The first-grade scientists have been hard at work learning about different parts of the body and how they work! They have discovered that our most important organ is our brain. The brain is our body’s computer and tells us what to think and feel and wish for. Brains help us remember things we learned yesterday and help us learn new things today. Our brains also tell our bodies to breathe, digest food, blink, and sneeze. The first graders learned that there are four major parts to the brain, each with a different, but important job. The cerebrum helps you think and feel and stores your short and long-term memories. The class challenged their memory by playing various memory games together! The cerebrum also controls how your body moves. The Corpus Callosum has the tiny job of connecting the left side to the right side of the cerebrum so both sides can work together. It acts like a bridge and looks like one too! The cerebellum is in charge of balance, movement, and coordination. This part of your brain helps your body stand up straight and not fall over! The first-grade scientists tested out how their cerebellum was working through a series of balance challenges. The brain stem connects the brain to the rest of the body. The brain stem sends messages from the brain to the body and from the body back up to the brain by connecting to a bunch of nerves called the spinal cord. Through messages sent down our spinal cord, the brain stem tells our bodies to do things we think just happen automatically like breathe, beat our hearts, and digest the food we eat. We finished off our study of the brain by creating brain hats that included labels of the four main parts of the brain.