Your Busy Bones
1Press on your arm. Under your skin, you can feel something hard. That hard part is a bone. You have bones from your head to your toes. All of your bones together are called your skeleton. Your skeleton does important jobs every day.
2First, bones hold your body up. Without bones, you would flop like a wet noodle! Your backbone helps you sit and stand up tall. Strong leg bones carry your weight when you walk.
3Bones also keep soft parts of your body safe. Your skull is like a hard helmet around your brain. Your ribs curve around your chest like a cage. They protect your heart and lungs.
4Can you kick a ball without bones? No way! Bones help you move. Muscles are joined to your bones. When a muscle pulls on a bone, that part of your body moves. A place where two bones meet is called a joint. Joints in your knees and elbows let you bend.
5You can help your bones stay strong. Foods like milk, yogurt, and leafy greens help bones grow. Running, jumping, and playing outside make bones stronger, too.