💪 The Pullers of the Body 🏗️ The Muscle Orchestra

Do you remember the story of the Great River? 🌊 The story of a marvellous nation hidden inside each of us — a nation filled with more inhabitants than the whole human world? A land where each citizen is a cell, working day and night without rest, each with their own task, united by the flow of a secret river: the blood 🩸.

That story wasn’t just a fable. It was a true story, a story of different systems in our body. And even now, as you sit or stand or smile 😊, that river is flowing, feeding every cell, carrying messages all over your body.

Each department part of the Great River have an important job to do! ( Recap what children discovered before about different departments —🛡️ the Department of Defense, is protecting the nation from invaders; 🍎 the Department of Nutrition, is delivering fuel to every cell; 🌬️ the Department of Respiration, is filling the body with oxygen; 🚛 the Department of Transportation, is moving everything where it needs to go; and 👀 the Department of Sensations, helping us see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the world around us. )

Today, I want to introduce you a department that’s not even shown on our chart—yet without it, you wouldn’t be able to sit, stand, or even keep your eyes open! This department is 💪 the Pullers of the Body 🏗️—the Muscle Orchestra! 🎶

This department doesn’t just sit still. It moves. It blinks 👁️. It stretches 🙆. It climbs 🧗. It laughs 😂. It lifts, it runs, it jumps, it dances and even rolls. 💪It is full with experts in movement. They are workers who only know how to pull. They do not know how to push — only to pull! These strange pullers live just under the skin, wrapped around the bones 🦴, along the walls of the stomach, in the chest, and deep in the heart.

They come in three kinds. Some attach to the bones and move the body — those you can control and even train to grow bigger, they are called skeletal muscles.They take a break when you sleep. Others are muscles who never rest! Just imagine, they are hidden in places like the stomach or blood vessels —you cannot control them , they are smooth muscles, soft and steady 🌀. And there is one more kind — a rare one, found only in the heart ❤️ — called cardiac muscle. He's the engine of the Great River. This one never stops, not for a second.

Even when you are still, muscles are working. Right now, muscles are holding your head up. They’re keeping your back straight. Without them, your body would fall like a puppet whose strings were cut 🎭.

Long ago, the ancient Romans noticed that when a person flexed their arm, 💪🏻 a small bump appeared — like a little creature moving under the skin. They called it musculus, which means “little mouse” in Latin 🐭 — and that’s where the word muscle comes from! Some people train them—and with the help of the Department of Nutrition—help them grow big. They don’t just have a little mouse on their arm anymore; maybe they grow a giant rat, haha! 🐀

But the muscles don’t act alone. They need commands from the president — the brain, which lives inside the fortified castle 🏰- your skull. Messages are sent from the brain, speeding through a special Department — the royal couriers , again not drawn on our chart, but this is a story for another day... ⚡

All departments in our body are part of one big harmonious, interdependent community, where each system supports the others to keep the whole nation alive and thriving.

I wonder... How many muscles do you have on your face? How many you you use when you smile? Do some muscles get tired and dissapear as we age? What is the biggest muscle in our body? Who in the animal kingdom has the biggest muscle? Do insects have muscles?

Possible Follow-Up Projects:

1. Animal Muscle Power Comparison 🐆🐢 — Linked to Zoology & Body Systems

How: Using the Body Systems material, children explore and compare the muscle structures of various animals:

• Frogs—strong leg muscles help them leap.

• Cheetahs—powerful back and leg muscles let them sprint.

• Snails—very slow movers with smooth muscle adaptations.

  They create a presentation or chart highlighting how muscles adapt to support each animal’s way of life.

Why: Encourages understanding of how muscle types and strength evolve to meet different movement needs in animals.

2. “Muscle Map” Art Project 🎨 — Linked to Art & Human Anatomy

How: Children create a human figure on paper and sketch in major muscle groups—arms, legs, torso. Using books about human body they can label and study different muscle groups.

Why: Helps children visualize how muscles are arranged in the body and which ones are used for everyday actions, reinforcing both anatomy and creative expression.

3. Muscle Memory Game & Movement Exploration 🏃‍♀️🥁 — Linked to Music & Physical Ed

How: Play a “Simon Says”–style game where instructions like “flex your bicep,” “smile big,” or “stand on one leg” are given. Add rhythmic claps or drumming cues to guide pacing. Children can track how muscles feel before and after each movement.

Why: A fun, interactive way for kids to feel and identify different muscles in action and connect physical sensations with body knowledge.

4. “Make Muscles Grow” Science Experiment 🍌🥛 — Linked to Nutrition & Biology

How: Research how different nutrition fuels muscle development. Make a chart with illustrations, drawings and small nutritional facts related to muscle growth.

Why: Connects the Department of Nutrition’s role in muscle growth and repair, helping children understand that muscles need the right kind of fuel to stay strong.

With these activities—as curious as our Muscle Orchestra is strong—children will dive deeper into how muscles work, how they help all movement, and how they’re supported by nutrition, communication, and play. Keep pulling those curious discoveries forward!

With Montessori joy,

Vanina 😊