Salty Sam’s Fun Blog for Children
Number 282
The Human Machine
Hello Everyone
A few weeks ago, there was a project for a canvas-work robot on my blog post – a machine that looked like a human. He was really cute.
But in a way, the human body works a little bit like a machine.
The way it works is so clever. All the parts have a special job to do and they all work together in a clever way.
The body can move, think, understand and respond to its environment.
lt can remember and learn and perform great and delicate tasks.
Did you know that there are more tiny cells in the human body than there are people on Earth – about 60 trillion, and each type performs different functions?
lf you would like to know what a cell looks like, look carefully at the thin skin of an onion that you find between its layers.
lf you have a microscope, the easiest way to look at a human cell is to wipe your finger on the inside of your cheek. You can collect cells from here very easily – it won’t hurt one bit!
The brain is in charge of the whole body. lt is attached to your nervous system.
Nerve signals are electrical and they coordinate the body and tell the brain what the body is feeling and about any external sensations that they pick up.
The brain controls the body but also contains memory banks and the ability to create thought. lt has many different ways of thinking and has the ability to keep learning for the whole of its life.
All mammals have bodies that work in a way that is similar to ours but it is the human brain that makes people so different from other animals.
We have a strong upright form because of our skeleton and are able to move about because of our muscles.
We have 206 bones. More than half of these are in our hands and feet. The thigh bone is the biggest bone and is 150 times larger than the tiny bones of the inner ear. ln comparison to reinforced concrete; our bones are stronger. Teeth are made from an even harder material. The strongest muscle moves the jaw and helps us to eat even crunchy food.
Skeletons can survive for many hundreds of years after we die.
Humans are adapted to living in the atmosphere found surrounding this planet and have the need to breathe oxygen found in the air.
The oxygen goes into our lungs through our noses or mouths. lt travels down a tube called a windpipe and then that divides into two tubes. These two tubes each go into a lung. The tubes divide again and again, branching out until they become tiny tubes that empty air into air sacks that trap the oxygen and transfer it into the blood.
The blood is transported around the body by tubes called arteries. The blood takes oxygen to most of the cells in the body.
The cells use oxygen and produce carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide is transported back to the lungs through tubes called veins and breathed out of the lungs.
Our blood is pumped around the body by a four-chambered organ called the heart.
Our blood looks red because it contains iron. Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body.
We also have white blood cells that perform a different function; they help fight diseases that enter the body.
We get information about our environment from our five senses: seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and feeling. Seeing gives us about 80% of our total sense of what is around us. We can hear when we are asleep so that a loud noise will wake us up. Our ears help collect sound and direct it into our inner ear where sounds are transferred to our brain.
The largest organ we have is our skin. lt is made from a substance called keratin.
Our bodies are covered in tiny hairs but on our heads we have longer hair. This hair is made of keratin too and grows at a rate of about 1cm a month. Nails are also made of keratin but they grow only half as fast.
Skin ranges in thickness from very thin on the eyelids to five times as thick on the soles of our feet.
lt has more than one layer. The upper dermis protects us from the outside world; it feels pressure put on it like when someone touches us because of the nerves it contains.
Our skin also helps to regulate our temperature. When the atmosphere is cold, we get goose pimples which help to reduce heat loss. When the temperature around us rises, we sweat. The moisture on our skin evaporates and this has a cooling effect on the skin.
The inner dermis under this layer is fed by a blood supply.
We also feel pain through our skin. We can feel intense heat or sharp objects and this makes us pull away from these dangerous things so that we can stop our bodies from being further damaged.
Skin cells on the upper surface only live for about a month and then shed off creating the dust that collects in our houses. They are replaced by cells coming up from the skin layer beneath.
The palms of our hands and the soles of our feet do not have hair but little ridges instead that help us grip things we hold or things we walk on. When we have been in water for a long time this skin prunes up. This reaction is the body helping to improve our ability to grip even more.
We get our energy from food. A good diet helps to maintain a healthy body. When we put food into our mouths, our chewing action and saliva start to break food down before we swallow it and it goes into our stomachs.
Our mouths produce about a litre of saliva a day but you will notice that you produce more when you see some food that you particularly like to eat.
The stomach churns the food up and mixes it with a kind of acid that it produces to break the food down even further.
The food passes down tubes called intestine. They are curled up in your tummy.
These intestines absorb the goodness from the food which feeds all of your body.
We need to drink fluids as well. Your body can go longer without food than water.
Your kidneys clean your blood to keep it working well.
You go to the toilet to get rid of the parts of the food that your body does not want.
A body also needs to move about to keep healthy. lt didn’t evolve over thousands of years to sit in front of a computer screen all day.
Exercise is good for you, but not all people like to play sport. lf you don’t like competitive sport, there are many other ways to take exercise. The important thing is that you choose to do things you enjoy.
lt might be riding on your bicycle or walking your dog. You might like bouncing on a trampoline or swinging on a swing or dancing to music.
The important thing is to make it fun so that you will want to keep doing it.
The picture at the top of the page shows a windpipe, lungs, heart and kidneys. Can you find where they are?
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Thank you!
And see you again next Fun Friday!
Love and kisses
Salty Sam
www.christina-sinclair.com
Bill and Bob’s Joke of the Week
Bob: Why did the teacher wear dark glasses?
Bill: l don’t know. Why did the teacher wear dark glasses?
Bob: Because she had such a bright class!
Salty Sam © Christina Sinclair 2015
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of material from this blog without express and written permission from this blog’s author and owner is strictly prohibited.
Links may be used to www.christina-sinclair.com
Picture Gallery
Our skeleton holds us up
Our brain is in charge of the human machine
THE SALTY SAM NEWS DESK
Before the Rocky Bay Primary School closed down in March it had a very special visitor come to speak to all the children.
It was Constable Bobby.
He said he wanted to talk to them about a very important and serious subject before they left school to go off on their early summer holidays.
He wanted to tell them about railway safety.
He said that no children should ever play on railway tracks or on level crossings either.
Railway tracks in Britain have a special rail called the third rail.
This rail has a very strong electric current running through it and if anyone were to touch it, it would kill them.
It is this electricity that pulls the train along. There is a special part of the train called a shoe. It is situated under the train and it touches the third rail. This transfers power from the rail to the train.
If you ever look at rails from a station platform, you will notice that the third rail is away from the platform.
This means that just in case someone falls off the platform, they should not land on this rail.
There is no third rail at level crossings.
The train is so long that it touches the third rail one side of the level crossing and the other side at the same time as it passes over.
But even so, level crossings can still have their dangers.
Here you can cross the line but you must look out for trains each way before you cross and you must cross quickly so that you reach the other side as quickly as possible. If the level crossing has gates that have closed or warning lights, you must wait on the road or pathway.
You must keep your dog on a lead near a railway line and if you see any damage or problems with the track or on the track, you should call 999 immediately.
Sometimes there is a telephone by a level crossing so you can use that to call the railway authorities if you see there is a problem. This is the best thing to do. If a car gets stuck on a level crossing, everyone should get out and call for help.
A lot of countries don’t have electrified tracks. People sometimes walk along train tracks if there are hardly any trains running on them. So if people come to Britain from abroad they need to be aware of how things are different here.
All of this information is important to know – it can save lives.
After his talk, Constable Bobby let all the children pat his police dog as a special treat.
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Quick Quiz
Which word links these three together?
- sign marking junction
- tree panelling furniture
- handle hinge knocker
- fire pipe bill
- vase stem bed
- shoe chestnut radish
- brush clip band
- carpet well bannister
- arm leg back
- shelf cover case
lt’s the Weekend!
HOW TO MAKE A DANClNG LlGHT SWlTCH DOLL
Do you ever have problems finding a light cord in the dark?
If you make this doll and tie it onto your light cord, you will have a bigger target to hit!
LIGHT SWITCH DOLL FRONT (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and dark green dk yarn cast on 19 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Change to light green dk yarn
Knit 6 rows of garter stitch
Knit 10 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows of stocking stitch (17sts)
Decrease 1 stitch at each end of the next 2 rows (13sts)
Change to red yarn
Knit 4 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 4 rows (9sts)
Change to dark green yarn
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Change to white yarn
Knit 6 rows of stocking stitch
Change to brown yarn
Knit 4 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off
Put the stitches on a length of yarn of a contrasting colour
LIGHT SWITCH DOLL BACK (KNIT ONE)
Using 4mm knitting needles and dark green dk yarn cast on 19 stitches
Knit 2 rows of garter stitch
Change to light green dk yarn
Knit 6 rows of garter stitch
Knit 10 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 2 rows of stocking stitch (17sts)
Decrease 1 stitch at each end of the next 2 rows (13sts)
Change to red yarn
Knit 4 rows of stocking stitch
Decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of the next 4 rows (9sts)
Change to dark green yarn
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Change to white yarn
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Change to brown yarn
Knit 8 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off
Put the stitches on a length of yarn of a contrasting colour
ARMS (KNIT TWO)
Using 4mm knitting needles and red dk yarn cast on 6 stitches
Knit 4 rows of stocking stitch
Change to white dk yarn
Knit 2 rows of stocking stitch
Don’t cast off
Cut off the yarn and run a length through the stitches – use this to sew up the bottom seam of the hands
PLAITS (MAKE TWO)
Crochet 10 chains into a length of brown yarn
Cut three lengths of yarn 30cm/12” inches to tie around
The top of the head (bow at the front and slightly to the side)
The neck (bow at the front)
The waist ( bow at the back)
TO MAKE UP
- Embroider a face onto the doll
- Decorate the front of the top, if you want to
- Sew the bottom seam of the arms using over-sew stitch with right sides together
- Turn the arms right side out and stuff with the yarn ends that are attached apart from one red length which you can use to sew the arm to the body
- Sew the arms onto the sides of the top by laying the arms on the chest and line up the three edges
- Sew up the side seams using over-sew stitching and right sides together matching colours as you work
- Turn the doll right sides out
- Neaten one end of the plaits and sew the other into the sides of the head
- Put a length of yarn through the stitches at the top of the head
- Thread another through the neck and the third through the waist
- Put little bows onto the ends of the plaits if you want to
- Place the doll on the light cord with the knob at the bottom in the skirt and pull the three lengths of yarn tight around the light cord and secure into a bow – the knob on the cord will sit just under her waist
TIP
If you want to use the doll as a toy, just sew up the head properly, stuff the head, bind the neck, stuff the body, bind the waist, secure and neaten all ends.
Please note that the material on this blog is for personal use and for use in classrooms only.
It is a copyright infringement and, therefore, illegal under international law to sell items made with these patterns.
Use of the toys and projects is at your own risk.
©Christina Sinclair Designs 2015
Quick Quiz Answers
- sign marking junction – road
- tree panelling furniture – oak
- handle hinge knocker – door
- fire pipe bill – gas
- vase stem bed – flower
- shoe chestnut radish – horse
- brush clip band – hair
- carpet well bannister – stair
- arm leg back – chair
- shelf cover case – book
For an Embroidery Stitches Chart
Check out Blog Post 3
Muchas gracias.
Thank you Roopert!