shernandez Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Hi! My dd has expressed extreme interest in science, particularly in the field of astronomy and studying hurricanes and tornadoes. I enjoy science, but it is probably the subject I struggle with the most. We are getting ready to start earth and space science for the grammar stage, but she has requested even more science. Any good ideas about what else I can incorporate? As many of you will understand, she isn't a typical 7 year old. Her reading level is insanely high, and she will read all day long if she could. She also has chosen to forgo her dance company (absences for any reason lead to being cut from routines...even if just a regular class is missed) this year and has opted to participate in various science activities. We are lucky to live relatively close to Kennedy Space Center, so that is nice. Ideas like that are welcome, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegs Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 I wonder if you and she might like to read through some history and philosophy of science together? History of astronomy would give you a LOT to work with. Would DD be receptive to you assigning readings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shernandez Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 Pegs, absolutely. If it involves a book, she will beg for more. Any good suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 My kids liked Tornado Alley the Imax Movie http://tornadoalleymovie.com/index.php/about/biographies/vortex_2_scientists/ Vortex 2 project webpage http://www.vortex2.org/home/ The irony is that we were stranded overnight once at Hong Kong's international airport due to Typhoon season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in SA Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Not personally familiar with CLE. What is in 200? Ds8 just completed Earth science, and will be completing Conceptual Physics this year. We have astrobiology, astrophysics, and cosmology lined up, as well as completing life science and Conceptual Chemistry. There are a TON of options, bound mainly by mathematical fluency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shernandez Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 Not personally familiar with CLE. What is in 200? Ds8 just completed Earth science, and will be completing Conceptual Physics this year. We have astrobiology, astrophysics, and cosmology lined up, as well as completing life science and Conceptual Chemistry. There are a TON of options, bound mainly by mathematical fluency. We are using CLE for math, not science. She is only slightly above average in math, as she is having difficulty with mental math and problem solving. We are on the hunt for a math program that can help with those, so any suggestions are welcome. As to the courses you mentioned, they sound awesome, but what curriculum do you use? I need to do some series self-educating;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shernandez Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 My kids liked Tornado Alley the Imax Movie http://tornadoalleymovie.com/index.php/about/biographies/vortex_2_scientists/ Vortex 2 project webpage http://www.vortex2.org/home/ The irony is that we were stranded overnight once at Hong Kong's international airport due to Typhoon season. I am actually terrified of something similar happening;) Every time weather is bad, she asks if there is going to be a tornado. We also live in FL, so tracking hurricanes is a huge means of excitement for her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 As the mom of children who love both.....one ds loves astronomy and is currently pursuing a physics degree and one loves meteorology and plans on that path when she graduates....just reading books on the subjects is great for that age. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Read books. Go to the library and find more books. Visit science centers Go to a planetarium Attend a telescope viewing watch documentaries 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriciaT Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 If you want specific books on those topics, you can look at the booklists for NOEO (astronomy is covered in physics, and weather is with biology), and also Beautiful feet has a "History of Science" package that could have some great biography suggestions. My DD is going to use the Thames and Kosmos space experiment kit this year since she has a real interest in that. I think they have a weather station one too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in SA Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 We are using CLE for math, not science. She is only slightly above average in math, as she is having difficulty with mental math and problem solving. We are on the hunt for a math program that can help with those, so any suggestions are welcome. As to the courses you mentioned, they sound awesome, but what curriculum do you use? I need to do some series self-educating;) Yes, I was referring to the level of mathematics. Conceptual Physics requires very little math, but it does require rudimentary concepts from basic algebra (most 4th- and 5th-graders can handle it). I think it might still be a little out of reach, even for a strong reader. If you are already doing the middle school Earth and physical sciences, you probably will have enough to hold you until she is ready for more. We did just come across an interesting piece of software today -- "Universe Sandbox." It was on sale for $2.50 at Humble Bundle. You can see some trailers for it on youtube. The version we got was the older one, but DS has enjoyed playing with it. The physics is reasonably good on it, and you can actually see what happens when orbits shift, galaxies collide, and so forth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strawberryjam Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 I've recently made a list of independent high-interest science/STEM books available at my library, according to Lexile Measures. Do you know what Lexile measures your child is reading at? You can google it to find out. This list is at about a Grade 4-6 reading level, roughly in order from the easiest to the most difficult. The list starts off with mostly books at the 600L going all the way up to around 1000L by the end. The Cloud Book - DePaola Exploring the Night Sky - Dickinson The Dust Bowl - Booth Trout Are Made of Trees -Sayre Mountains of Jokes About Rocks, Minerals and Soil - Stewart DK First Dinosaur Encyclopedia - Bingham Dinosaurs! Battle of the Bones - Siamon I Want To Be A Builder - Liebman Insiders: Rain Forests (Wayfarers) - Vogt Biography of Chocolate - Morganelli From Tree to House - Nelson Tornado - Byars The Wolves Are Back - George What’s Smaller Than a Pygmy Shrew? - Wells A Boy and a Jaguar - Alan Rabinowitz Salmon Forest - David Suzuki Oil Spill! (LRFO series) Trains - Tiner A Whale on Her Own: The True Story of Wilma the Beluga - Skerry Cactus Hotel - Guiberson Look What Came from China - Harvey Why Oh Why Are Deserts Dry? (Cat in the Hat Series) - Rabe Joining Materials - Oxlade Going Home: The Mystery of Animal Migration - Berkes Ocean Tide Pool - L’Hommedieu Desert Animals - Hodge Building Our House - Bean You Wouldn’t Want to Be on Apollo 13! - Graham Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine - Gloria Whelan Ships and Boats - Tiner Airplanes - Tiner What’s Inside? -Laroche Where Does the Trash Go? - Showers Quest for the Tree Kangaroo: An Expedition to the Cloud Forest - Montgomery Insiders: Reptiles (Wayfarers) - Hutchinson Blood - Sandeman Dream Something Big: The Story of the Watts Towers - Aston Saving the Ghost of the Mountain - Montgomery Look What Came from Italy - Harvey The Boy Who Invented TV - Kathleen Krull A Dragon in the Sky: Green Darner Dragonfly (Wayfarers) - Pringle How Did That Get in My Lunchbox? The Story of Food - Butterworth Desert Baths - Rietz You Can’t Use Your Brain if You’re a Jellyfish - Ehrlich Insiders: Polar Worlds (Wayfarers) - Wade Hurricanes - Simon Seymour The Tarantula Scientist - Montgomery The Top of the World: Climbing Mount Everest - Jenkins What if There Were No Bees? - Slade Rosie Revere, Engineer -Beaty Mosquito Bite - Siy Toys! Amazing Stories Behind... - Wulffson An Extraordinary Life: Monarch Butterfly (Wayfarers) - Pringle The Snake Scientist - Montgomery The Frog Scientist -Turner Extreme Structures: Mega Construction of the 21st Century - Jefferis Biology: Life As We Know It (Basher Science Series) -Green Mr. Ferris and His Wheel - Kathryn Davis Gorilla Doctors: Saving Endangered Great Apes -Turner The Truth About Poop -Goodman Face to Face with Sharks -Doubilet How Do Animals Adapt? -Kalman The Mighty Mars Rovers- Rusch Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building -Hopkinson Fantastic Feats and Failures -Yes Magazine Spectactular Sharks -Bobbie Kalman The Life and Times of Corn (Wayfarers) -Micucci My Librarian is a Camel -Ruurs Achoo! The Most Interesting Book You’ll Ever Read About Germs -Romanek Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 -Floca The Ocean Biome -Kathry Smithyman DK Weather -Mack Bones: Skeletons and How They Work -Jenkins Seals and Sea Lions -Bobbie Kalman Tropical Oceans -Kelley MacAulay Skates and Rays -Rebecca Sjonger Wonderful Whales -Bobbie Kalman Polar Oceans -Bobbie Kalman Beyond the Solar System: A History with 21 Activities -Mary Kay Carson Cat Champions -Rob Laidlaw In Deep with the Octopus -Norma Dixon Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla -Katherine Applegate DK Eyewitness Astronomy (Wayfarers) Frogs -Simon Seymour The Sea Wolves: Living Wild in the Great Bear Rainforest -McAllister The Salmon Bears: Giants of the Great Bear Rainforest -McAllister The Great Bear Sea: Exploring the Marine Life of a Pacific Paradise -McAllister Born in the Wild -Lita Judge Far-out Guide to Asteroids and Comets -Mary Kay Carson Mysterious Universe: Supernovae, Dark Energy, and Black Holes -Jackson Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos -Stephanie Roth Sisson A Black Hole is Not a Hole -DeCristofano Ben Franklin’s Big Splash: The Mostly True Story of his 1st Invention -Barb Rosenstock Hidden Worlds: Looking Through a Scientist's Microscope 11 Planets: A New View of the Solar System -David Aguilar Zoobots: Wild Robots Inspired by Real Animals -Helaine Becker DK How Animals Work (Wayfarers) -Burnie The Beetle Book -Steve Jenkins Solar System: A Visual Exploration -Marcus Chown Kakapo Rescue: Saving the World’s Strangest Parrot -Montgomery Mission to the Moon -Alan Dyer Space -Alan Dyer Eruption! Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives -Rusch Project Seahorse -Turner Earthquakes -Simon Seymour The Bat Scientists -Carson Gregor Mendel: The Friar Who Grew Peas -Bardoe My Season with the Penguins: An Antarctic Journal -Webb The Story of Buildings -Dillon Fungi (Wayfarers) -Wearing What’s Eating You? Parasites -- The Inside Story -Davies Genetics -Mooney Science Warriors: The Battle Against Invasive Species -Collard Ouch! How Your Body Makes it Through a Very Bad Day -Walker The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe -Burns Extreme Scientists: Exploring Nature’s Mysteries from Perilous Places -Jackson Whaling Season: A Year in the Life of an Arctic Whale Scientist -Lourie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Barefoot mommy- wow! What a post! OP - maybe crash course on you tube has weather videos? We're watching chemistry now and DS likes it. I'm not sure how much he's learning, but he loves their style. Max axiom books are pretty good IMO. Check out NASA website. If we lived near Kennedy I'd check out homeschool classes there if they have them. Plus the space camp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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