Brain Power

I (Zac) was reading Alice her new body book for a bedtime story tonight.  We were reading about the nervous system, and we learned how the brain was connected to all the different body parts--how we can't feel pain or control our muscles if the nerves aren't working. The book had a good illustration of the nerves running all the way from the brain to the hand and fingertips. We talked about how if the nerves are damaged, even if the muscles are still healthy, the brain can't tell the hand to move. I held my hand limply for demonstration purposes.

In the diagram, as part of the nervous system, it also had a picture of the adrenal glands. I described how if you are in danger, the adrenal glands release a chemical that give you "super powers." I described what it did as making your heart work faster and making your muscles stronger so you could fight off the danger. I mentioned alligators trying to eat you as an example of a dangerous situation where your adrenal glands would release their chemicals to help you survive.

Alice, who is into superhero battles right now, and had been reading a book about the Avengers earlier in the evening, quickly came up with her own application of the new information: "I would stab the bad guy in the brain so that he couldn't use his muscles to hurt me." Despite this violent image, I was impressed with how she was able to take the idea from concept to actionable steps.