FACT: Egyptian pharaohs ate mushrooms and forbade anyone else to eat them. They believed the mushrooms had magical powers!
FACT: Roman warriors were fed mushrooms to give them "god-like strength"!
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| mushrooms in my backyard |
I love mushrooms. Not to eat, but to look at and photograph! Alex is studying mushrooms at school and, as I was helping her with homework tonight, I came across a wonderful resourse for upper elementary/middle school students!
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| more mushrooms from our backyard |
The resource is called
"Mushroom Education Packet" and it is at the American mushroom site. The interesting facts I listed (above) were found in this packet. The packet includes these sections:
A History of Mushrooms, Mushroom Farming in the Kennett Square Area, How Mushrooms Grow, The Parts of the Mushroom, and
Recycling in the Mushroom Farming Industry.
Besides the short articles, the lesson packet also includes worksheets like fill-in-the-blanks, word searches, and true or false questions. There are even mushroom recipes, mushroom math, a mushroom science experiment, and more surprises!
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| our 'spore print' from 2008 |
When we did a quick, impromptu
study of mushrooms in 2008, we made the above spore print from a mushroom. It was a neat exercise, and this study guide talks you through how to do it. It's a great activity to do a couple days after a rain!
If you use the packet, please let me know! I'm no longer homeschooling, but still have a heart & desire to teach!
Have you ever tried mushroom tea? They are very soothing as herbal and medicinal teas. In fact, the Chinese have been creating them for thousands of years. Shiitake mushroom, for example, has been used as medicine because its medicinal properties are quite potent. And, making mushroom teas is a different and fun way to enjoy mushrooms.
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