Have you ever looked inside a broken machine? Maybe you saw loose wires, pieces of bent metal, or parts sticking out. If you began to dig around inside you might see that those parts are made of even smaller parts. Your body is kind of like a machine with big parts that are made of many smaller pieces. Just like a machine, your body can run smoothly or break down depending on what happens to it or how well it is being taken care of.
Your body is like this watch. It's made of a lot of moving parts that all have to work together.
Every part of your body works together with all the other parts to keep the whole "machine" going. If you missed your bus at school, you might call the office, and they could tell your teacher. The person in the office can then call the bus driver and ask them to come and pick you up. This is an example of how different people or parts of a group can support each other. Support is when people or things help each other and work together. If your heart stopped pumping blood to your lungs, your whole body would suffer and die, and if your lungs stopped sending air or oxygen to your heart, it would also cause you to die. By each of them doing their job, yet working together, they are supporting each other.
Can you think of a time when you had to push a book into a book-bag that was very full? You may have had to push hard and use some force to make the book fit. A force is any kind of push or pull on an object. Force can only happen when there is enough energy to push or pull something. When a truck is filled up with gas, the gas gives the truck the energy it needs to force or pull a heavy load of dirt down a road. Your body gets the energy it needs from the food you eat. Your muscles will then take that energy and use it to put force on your bones and move you anywhere you want to go.
A Mac truck has the power to move a lot of dirt.
When you open your classroom door, what keeps the door from falling off? Maybe you have seen the metal pieces holding it to the wall. These parts bend back and forth so you can go in and out! You can bend your arms for the same reason. A joint is any part of your body where two bones are connected. Joints help doors and your arms to work in the same way. Your body has all kinds of different joints that help you to move in many different ways. It's a good thing, too, because if you could only move your bones like a door moves, you would be a really bad dancer.
A door hinge is like one of your body's joints. Just imagine running without any knees.
Maybe you have watched a basketball game or you have played on a team. One person might dribble a ball down the court to another player who then passes the ball to someone who is good at making shots. When everyone works together and plays their best, the team has a better chance of winning. The same kind of thing would happen in your body if you fell and broke one of your bones. All the different parts of your body would contribute or help heal the bone. To contribute means to help out so that everything works the way it should. By working together, all the parts of your body work as a team to keep you healthy and strong!
If you were told to make something that can move in all kinds of ways and heal itself, what would you make? This thing must protect itself from danger and must have thousands of parts that work together. It must be able to do stuff for you, like carry things and be able to take you places. No need to make or buy any parts, because that amazing thing is YOU! With muscles that move you, bones that support you, and all your joints that keep you bending, your body is priceless! So, do all you can to take care of it, and you will be happy to see that it will take great care of you!