Introducing our science unit

To introduce the cells unit, I decided catching invisible organisms from the air would be fun.  Each table group mixed up a starter - we had six.

We watched them and fed them for two weeks.  They rose and fell and bubbles we formed.  We extrapolated what could be happening based on our understanding of respiration.

Of our six starters, two seemed to develop to the point where they looked like they could be used for bread making.

I took them home and made my first four loaves of sourdough starter bread.  Three of the four loaves were devoured by the class and proclaimed to be delicious!

The feedback has also said that this is a great intro for the cells unit and a fun experiment that should be repeated.  Maybe next year I'll have them make the dough as well and I'll do the baking at home.