We’ve been studying the human body this year in science. One activity was studying the muscle, ligament, bones and joints on a pig leg (the meat I ordered from market, the kind that comes with the skin and foot attached). A bonus was that we could also clearly see blood in a vein (or was it an artery?) and move it along its route. We recently received a pig liver as a gift for greeting at a funeral. I’ve never made liver before, but we examined it before I attempted to cook it into something edible. My kids really didn’t have any prejudice against it going into the experience, but they made comments like, “It’s spongy” and “It’s chewy like bone marrow” (they aren’t ones to waste good bone marrow). Overall it was a unique experience.

For Annaka and Aili, I made life-size paper dolls by tracing around them. Now we’ve attached organs underneath their clothing as we studied them. They’re hanging in the living room and really add a nice touch to the decor.

Now you might think that Isaac is a bit young to get into the action, but he chose his own area of interest. I found him chewing on a spleen. No, not the kind that comes from the butcher. He had a spleen from a foam puzzle of the human body. I heard myself saying, “Isaac, take that spleen out of your mouth.” Then I had to laugh. It’s not something you say everyday or any day at that.