in what he has learned about veins, blood and the parts of the heart. Family experiences and visits such as this provide a wonderful opportunity for the children to develop meaningful connections to the factual information gained about the world around them and our individual community roles as we live our everyday lives. Today, the children took in information about the heart through a reading of a short factual book that identified parts of the heart, how it works, and what can help it stay healthy. These facts gained true meaning after the children heard Frank share about ways he fixes the heart, adding in that when someone is sick and their heart is not quite working, he performs an operation to mend or fix the broken parts (veins and arteries). We also learned about the routes of blood flow as it travels through our bodies. 

The children truly were inspired and became more aware of what a heart surgeon may do and what materials and tools he/she uses after Frank invited us to wear doctor's masks and hats, and try out stethoscopes. The children listened intently and were able to understand how the masks and hats provided a shield for germs. Through the hands-on experience with the stethoscope, the children practiced listening to heartbeats and discovered where the heart is located in the chest, in placing the stethoscope carefully, to hear the pattern of the beating. Frank explained that the heart of a sick patient may sound different than that of a healthy patient.

 At the end of his visit, the Cardinals played a game with Frank, categorizing foods that would be healthy for the heart and foods that we might limit to be sure our bodies and hearts stay healthy. The children came up with many ideas for healthy foods including raspberries, bananas, blackberries, tomatoes, salad, and chicken! Frank shared ice cream and french fries as ideas and the Cardinals immediately said, "No!". In closing, Frank invited the Cardinals to enjoy a small heart cookie as a treat, along with some fruit, including bananas and oranges! The Cardinals imaginations were driven by these visit as many participated in doctor/patient role play during choice time.

After our busy morning full of imagination, dramatic play, and real-life connections all culminating into a bigger understanding of the complex world around us, the Cardinals were intrigued by the idea of creating a spring mural that was introduced yesterday. The Cardinals began by cutting grass and painting blue shades on big paper to add the sky and ground pieces assembling a larger piece! Next, we wanted to add in a tree and began rolling long brown paper to create a textured 3-D trunk for the base. The same brown paper provided the perfect material for the soil of our mural, as the children crinkled the pieces to add a sense of the different essential pieces to the background of our scene. After reading Under Ground by Denise Fleming, the Cardinals were inspired to begin brainstorming ideas of what to add next, including: bugs, worms, flowers, moles, people, bunnies, birds and nests. Our spring study of flowers and living things is in full bloom and we are looking forward to the sharing of ideas, thoughts and questions on where to go next.

Thank you to all the Cardinal Families for sharing their wonderful experiences with our Cardinals and helping to build the community feeling and relationship that has defined our school and home families so much this year!