Class 9-10 have been on a digestion journey this week during their science lesson! Over the past several weeks, the students have learned about the human digestion process from saliva breaking down your food to it passing through the stomach to the small and large intestines. For this weeks science experiment, the children were able to see the process of what stomach acid does to food. During digestion, food passes through the stomach, where it mixes digestive juices and is churned by muscles forming the stomach wall. The students provided the muscles and the soft drink for the stomach acid. The children placed a soft drink, bread and chewed gum in a food storage bag. They squeezed the bag with their hands for about a minute. The children were able to record thier observations and wrote down what they discovered. What happened to the bread? what happened to the gum? By the end of the session, the children were able to write up and explain why the gum and bread reacted in the way that it did using the correct scientific vocabulary in their workbooks!

Class 8-9 have been learning all about different types of seeds and seed dispersal, Our students have discovered different types of seeds found in all types fruit. They were able to identify the different shapes, sizes and colours of seeds from different fruits. Some plants make tasty fruits. This is to encourage animals (and people!) to eat the fruits. The seeds then pass through the animal unharmed and out the other end with a ready supply of fertiliser (not tasty in the slightest…quite the opposite!). This method ensures the seed is given nutrients to help it grow.

• Plant seeds can be dispersed in a number of different ways. Some seeds are transported by wind, and have seeds designed to float, glide or spin through the air
• Many plants also use animals to carry seeds around. These seeds may have handy hooks which attach to an animal’s fur.

Our mini scientists ages 9-10, have been finding out what really happens when you swallow gum?. During their science investigation, children have been learning about the human digestive system. They can confidently label parts of the digestive system using vocabulary such as; Stomach, esophagus, large intestine, salivary glands and small intestine. Children shouldn’t chew gum until they fully understand the importance of not swallowing it. By age 5, most children will understand that gum is different than sweets and is not to be swallowed. Chewing gum is made of either natural or synthetic materials (gum resin), preservatives, flavorings, and sweeteners. The body can absorb sweeteners, such as sugar But the human digestive tract can’t digest the gum resin. It’s moved through the digestive tract by the normal pushing (peristaltic) actions of the gut. The gum’s journey ends during a trip to the bathroom!

Alternative energy sources are a big deal these days. One such source is the wind. Our Homeschooled children having been finding out how wind turbine can use the power of the wind to generate energy for their science project. The students aged 10-11, designed various turbines using diffrent blades to find out which produces the most energy, and put the wind to work!