Blood Model

We are studying the circulatory system this week in R.E.A.L Science Odyssey. Have I mentioned that we are really enjoying this curriculum? Easy for me to follow, and the kids are getting a lot out of it--makes it so worth it for us!

Our lab consisted of making a model of the blood. I never would have thought to do that on my own, yet the kids loved it!

It called for:
K*ro syrup--for the plasma
Red hot candies--for red blood cells
Dry lentils or split yellow peas--for platelets
Lima beans--White blood cells.

This posed a bit of a problem. The grocery store did not have K*ro syrup, and I really was not excited about buying it anyway. I don't use it for anything else anymore, so it seemed a bit silly to by a jug of it to use a half cup. No one here eats lima beans, so buying a bag of them in order to use 5, yes 5!, seemed silly as well. Similar reasoning for the tablespoon of lentils.

So I got creative. I made simple syrup for plasma. It worked, likely not quite as well as the K*ro syrup, but well enough. I used pearl barley for the platelets, and mini marshmallows for the white blood cells. The marshmallows floated, not the best substitution. Still, the kids got the idea, so I consider it a success. They wanted to eat all the red blood cells, though! the hazard with making a model with candy!