Following the Path of a Question

My kids  ask questions. Many, Many questions. As a parent it becomes so routine for me to briefly answer the questions and move on with the day that I almost missed this real gem of solid learning. Call me slow to pick up on things but I finally decided to have a school day based solely on the questions the kids asked. The result: A day of science with lots of questions and engaged learners.

It all started yesterday as I was baking some bread and Scout asked me why the yeast mixture I was proofing was so puffy. Instead of quickly dashing off an answer about yeast, sugar and fermentation I decided we'd all delve into the world of dough the next day.

That night I did some internet searches and found some great resources on You Tube and a few websites dedicated to science and kids. I simply posted them to my pearltrees page for the following day.

Today after our family devotional the kids were somewhat surprised when I told them to head into the kitchen. They were a little less surprised when the found out we were going to make bread, something they have seen me do many times. Groans changed into smiles when we proofed a mixture of yeast, water and sugar and the kids could touch it. Next Pen wanted to know what would happen if we put a lot of sugar and in yeast and water mixture. Scout asked about putting Captain Crunch in a water and yeast mixture instead.  We tried both experiments. For those of you who are curious the yeast really loved the Captain Crunch and we got a nice frothy head of foam on that bowl. Yeast like sugar but even they become sluggish and lazy with too much sugar.

We watched a great video on the chemistry behind breadmaking, learned about gluten and watched a sourdough starter being made.  The kids quickly figured out what would happen to the dough as our gluten "net" captured Co2 bubbles.  Pen predicted the dough would rise "like a balloon".

The kids loved the idea that the  yeast were living organisms and briefly considered making "yeast pets" until we learned that yeast and animals, while both living organisms, belong to different "classes or kingdoms" of living things. There was a moment of disappointment for my son when he realized that while yeast do amazing things with sugar and water it's about all they do.

We had a fantastic school day by simply following the path of a question.

Scout poses with his concoction of Captain Crunch, water and yeast.

This is the "before" picture of our newly mixed dough. Would it "rise" to the occasion? 

Even though the kids have seen me make bread plenty of times Scout was still  amazed at how much the dough had risen.

The finished results: Two tasty loves of bread. Scout didn't want to share his photographically or otherwise.