Tsutsie Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I can for the live of me not figure out what to do for science with my 10 year old son. He is definitely a math/physics type of guy as opposed to any sort of biology. He does not hate it, but it does not make him bounce from excitement as astronomy does. He is 1/2-way through AoPS Intro. He has done Coursera How Things Work, loved it, and scored almost perfectly on the quizzes. He is currently doing Coursera Astronomy: Exploring Time and Space and doing very well. He will then do The Science of the Solar System. He has done Ellen McHenry Brain and Chemistry and enjoyed it. Of all the bought curriculum, this has been the most successful. We have tried Noeo (did not like the book choices), Sonlight (to religious), Padia Press, etc. He is also in a co-op where he is working on Gr. 6 level science (Ecosystems, Electricity and Diversity of Life) - he finds it super easy and is not enjoying it much. He says he wants to do geology next. He wants to be able to pick a rock up and know what it is. (He is very familiar with volcanoes, plate boundaries, earthquakes, etc.) Suggestions? He says he wants to learn more physics. He wants to do more astronomy. For these last 2 - I don't really see how I can beat Coursera, especially not in astronomy. (Also, after the 2 astronomy courses, he might be ready to move on. Not sure.) Should I start more math/algebra based physics? If so, what would you recommend? I struggle to get him to read fiction. (He recently read The Maze Runner and LOVED that - little scary for a barely 10 year old.) Otherwise, he only reads science books of all sorts. He enjoys documentaries. Your help will be greatly appreciated. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 The best help you can give him I'd to have his math keep moving forward. That will be the most limiting for science. Has he tried reading some of the adult pop culture science stuff like Disappearing Spoon? It is not really science learning in the "pick up a rock and know what it is" sort of way, but more the human side of science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 It already sounds like he reads a lot. Good for him! You could search for science threads by Ruth (lewelma) for truly "rocking" (pun intended) hands on science ideas! :laugh: I'm not sure if Ruth has mentioned geology in her threads but she outlines how she did targeted studies with her boys. Good stuff! What we did was to follow interests. When DS was interested in chemistry, we checked out a lot of chemistry-themed popular science books (by Robert Wolke, John Emsley amongst others) and read or listened to biographies (Disappearing Spoon among them). Ditto for physics and biology. For hands on, we started with demos by The Happy Scientist and moved on to miscellaneous kits and home science experiments for chemistry and Derek Owens Honors Physics for physics (once he had the required algebra I). DS wasn't interested in bio labs but loved reading about biology and he did Thinkwell's course to cement the theory/ concepts. This more or less was his middle school science. This very laid back way of following interests has not been detrimental to him in any way at all. A good chunk of high school level science still starts off with a little introductory material (but something like physics is best explored with a good math background beforehand as EoO says). DS is a math guy, not so much a science guy (but was a science guy when he was younger). He has a lot of math behind him and this has made pursuing higher level physics (beginner college level now) much easier for him. I say this just to reiterate the math aspect. And it sounds like your DS already has the math to start algebra-based physics. So I would definitely suggest DO if your DS is willing. I don't know any other online program for algebra-based physics that offers the right amount of challenge but can still be pursued in a self paced way as DO's does. There's Udacity's intro physics too to consider but we really liked DO for the accountability and also choice of independent pace. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dharmacat Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Look into the GEMS series from UC Berkeley. http://lhsgems.org/gemsguidestopic.html They have several Earth science units. I have not yet tried them, but have heard many people recommend them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsutsie Posted February 28, 2015 Author Share Posted February 28, 2015 Thank you all. I'm looking into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 We have not done a ton with the science Great Courses, in favor of the Humanities section, but there are a few that might work for your son. It is touch and go at first to find a speaker who you really resonate with, but a couple we have liked or are waiting for from InterLibrary Loan are: Technology of the Greeks and Romans, How the Earth Works, Geological Wonders, and Understanding the World's Greatest Structures. Ds really liked Understanding Hubble - the pictures were wonderful. Great Courses have kept us going through a few rough patches really well until I could figure out the next thing. Some instructors are dry, or annoying, or just do not make a great match. We try getting them through the library first to see, and now have a little stack of three or four go to people. We found CDs worked best with the Humanities stuff, but DVD for science ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Following. I could have written the OPs post! DS is taking the Coursera Astronomy class, also. Is your son doing the writing piece? DS left for vacation during the first week so he's already behind as a result and won't be able to. He's pretty upset--he really wanted the challenge. Just wondering how it's working out for other kids trying to keep up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naturalmom Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 My ds loved Happy Scientist (he is now 12). We followed mostly interest based science, alongside BFSU. The math is really important for moving forward in science. Ds is now doing chemistry, and loving it. With the BFSU ideas and the math behind him, he is able to enjoy learning it without being frustrated by it. My son also prefers nonfiction (our most checked out library book was Domestic Water Treatment). Until this year, I required him to read for 30 minutes every day, and would give him book options. You could start by requiring one fiction book for every two nonfiction books. Or maybe try some readalouds to get his interest up. Even when he didn't want to read on his own, my son enjoyed readalouds. If your son is motivated by points and rewards, you could have him join a summer library reading program, or Pizza Hut does a reading program as well. You could also make up your own, either by time read or books read, and have periodic rewards for reaching goals. Hopefully you will get some other ideas. Every child is unique, and what works for one may do nothing but frustrate another. But I also know my son hated it when I made him read for a certain time each day. He let me know that that was destroying his own desire to read (except that he didn't have a desire to read anyway!!!) He still prefers nonfiction, but because of the years of required fiction reading, he is more prepared for the literary readings he has to do to make it through high school! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsutsie Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 Memama, he is not doing the written work. We are still fairly new to the Coursera thing and I did not want to spoil it for him. He is doing the quizzes and is getting 100% on them in order to get the Statement of Accomplishment. He WANTS to do this, without any interference from me. He is also managing his time in order to get all the videos into one week, etc. I'm really please by how this is working out. I also did not think a 10 year old should peer review 4 other people's work. Well, not my 10 year old :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mckittre Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 What we did was to follow interests. When DS was interested in chemistry, we checked out a lot of chemistry-themed popular science books (by Robert Wolke, John Emsley amongst others) and read or listened to biographies (Disappearing Spoon among them). umm... Not to derail too much, but can you remember any of those chemistry books? Going through Disappearing Spoon (reading it aloud to him) with my 6yo chem nut now, did Mystery of the Periodic Table already, and looking for more. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 umm... Not to derail too much, but can you remember any of those chemistry books? Going through Disappearing Spoon (reading it aloud to him) with my 6yo chem nut now, did Mystery of the Periodic Table already, and looking for more. I'm interested as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsutsie Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 What do you think about the Apologia books (leaving out the religious content?) I picked up a few of them to peruse. The content seems ok, just a little long winded. Is is possible to combine these with a set of real books and have it work as a well rounded, interesting program? Or would they just be redundant when used with real books? Opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 umm... Not to derail too much, but can you remember any of those chemistry books? Going through Disappearing Spoon (reading it aloud to him) with my 6yo chem nut now, did Mystery of the Periodic Table already, and looking for more. Disappearing Spoon (Keen) Mystery of the Periodic Table (Wiker/Bendick) The Joy of Chemistry (Cobb) All the Horrible Science books about Chemistry What Einstein Told His Barber (Wolke) What Einstein Told His Cook (Wolke) What Einstein Didn't Know (Wolke) Nature's Building Blocks (Emsley) Molecules at an Exhibition (Emsley) The Elements of Murder (Emsley) The Poisoner's Handbook (Blum) Mad Science (Theodore Gray) Uncle Tungsten (Sacks) On Food and Cooking (selected sections, by McGee) A Short History of Nearly Everything (Bryson, but not purely chemistry) About all I can remember. This was more than four years ago. He also read and re-read lots of web articles on chemistry, poisoning etc. We combined his love of chemistry and love of detective stories and added Poirot's Casebook, some Sherlock Holmes mysteries as well. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 He might like something like Life of Fred Physics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 My kids just read, read, read when they are below high school level credits. This site is a good source for titles:http://charlottemason.tripod.com/physics.html Another way I find titles is by inputting a title we like like the Disappearing Spoon and scrolling through "what others who bought this book like." http://www.amazon.com/Disappearing-Spoon-Madness-Periodic-Elements/dp/0316051632/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425680401&sr=8-1&keywords=disappearing+spoon Our physics geek took his first physics class in 8th (Kinetic Books Conceptual (not conceptual. It is enough that Lisabees said her ds made a 5 on the B exam after using it. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/526274-physics-pls-help-me-understand-algebra-based-physics-options-possible-11th-hour-change-of-plans/?p=5888149 The answer key is available through Kolbe Academy if you register for a single course.) My ds's first astronomy course was in 9th using The Cosmos with TC's Understanding the Universe (both by Alex Filippenko) After that he took a solar system course (I got the title from Berkeley's astronomy sequence. They used the Cosmos as the first in their sequence and the solar system as the 2nd. I can't remember the name at the top of my head.) The next yr he created his own dark matter/black hole course. At 10, watching documentaries was far more interesting. By 9th grade, he started purchasing every physics and astronomy lecture TC sold. He went to Astronomy Camp and SSP. FWIW, ds's high school sequence was very abnormal, but it worked well for him. He took chem in 9th, AP chem in 10th, started dual enrolling in cal up physics in 11th (and took at least 1 physics course every semester until he graduated), and took Thinkwell bio in 12th. (He did not want to take bio. Thinkwell was a very easy course for him and got bio out of the way painlessly.) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quark Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 FWIW, ds's high school sequence was very abnormal, but it worked well for him. He took chem in 9th, AP chem in 10th, started dual enrolling in cal up physics in 11th (and took at least 1 physics course every semester until he graduated), and took Thinkwell bio in 12th. (He did not want to take bio. Thinkwell was a very easy course for him and got bio out of the way painlessly.) Sometimes I wonder and worry about DS's own abnormal path and then 8 responds about her physics-loving DS and fills me with so much gladness. And reassurance...that you can take a fun-filled, child-specific science journey in the younger years and not worry too much about it affecting their science journey in the later years. My kiddo is taking a similar route as the bolded for physics (he has three physics now and thinks he will have taken at least another two physics courses before he graduates). He found Thinkwell's bio easy too (he didn't want to take a lab course for bio) and no he didn't take any formal year-long bio course before Thinkwell. He read a LOT and watched many docus when he was younger. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 Disappearing Spoon (Keen) Mystery of the Periodic Table (Wiker/Bendick) The Joy of Chemistry (Cobb) All the Horrible Science books about Chemistry What Einstein Told His Barber (Wolke) What Einstein Told His Cook (Wolke) What Einstein Didn't Know (Wolke) Nature's Building Blocks (Emsley) Molecules at an Exhibition (Emsley) The Elements of Murder (Emsley) The Poisoner's Handbook (Blum) Mad Science (Theodore Gray) Uncle Tungsten (Sacks) On Food and Cooking (selected sections, by McGee) A Short History of Nearly Everything (Bryson, but not purely chemistry) About all I can remember. This was more than four years ago. He also read and re-read lots of web articles on chemistry, poisoning etc. We combined his love of chemistry and love of detective stories and added Poirot's Casebook, some Sherlock Holmes mysteries as well. Thank you for this! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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