Five Senses: Hearing

This week, we started learning about the sense of hearing.  We read fiction and non-fiction books related to the subject each day and did an activity to go along with the lesson.

Arin learned the simple parts of the ear and now knows that sound travels through the outer ear, down the ear canal, through the ear drum, to the middle ear, and the inner ear, and finally to the brain.  We made a model of an ear drum.  We used a plastic cup with a piece of thin rubber (we cut open a punch balloon to use) stretched tight over the top, and secured with a rubber band.  Then, we put a few grains of salt on top of the balloon.  Finally, we made noise (we used a knife to tap on a plastic egg, but any noise maker should work).  We watched the grains of salt vibrate, just like sound vibrates through the ear drum.

We also made a noise shaker matching game.  We put matching objects into two identical containers (we used plastic eggs because they were readily available in the stores when I planned the project, but any identical, non-see through containers would work).  We had a total of eight identical containers, so we were able to make four pairs of shakers.  I mixed the containers up and handed them to Arin.  She shook them and listened carefully to find the matching eggs.  Some were a bit tricky, but she was able to get them all on the first try.  Ella just liked shaking the eggs and saying they all matched.

We learned what it means to be deaf.  The girls also watched their Baby Signing Time dvds and they learned to finger spell their names.

A

R

I

N

E

L

L

A

We played a game of what is it?  I didn't get any pictures of this, but I had Arin sit, blindfolded, while I made several noises.  She guessed what the noises were.  Some of the noises I made were tearing paper, crumpling paper, tapping a fork on a plate, knocking on a window, shaking coins, etc.

The girls played several rounds of Neighborhood Sounds Bingo.  It's a listen and match game.  Instead of calling out what the picture shows, the "radio" plays the picture's sound.  The girls find it on their board (if it's on there) and cover it up.

We also took a field trip to use our sense of hearing.  We went to see a Wind Ensemble at a nearby college.  The girls liked this, but it was a bit loud for them.

Books we read:
How Do Our Ears Hear? by Carol Ballard
What is Hearing? by Jennifer Boothroyd
Sound and Hearing by Angela Royston
Hearing by Robin Nelson
Our Senses: Hearing by Kay Woodward
Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr
Can Anybody Hear Me? by Jessica Meserve
Moses Goes to a Concert by Isaac Millman
The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle