Science Club Updates for the Timeline of Life

The Montessori Second Great Lesson, the Coming of Life, is one of my absolute favorite topics to teach!

Here are some notes from our continuing Microbiology studies (with recurring forays into Chemistry) and a good long look at the entire Timeline of Life... to scale. Parents, I know you'll enjoy your beautiful Parent Gifts!

Create Your Own Calendar, 8 inch

Friday, November 1

• read Grandmother Fish: A Child's First Book of Evolution by Jonathan Tweet and look at Tree of Life diagram in the back
  
• do The Human Evolution Card Set from Clocca Concepts
• consider the evolution of microbes, do Order the Eaters activity
• do Photosynthesis lesson portion of my Dancing the Relationship Between Photosynthesis and Respiration lesson plan (PDF)
• feed "Newt," our sourdough starter begun last week with Ms. Shelby
• begin Timeline of Life calendar by adding dates and key events for December (each day = 12.5 million years)
  humans - Dec 31
  mammals - Dec 15
  dinosaurs - Dec 13
  giant dragonflies - Dec 2

Friday, November 8

• tell the story of the Timeline of Life (Montessori Second Great Lesson) using the Geologic Period Book Set and fossil collection from Montessori Services
• look at a piece of shale and the Tully monster in L is for Lincoln
  
• look at prehistoric animal artwork by Steve Jenkins in Apex Predators: The World's Deadliest Hunters, Past and Present and Prehistoric Actual Size
  
• consider everything that evolved in December in our calendar, choose animal, add December 2020 art (colored pencil drawing) to calendar
• feed "Newt," our sourdough starter
• strain, taste, and add fresh ginger to kombucha for second ferment

Friday, November 15

• finish December 2020 artwork as needed
• add dates and make artwork for November 2020 (fish printing)
• look at trilobite picture and fossil from our collection, look at trilobite picture in The Drop in My Drink, begin artwork for the calendar front cover (black glue line resist trilobites)
  
• work on writing in dates for remaining months
• make December 2019 artwork (paint spatter stars in outer space)
• make January 2020 artwork (water-soluble oil pastel molten earth)
• feed "Newt," our sourdough starter
• taste our completed jasmine ginger kombucha and compare with store bought (ours was the winner, naturally)
  
• look through our Starter Sourdough cookbook and choose a recipe for next week
  

Friday, November 22

• make "Sourdough Pretzels" recipe, page 126
• finish black glue line trilobites for front cover of calendar by adding our chalk pastel colors
• make February 2020 artwork (cut paper collage "building blocks" which are a prerequisite for life)
• work on writing in dates for remaining months
• read all of Prehistoric Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
• discuss whether all of this time has really been the Age of Bacteria... as some people suggest...
• taste our yummy fresh hot pretzels!

Friday, December 6

• make April 2020 artwork (cloud stencil on red sky, the endless rains)
  
• make May 2020 artwork (hot glue squiggle on green ocean)
• make June 2020 artwork (symmetrical print bacteria reproduction)

• make July / August / September / October 2020 artwork (monoprinting microbes using a gelatin plate)
  
• glue dot in completed and dry art from previous sessions
• work on writing in dates and key events for remaining months

Friday, December 13

• glue dot in completed and dry art from previous sessions
• sign the back of the calendar by tracing handprint (representing humans at the end of the calendar) and writing name and age
• look back at the whole entire thing, month by month, and consider the only remaining month... and March 2nd... when life began
• discuss the article "Which came first -- cells or viruses?"
• look at pictures of pipe cleaner viruses, make pipe cleaner viruses
• make March 2020 artwork (colored pencil drawing of An Ancient War: Bacteria vs. Virus)
• wrap calendars, attach pipe cleaner virus as a package decoration

I strongly recommend watching this TED talk by the amazing nature photographer Franz Lanting as a family, as a follow up to this topic in general and the Timeline of Life Calendar project in particular. It is wonderful!

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