The heart is an amazing organ that keeps us alive. It’s about the size of your fist and works all the time without stopping. In this article, we’ll learn about how the heart is built and how it works, showing why it’s so important and how we can take care of it.
The human heart has four main parts called chambers:
The heart’s main job is to pump blood all around your body. Here’s how it does that:
The heart is super efficient, beating more than 100,000 times every day! It pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood through a network of blood vessels that stretches around 60,000 miles long.
To keep blood moving the right way, the heart has four important valves:
These valves open and close to make sure blood flows in the correct direction, helping the heart work smoothly.
The heart is a super important organ that gives your body the blood it needs to live. Because it’s so important, we need to take care of our hearts by eating healthy foods, exercising, and going for regular health check-ups. Remember, a healthy heart means a healthy life!
Heart Model Craft: Create a simple model of the heart using colored clay or playdough. Use different colors to represent the four chambers: Right Atrium, Right Ventricle, Left Atrium, and Left Ventricle. As you build, think about how blood flows through each chamber. Can you show the path of deoxygenated and oxygenated blood using arrows or strings?
Heartbeat Experiment: Find your pulse either on your wrist or neck. Count how many times your heart beats in one minute. Try this after sitting quietly and then again after jumping or running in place for one minute. How does your heart rate change? Why do you think this happens?
Healthy Heart Habits: Make a list of activities and foods that help keep your heart healthy. Try to include at least three exercises and three healthy foods. Share your list with your family and see if you can try one new healthy habit together this week.