Digestive System Hands-On Activities – Esophagus, Stomach, Small Intestines

We did a lot of hands-on activities over the course of two or three weeks. I’m going to put them all into one post. These hands-on activities are all activities we did as we went through our Digestive Unit.  Be sure to check out our 150+ page Digestive System Packet too!

Esophagus Activities:

Does food fall down to the stomach? We proved that muscles helped move the food bolus down to the tummy with this quick upside-down activity.  Everyone took turns standing on their hands, chewing up a cracker and swallowing. We also did this lying on our sides. Yes, the food travels to the stomach, no matter what direction the esophagus is pointing.

As food is swallowed, the muscles in the esophagus contract and relax. This activities with panty hose showed how the food is pushed down with the rhythmical muscle movement.

Click here to save this on Pinterest:The kids did a cut-and-paste activity on Digestive System Functions:

If you kids are in upper elementary/middle school, then they can fill out these notebook pages:

Stomach Activities:

After food is swallowed, it collects in the stomach where stomach acid and food enzymes mix. Muscles in the stomach wall squeeze the food around to mix it.

Make your own vomit:

The kids were keen to do this quick activity that I saw on Zelda’s wondeful blog, Homeschool Escapade, a several years ago. We used the recipe she suggested:

• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup
• 1/2 mashed banana
• 1/2 cup carrot, finely chopped (we were out, so we used a red pepper)
• 1 or two cookies or crackers, crushed (we used 3 so each kid could do their own)
• 1/8 cup vinegar (we were out, so we used lemon juice as our stomach acid)
• 1 tsp baking soda

Stomach Noises:

As the stomach wall squeeze and mix the food mixture, it makes a lot of noises. We took turns listening to each other’s tummies.  The kids said they could here a lot of noise, but unfortunately without my hearing aid in, I couldn’t hear much (though I’ve certainly heard my own rumble from time to time!!)

Small intestines:

Using panty hose we squeezed some cooked oatmeal down through our “intestines.” We noticed how some small particles, “nutrients,” were able to make their way out of the lining of our “intestines.”

We pulled out our SmartLab Toys Squishy Human Body (affiliate link.) and spent time looking over all the internal organs. This product by Smart Lab is really fun. The kids love it and it has held up well.

Digestive System Packet: The digestive system packet I made for this portion of our unit is now available! It’s been updated a number of times and is now over 150 pages! This packet is perfect for homeschool families with mixed age students!

This unit in included in our Human Body BUNDLE. See details about that here or down below.

150+ Page Digestive System Student Worksheet Packet with Hands-On Activity Ideas 

Our 150+ Page Digestive System Packet has worksheets and activities that cover the following areas:

• Part I: Digestive System — Mouth
• Part II: Digestive System — Swallowing, How the epiglottis works
• Part III: Digestive System — The Digestive Tract
• Part IV: Digestive System — Overview Pages
• Part V: Digestive System Lapbook and Flapbook Activity
• Part VI: Small & Large Intestine Liver, Gall Bladder & Pancreas
• Part VII: The Transformation of Food Writing Pages
• Part VIII:  Introduction to Nutrition
  • Functions of the Digestive System
  • Essential Nutrients
  • The Digestion of Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Fats
  • Enzymes
  • Saturated vs. Unsaturated Fats
• Part IX: Nutrition – Fiber and Vitamins

Be sure to check out the Human Body BUNDLE Options at this Human Body Systems page or down below. 🙂

The Digestive System Packet is 150+ pages.

Our packets are PDF digital downloads. After your purchase, remember to check your PayPal email address for the download link. This page answers some Frequently Asked Questions. Feel free to email me if you have any questions! ~Liesl

Digestive System Unit: $7.99

Don’t forget to check your PayPal email address for the download link!

What is included in the Digestive System Packet?

  Lapbook/notebook pieces:

Various worksheets and notebook pages:

Here is a sample notebook page about the small intestine. On the left you can see the student fill-in-the-blank page. On the right is the full text version.  I would print the fill-in-the-blank page/s for my kids and then a full text version for myself. We would take turns reading and my kids would try to provide the missing answer. If they didn’t know, I would provide the answer from the full-text page. Answer pages are always provided both for notebook pages and for worksheets (such as a matching page).

When our family studied the Digestive System again more recently, we spent quite a bit of time learning about the small intestine; liver, gall bladder and pancreas; and the large intestine.  I added a dozen new pages to the packet.  You can choose either the fill-in-the-blank notebook pages or use these pages as supplementary readings (with no words missing!).

You will also find worksheets and activity ideas about swallowing, the epiglottis and choking in this packet:

We included all of our hands-on activity ideas in this packet as well:

A new section on Nutrition: Fiber & Vitamins

Note: This packet is included in the Human Body Bundle Options (details below or at this Human Body Systems Page).

The Digestive System Packet is 150+ pages.   Our units are PDF downloads.

Digestive System Unit: $7.99

Don’t forget to check your PayPal email address for the download link!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.

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These are some of the packets that are included in our Human Body Bundle.  These units can be purchased individually or together in our Human Body Bundle Options.   See photos down below or at this Human Body Bundle Page or in Our Store.

Our units are PDF downloads.

Our packets are PDF digital downloads. After your purchase, remember to check your PayPal email address for the download link. This page answers some Frequently Asked Questions. Feel free to email me if you have any questions! ~Liesl

$8.99 A Study of Cells Unit (150+pages) Animal and Plant Cells, Cell Theory, Organelles of the Cell, Photosynthesis and More

$4.99 Human Body Systems (50+ pages)

$6.99 Skeletal System Packet (90 pages)

$7.99 Digestive System (150+ pages)

$6.99 Circulatory System Unit (40 pages)

$5.99 Muscular System Unit (50+ pages)

$3.99 Nervous System Packet (20+ pages)

$5.99 Endocrine System Packet – (60 pages) Exocrine glands are those glands that have ducts and lead to the surface of the body… like sweat glands, tear glands whereas endocrine glands (like the hypothalamus or thyroid) secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

$5.99 Five Senses Unit: This 100+ page Five Senses Unit has dozens of hands-on activities and detailed, colorful worksheets for learning all about the five senses – sight & the eye, hearing & the ear, taste & the tongue, smell & the nose, touch & the skin. (NOTE: This unit is NOT included in the Human Body BUNDLE 1 or 2.) Recommended for PreK to Early Elementary. View Post, image 1, image 2, image 3, image 4, image 5

$35.99 Human Body BUNDLE OPTION 1: Human Body Systems, Skeletal System Packet, Digestive System, Circulatory System Unit, Muscular System Packet, Nervous System Packet, Endocrine System, Reproductive System Worksheets (Does not include the Study of Cells Unit or the Five Senses Unit.)

$42.99 Human Body BUNDLE OPTION 2: Human Body Systems, A Study of Cells Unit, Skeletal System Packet, Digestive System, Circulatory System Unit,  Muscular System Packet, Nervous System Packet, Endocrine System, Reproductive System Worksheets (We often talked about cells as we started our Human Body Units… then went on to talk about human body cells, tissues, organs & systems… and then would move on to a different body system each year. Generally as homeschoolers, we covered just one or two major body systems each year before moving on to another science topic.) (Does not include the Five Senses Unit.)

$38.99 Human Body BUNDLE OPTION 3: Human Body Systems, Skeletal System Packet, Digestive System, Circulatory System Unit, Muscular System Packet, Nervous System Packet, Endocrine System, Reproductive System Worksheets AND The Five Senses Unit (Does not include the Study of Cells Unit.)

FAQ: Do you need to purchase any other books or materials to go with these packets? No, these materials will work with any books or curriculum resources you have on hand. The answers to various notebook pages and worksheets are provided.  We tended to get a lot (10-20!!) books from the library and we’d read through those as we covered a particular topic.  When my kids were younger, we did a number of activities from the Body Book (which can be found here affiliate link). I photocopied things onto cardstock. For example, the kids made a skeleton that was about 3 feet once it was put together! They really enjoyed doing that, though it is not necessary to purchase that!

Don’t forget to check your PayPal email address for the download link.

• Cell Packet – Quick Preview
• Human Body Systems Quick Preview
• Skeletal System Packet – Quick Preview
• Digestive System Packet Preview
• Circulatory System Packet – Quick Preview
• Endocrine System Packet

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me! ~Liesl

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Each year usually in the spring semester, we focus on the human body.

We often spend a little bit of time reviewing what we learned the previous year and then add to what we learned.

If you have younger kids, you might want to just jump right in with the Skeletal System Unit and/or the Digestive System Unit.

Once my kids were a little older (with my youngest in 2^nd grade and my older two in upper elementary) – we started covering and reviewing Cells (the organelles and their function) each year. I want them to feel comfortable with the names and have a general idea of the “jobs” each of these organelles have. By reviewing it each spring, they’ve gradually come to understand how these work together a little better each year. That will be helpful once they get to high school level biology.

If you have a student who is 8+ you might want to do the units in this order:

Note: Since our family studies one major system each year, sometimes we skim over some of this so we can dive in depth into that particular body system.

• Cell Unit
• Photosynthesis (and you can do a little tangent about atoms and building molecules)
• Human Body Systems (Depending on the age of your kids, you might want to just introduce them to the major human body systems and then move straight on to one of the units below… or you can spend a little time talking about how cells/tissues/organs/body systems work as a whole. The packet you are getting includes ALL the materials, but I’ve added to this over the course of several years, so don’t feel like you need to cover all of this at once!
• Skeletal System – We almost always review the major bones of the body each year. Some years, we go into more depth about things like the structure of bones or the axial system. Other times, we review the major bones and move on!
• Digestive System – This was a fun, hands-on unit. I would suggest you do this one before the Circulatory System unit.
• Circulatory System – In this unit my kids were in elementary and middle school so we did some data collecting, graphing and other activities. If you have younger kids, you can just focus on the blood system (how blood leaves the heart and enters the lungs to pick up oxygen, then returns to the heart where it is sent off to the extremities).

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Here are some screen shots of these units:

  $8.99 A Study of Cells Unit

$4.99 Human Body Systems (50+ pages)

  $6.99 Skeletal System Packet

Recently updated! This packet is now over 90 pages!

  $7.99 Digestive System

$6.99 Circulatory System Unit (40 pages)

$5.99 Muscular System Unit (50+ pages)

$3.99 Nervous System Packet (20+ pages)

$5.99 Endocrine System Packet – (60 pages) Exocrine glands are those glands that have ducts and lead to the surface of the body… like sweat glands, tear glands whereas endocrine glands (like the hypothalamus or thyroid) secrete hormones into the bloodstream.

$5.99 Five Senses Unit: This 100+ page Five Senses Unit has dozens of hands-on activities and detailed, colorful worksheets for learning all about the five senses – sight & the eye, hearing & the ear, taste & the tongue, smell & the nose, touch & the skin. (NOTE: This unit is NOT included in the Human Body BUNDLE 1 or 2.) Recommended for PreK to Early Elementary. View Post, image 1, image 2, image 3, image 4, image 5

Don’t forget to check your PayPal email address for the download link.

You can visit Our Store to find out more about our other packets!

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