Crazy Mom Homeschools Kids: The Walk of Life ~ Part One: From the Pre-Cambrian to the Silurian

I've been teaching an awesome Big History class at my local homeschool co-op this past year, and our last class culminated in a walk through the timeline of life.

The idea is to have fossils, pictures, and figures that represent prevailing or significant life that existed in each time period. They are put in a specific box for that time period, and then spread out on a walk so we can 'walk through time'.

I've been putting these boxes together for some years, and originally used them .... six or seven years ago with our Universalist Unitarian church summer camp! The boxes have evolved (just like the life within) and will likely continue to get tweaked.

For the most part, fossils used are contemporary to their time period. But sometimes it is hard to find or afford the exact fossil. So sometimes I use a fossil from a different time period to represent a fossil or life form from a different time. One example would be the turtle fossils in the Permian box. It is difficult to find any reptile fossils (for a price this mama can afford), so I used turtle shell fossils that were very inexpensive from a more recent period. I explained to the kids that in the Permian, some reptiles had osseous skin, or bony skin tissue, that later evolved into a full turtle shell. There are also a few figures in the boxes that I will replace with nicer figures as time goes on.

I've collected pictures from old National Geographic magazines, old text books, free clip art (especially DK Publishers) and from other places on the web. I do not sell or make any profit from this program, so I hope that on the occasion that I've borrowed an image it is OK.

The walk started on a woodland path where our co-op meets (an old Girl Scout camp), and my daughter helped me stage the boxes throughout the path, in order from oldest to most recent time periods. We left the boxes on the path and as the group of kids and I walked the path, we would come upon each box. Each kid got to open a box and lay the items and labels out on a large tray so we could talk about them.

Heading down the woodland path to find the first box....

The kids unpacking the Anthropocene box along the woodland path!

Each box contains a smaller box with a list of items, small specimens, and pictures. Larger items simply go into the larger box, or separate smaller boxes (that fit inside the large box) where needed.

The list, taped inside each blue plastic box. That way I make sure items don't get shuffled around accidentally.

Here are the contents of each box, in order.

PRECAMBRIAN BOX
Contains glitter in water for cyanobacteria, a cyanobacteria picture, a stromatolite fossil, and stromatolite picture.

I am now accepting donations of cyanobacteria. :)

Moroccan stromatolite. Inexpensive and easy to find at fossil shows.

CAMBRIAN BOX
Contents: Brachiopods, trilobites and pictures, a modern arthropod specimen (crawdad claw), fossil hash with brachiopods and cute, little trilobites!, and three amazing crafted figures of wiwaxia, opabinium, and a chiton.

Go here to find these awesome plastic models! I ran into the creator at a MAPS fossil sale this year.

PALEOCASTS

fossil 'hash' with brachiopods and teeny, tiny trilobites!

brachiopods, the one on the right was found in a creek in Central Illinois by my daughter

Seriously, the coolest ever!
PALEOCASTS

ORDOVICIAN BOX
Contents: Graptolite fossil and picture, chain coral fossil, cephalopod picture and two fossils (ammonite, and orthoceras), jawless fish picture and a modern fish vertebra.

Chain coral

graptolites

cephalopods

jawless fish and vertebra

SILURIAN BOX
Contents: Cooksonia plant picture, crinoid stem pieces and hash, crinoid 'sea lily' picture, bryozoan, and insects. (I would like to elaborate more on insects in the future.)