Cynthia,
I volunteered to speak to my daughter's third grade class too.  Since
their theme for the year is "Change", I thought I'd talk about the
changes in culture that made lactation consultants neccessary, the
changes in scientific knowlege that led to artificial feeding and then
back to the realization that mother's milk can't be duplicated, and how
human milk changes with the baby's changing needs.  I also will talk
about the species specificity of milk as related to parenting style and
other habitat issues.  In a simplified manner, of course.
        If your son has already learned about mammals, you have the perfect
"in".  Species specificity is a good place to start, kids love learning
about animals, telling them that seal milk has lots of fat to give baby
energy and warmth while mom is away for a week or two feeding herself;
whale milk has lots of fat so baby grows fast and stays warm; squirrel
milk and rabbit milk is very concentrated (very little water) since mom
doesn't want to draw predators to the nest by visiting often, and her
vegetarian diet makes her need to feed most of the day; calves and
horses need to grow strong bones and muscles to follow mom around as she
grazes so their milk has lots of protein, calcium, and other minerals;
and human babies have to grow their big brains so they can be smart, so
human milk has lots of lactose, special fats, and less protein so baby
wakes up to feed more often and learns more, etc.
        What do you think?
--
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  NYC  mailto:[log in to unmask]