O is for Optometrist

Our Community Helper is Optometrist or Ophthalmologist! To be honest neither of my girls have been to an Optometrist yet; their doctor does use a simple eye chart with them each year, and there has never been any cause for concern. But since they have never been they had no idea what one was! I couldn't easily set up all the equipment they use, but I could set up a little eye chart for them. The first one I set up for Bria to practice reading.

Then she made one up for Nadia that would be a little easier.

After one of them read the chart they came over and picked out a pair of glasses with the help of the pretend Optometrist.

They really enjoyed taking turns making new eye charts. We easily could have practiced sight words or letters or numbers.

Then we made some eyeballs to introduce them to some of the parts of the eye.  We started with white balloons and milk cartons. I cut a small circle out of the concave circle on the side of the milk jug (about an inch in diameter).

We stuck the circle in the balloon pressing the convex side down into the balloon as far as it could go to act as our lens. (I know you can't see it in the picture, but I promise it is there!)

Then we filled the balloons with hair gel.to act as the vitreous. (Sorry no picture; the gel was too hard for the girls to squeeze.) We tied the balloons and the tie was our optic nerve.

Then the girls drew on an iris, a pupil, and some blood vessels in the sclera (white part of your eye).  Just make sure not to use washable markers like we did (or your eye will be all over your hands)!

  

We also talked a little about how what we see is turned upside down on the retina and the optic nerve takes it to the brain where it translates the image right side up. Then we looked into spoons to see what our image would look like on the retina.

I am sure they won't remember all the big names, but hopefully they remember a little about how the eye works, and it gave them some insight into Optometry!