E.2 Diatoms
Learn a little about cool microorganisms that make life on earth possible and how learning about them relates to homeschooling on your favorite podcast app then share this YouTube video with kids to teach them about diatoms.
Or this “One Strange Rock” Docuseries on Netflix:
Diatoms are single cell algae at the base of the ocean food chain, create more atmospheric oxygen than all the rainforests combined, support the abundant life of the amazon, create diatomaceous earth, are a sign of healthy water and can double every 24 hours. These microorganisms, as small as they are, are incredibly important to life on earth.
So what does this have to do with homeschooling? In the podcast you’ll come away with these key takeaways:
1. All subjects are multidisciplinary. To study diatoms you need to have a geography context as well as understanding several fields of science and be able to think creatively and critically to put the pieces together. Just like Leonardo da Vinci the ability to blur the lines between subjects can lead to amazing discoveries.
2. Repeated organic impressions where students can make their OWN connections are a POWERFUL way of learning.
3. Enthusiasm is contagious. Sharing your passions with your kids show them that it is fun to get excited about learning and inspires them to find their own passions. What is one passion your kids see you have?
4. Small things can make a BIG difference. The same is true with our home schooling habits. Check out the book “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olsen for a great perspective on how small choices can change your life. The small habits you create in your schooling can lead to a beautiful garden of knowledge or bad habits. The good news is that just as easy as the habits were formed it only takes small adjustments to change your course. What is one habit you have that sets the course of your day?
And join the conversation on Instagram @hatching curiosity.
Full Episode Outline
Intro. Your listening to episode 2 “Diatoms”
Diatoms! I have my kids echo calling back to me as we study Protista in biology this year and I promise if you bear with my nerdy science excitement, I’ll tie it back to a homeschool application in a sec.
As I prepared the Antarctica Global Adventure for the kids in my Coop I learned that about the Algae blooms at the poles each year upon which all arctic and Antarctic life depends.
- Migrations
- The Algae bloom feeds krill-whales- penguins- etc.
- Some of these algae are made up of trillions of diatoms (single celled micro-organisms)
- Together they give off more oxygen than ALL the rainforest combined.
Later as I prepared for our Africa Adventure and studied the Sahara Desert, I learned that some of it was once under the sea and the sands of the Sahara desert contain microscopic skeletons of Diatoms.
- Sands to Amazon
- Diatomaceous earth beneficial for plants and detrimental to pests that would inhibit their growth.
Fun fact: Diatoms make their cell walls from silica. They essentially live in “glass houses” and can actually be very pretty. The healthier the water the more biodiversity of diatoms in it.
As amazing and important as diatoms are, they are very, very small. Individually they are undetectable yet together they can be seen from space. Now we’ll step back from the mini science lesson if you’d like to learn more or share some cool videos with your kids about diatoms I’ll have a video link in the show notes to a YouTube video or you can check out the National Geographic documentary “One strange Rock” on Netflix.
But What do Diatoms have to do with homeschooling? I mean obviously it’s a great science subject but there are a couple of take a ways I’d like to share from this conversation.
1. All learning is multidisciplinary. Even just talking about ocean microorganisms we need to have a geography context and understanding of several fields of science. We are using our creative and critical thinking as we look at the cause and effects of these tiny creatures. The Big picture with global impact and the small picture with the structure of the frustules (the outer walls of diatoms). Looking at diatoms you can quickly see the beauty and diversity which could lead to amazing art projects. Understanding that all things are connected and letting the “subject lines” blurr sometimes leads to amazing discoveries.
2. Notice how I fell down the rabbit hole of diatoms after I heard them mentioned in different contexts and at different times. Most schools teach history in some kind of a loop. You learn about ancient civilizations in 1st,5th, and 9th grades for example. They do this so that students can be introduced to the concept, build on it with the context and experiences they’ve had, and to be reminded of it to help their retention. Some argue that covering something deeply and well the first time eliminates the need for this kind of a loop. I’m going to play the devil’s advocate here and say that there is a reason this format was put in place. Our minds are always filtering information for what is important. When we hear a date, name or place for the first time. It is often in one ear and out the other (think of the need for memory work here- we are just trying to get it to stick through repetition!) The reason for this is that hearing something in passing doesn’t register as important information BUT if that information comes up over and over again something triggers in our mind. “Hey! I keep hearing this word…diatom. Where did I hear it before? If it was brought up in another context and again now in this context there must be some connection, or it must be pretty important or interesting. I need to remember this and learn more about it.”
3. Here is where the biggest difference is though. When history is taught on a loop schedule at school it is often taught by unenthusiastic teachers just because for example they LOVE math but “meh” history so they get through the required curriculum so they can get to “the good stuff” and let’s be honest we all have our own interests and passions and things we tend to do to check the boxes. When history is taught with the emotion of “this isn’t important or interesting” then their brains dismiss it as such, and that impression may or may not stick around or be remembered. If a concept organically comes up in multiple contexts though or is brought up as a point of interest, then this starts those triggers and the magic can happen. Now this “Magic” is the hardest part but the most important. It is the magic of connection. When kids form connections on their own, they get that “aha!” moment. They catch the excitement of learning and love that feeling of accomplishments. Connections they make themselves last a lot longer and run a lot deeper than the connections we make for them. These facts I shared at the beginning of the podcast may have been interesting to you, but they were exciting to me because I made the connections organically. Learning can still be hung on interest but it POWERFUL when hung on connection. If for example after listening to this podcast something about diatoms comes up in your facebook feed, you’ll either a) feel like facebook is stalking you or b) think “Oh! Didn’t I just hear something about those…” and it will start the path to your own connections. After a few more impressions that word will be flagged as important in your mind and even if you remember none of what I said earlier when you hear it again you could have your own “aha!” moment and want to go share it with others.
4. This one is pretty simple. I prepared for the units. Now let me start by saying that I am all about open and go curriculums and independent learning. If we prepared every subject thoroughly for every kid every day we would burn out faster than bread stuck in a toaster. We don’t need to be the source of knowledge for our kids education. We DO however need to be curious and get excited about SOME things. TJED has a great concept called “Inspire not Require” and I have an interview with an awesome TJEDer coming up to go over it in more detail in the line up to come but the essence of it is to Inspire the love of learning in your children by having a love of learning yourself. Enthusiasm is contagious.
5. The last take away is a bit more abstracted. Do you ever have those seasons where you are struggling with something then you hear something on the radio that strikes a chord, a few days later you are talking to a friend and they bring the subject up again, then you hear something about it at church and happen upon an article about it in a waiting room magazine. There has got to be a cool word for this and if you know it, let me know. Well that is kind what happened to me when I got inspired to do this episode. I am so human its not even funny and I’ve been struggling with the same struggles for years in certain areas of my life and as I was trying to formulate a new attack plan to change my habits when diatoms came up again in my kids biology curriculum. They talked about how they will double every 24 hours. It remined me of the water hyacinth metaphor in the though changing book “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olsen. As soon as I remembered that metaphor all of that book came flooding back to me and I won’t go too deeply into all the other connections I made at this moment but I realized again that it’s the little things over time that change the course of nations. These invisible algae affects our atmosphere and the entire marine ecosystems on all ends of the earth. Without it, there would be no us. Yet it’s the small quiet reproduction of microscopic things that keeps our world breathing. So it is with our homes. It’s the small things we repeat daily, weekly, yearly that shapes the hearts and minds of our children. It’s the little choices that add up. Which honestly gives me a lot of hope when we just are not seeing any progress to know that like weathering a mountain a river will cut its course but it also lays the weight down that the small choices we make daily if not intentional with set the tone in our homes and the habits in our children. With all things it’s a double-edged sword. Yet beautifully as slight as the course was set it can be adjusted again.
We will touch again on this in further episodes but I hope this little rabbit hole of mine was able to inspire ideas for your home with subject crossing, repetition, making organic connections, inspiring your kids with an example of someone who loves to learn and remembering that it’s the little things that make the biggest differences. What is one small good habit that can set the course of your day? Or one passion our kids see you have? Reach out to me on IG @hatchingcuriosity to join the conversation.
Until next time, Stay curious.