Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Poop Happened!

Well, my student who wanted to do a block on Engineering Disasters (which we loved, by the way, and now I'm going to offer it as a Science Club topic) really wants to do a block on Poop. Happily, I have a lot of resources for that! I am still not sure where this would fit in the Waldorf curriculum, though, since the story of sanitation is really the story of human history and Waldorf doesn't do a lot of modern history until grades 7 & 8. It may be that I end up recommending this book for that age group, which is when we do the Human Body anyway. But I may decide it's fine for younger students...

As always, I'm going to do some listmaking here and I'll record what we do as we go along. And then I'll come up with some recommendations with where it would fit in the bigger picture curriculum-wise.

If you have suggestions for this list, feel free to add them in the comments!


**UPDATE**

This book paints an especially grim picture of history, much sadder than in most books that explain everyday life in Ancient Rome, Colonial America, etc. I would not recommend it for earlier than middle school. In my opinion, this book would be best as part of the Human Body block in grade 8, when all of this history has already been covered, and where it connects with the Digestive System, the Excretory System, and the Immune System. It is always hard to find stories that tie in with the Excretory System and so I would recommend having homeschool students choose a time period that interests them and use this book to research the sanitation of that time period. If you had a classroom, you could assign groups to cover different time periods and then have them share their reports in chronological order. I think the children would be shocked at how dismal things were for so long!

Summary: interesting topic but a very sad book (because of its honesty)



Poop Happened!
A History of the World from the Bottom Up
by Sarah Albee


prior knowledge


Tue, Mar 1

    read Preface and Chapter 1 "Poop Matters"


Wed, Mar 2


Thu, Mar 3


Fri, Mar 4


Tue, Mar 8


Wed, Mar 9

    play Plop Trumps Extreme

    read chapter 5 "When in Rome, Poo as the Romans Do"


Thu, Mar 10


Fri, Mar 11

    read chapter 6 "The Age of Shovelry: Poop in the Middle Ages"

    MLB - add illustration of a barber amputating someone's leg


Tue, Mar 22

    read chapter 7 "The Reeking Renaissance"

    MLB - add illustration of a bathtub with a prohibition sign
    NO BATHS ALLOWED!


Wed, Mar 23

    read chapter 8 "I Smell London, I Smell France"


Thu, Mar 24

    read chapter 9 "All Dressed Up but Nowhere to Go

    MLB - draw a farmer's field with poop spread on it


Fri, Mar 25

    read chapter 10 "Eighteenth-Century England: Flushing Away Troubles"

    MLB - add illustration of a cart disappearing into a sinkhole

    play Plop Trumps Extreme


Tue, Mar 29

    read chapter 11 "The Early 1800s: The Great Unwashed Move to Town"

    MLB - add horse manure
    "3,000,000 pounds of horse manure daily were dropped on the streets of London."

    play Plop Trumps 1


Wed, Mar 30

    read chapter 12 "Vileness in the Victorian Era"

    MLB - draw a pipe with sludge coming out of it


Thu, Mar 31

    read chapter 13 "Cholera: The Disease That Changed the World"

    Dr. John Snow's map:

    look again at cholera microbe

    look in refrigerator at milk and juice... has it been pasteurized?

    MLB - draw a stove with a pot of water on top
    "The water was safe if it was boiled."


    relevant episodes of PBS Masterpiece's "Victoria"

    - season 2, episode 6 "Faith, Hope, and Charity"
    Edwin Chadwick, water closets installed in Buckingham Palace
    Irish Potato Famine, Dr. Robert Traill's death from typhus fever

    - season 3, episode 4 "Foreign Bodies"
    cholera epidemic, Dr. John Snow's map, the Broad Street Pump


Tue, Apr 5


Wed, Apr 6


Thu, Apr 7



New Wastewater Epidemiology Links



Misc. Additional Resources

    ELOO
    Enviro Loo - The Air Toilet


    Plop Trumps card game
    there are TWO decks: Plop Trumps 1 and Plop Trumps Extreme
    (also released as Plop Trumps 2 but has the exact same cards)


    Plop Trumps 1

      Goat, Iguana, Goose, Raccoon, Reindeer, Barn Owl, Cow, Lemur, Giant Panda, Red Panda, Royal Python, Grasshopper, Alpaca, Kestrel, Camel, Swallow Tail, Emu, Snow Leopard, Horse, Sheep, Bison, Elephant, Penguin, Cockroach, Mara, Guinea Pig, Dung Beetle, Chicken, Earthworm, Locust, Rat, Leopard Gecko, Rabbit, Moose, Rhea, Tiger, Macaw, Yak, Kangaroo, Hamster, Zebra, Pig, Leaf Miner, Meerkat, Tapir, Fox, Chinchilla, Dog, Bat, Hornbill, Cricket, Coprolite


    Plop Trumps Extreme aka Plop Trumps 2

      Leopard, Black Bear, Chimpanzee, Badger, Stick Insect, Komodo Dragon, Millipede, Wolf, Skunk, Mouse, Chameleon, Beaver, Koala, Honey Bee, Eagle, Hyena, Giraffe, Llama, Gelada Baboon, Humpback Whale, Hippopotamus, Blue Whale, Squirrel Monkey, Marmoset, Red River Hog, Manatee, Orangutan, Housefly, Wild Turkey, Domestic Cat, Ostrich, Lesser Anteater, Flamingo, Hedgehog, Otter, Rhinoceros, Vulture, Golden Tamarin, Warthog, Giant Tortoise, Orca, Gorilla, Dustmite, Sloth, Wallaby, Caterpillar, Dik Dik, Lion, Colobus Monkey, Hummingbird, Sun Bear, Domestic Turkey



    Everyone Poops
    by Taro Gomi



    Who Pooped? A Matching & Memory Game

      also comes with a fact booklet:

      Ant, Bat, Bear, Cat, Civet, Cow, Dog, Dung Beetle, Elephant, Fish, Fox, Hippo, Horse, Human, Koala, Moose, Mouse, Panda, Penguin, Rabbit, Raccoon, Rhino, Sloth, Snail, T.Rex, Vulture, Wombat



    Who Pooped? 100 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle



    What Do They Do With All That Poo?
    by Jane Kurtz


    Bare-nosed wombat (common wombat)
    Vombatus ursinus

    the only animal with cube shaped poop


    Eyelash mite
    Demodex

    eyelash mite... the only animal that does not poop... waste builds up and it explodes after 14 days


This post contains affiliate links to materials I truly use for homeschooling. Qualifying purchases provide me with revenue. Thank you for your support!

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