Let's get cirrus about Jack and the Beanstalk.

Okay, lame joke! But, truthfully -- have you ever stopped to marvel at the rich wealth of science and social studies opportunities hidden inside simple fairy tales like Jack and the Beanstalk?

Today I'm going to explore Part Two in a series of deep dives into multidisciplinary opportunities for your homeschool. The truth is, every subject has a universe of disciplines already intricately entwined within. We just have to discover them.

A hungry ogre. A magical harp. A clever boy with poor money sense. That's what we usually get out of that simple fairy tale, Jack and the Beanstalk.

But like most fairy tales, there is a rich complexity hidden in plain sight. You could spend a week studying Jack and the Beanstalk and still barely scratch the surface. Looking deeper, the story is layered with an amazing amount of cultural, ethical, and even scientific heritage.

• Economics. For young learners, Jack's mishaps at the market are a great example of the ancient European economic system based on bartering. Ask students to explain why Jack's mom was dissatisfied by the trade for beans, and what type of produce might have made a fairer exchange.
• Culture. Grinding bones into bread is not a bizarre practice. Animal bonemeal has been used as a dietary calcium supplement since at least the 1800's, and today we still add calcium to breads as a dough conditioner  -- although nowadays we generally opt for a mineral-based additive, calcium carbonate.
• History. Ready for the gruesome part? In 1590, during the siege of Paris, remains from a local cemetery were unearthed for bread to alleviate the desperate food shortage. (Don't attempt this exploration with your students frail of heart!)
• Ethical. Was it right for Jack to steal items from another person, even if they were evil? Some modern stories attempt to justify Jack's actions by adding a backstory that the giant had stolen his wealth from Jack's father. However, in none of the original stories is this the case.
• Science. Jack's journey takes him to a castle on the clouds. Students can explore the three main types of clouds -- cirrus, cumulus, and stratus -- and infer which cloud type likely occurred in the story. This story also lends itself splendidly to experiments in sprouting beans and the natural life cycle and germination time of plants.

I explore some of these topics in my first grade Literature for Little Learners series. If you haven't seen it yet, I'll be debuting our 2nd-3rd grade Literature for Little Learners course this September, with the first grade course to follow shortly after. (Backwards, I know! But if you want something sooner, you can always access the individual fairy tale studies on my Teachers Pay Teachers store.) So the next time you pick up a children's fairy tale, take a deep dive into a moment of history. And have fun!