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[Robin in DFW]

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[HRAAB]

following...sounds like what my dd wants

[swimmermom3]

Hi Robin!

 

The class is still a work in progress and will probably continue to evolve as the work progresses. I have tried to design it to compliment some of Sailor Dude's extracurricular activities, to develop lifelong interests and skills, and to still look serious enough on a transcript that admissions won't think he is goofing off in science his senior year.

 

We are in the middle of school, but I will come back later today and give you the basic plan.

[Pat in MI]

:bigear:  Would love to see your plans too.  This sounds like something my dd would like as well.  

Blessings,

Pat

[swimmermom3]

The loose plan is to cover the following topics with varying degrees of depth:

 

Geology

For this, we will use the first 12 chapters in the 12th ed. of Tarbuck's Earth Science.  However, I am replacing some of that with the book, The Practical Geologist.  This book is less detailed, but more geared to being out in the field and collecting rocks. It shows how to create a field book, prepare specimens, write reports, and there is also a section on mapping.

 

Sailor Dude loves to hike and is just starting to get into backpacking. We've used a book called Hiking Oregon's Geology to check out some of the best geological areas and we'll continue to use that, but now I am asking him to keep a field book/nature journal to keep track of where he goes and what he sees.  Ds' academic life is full of testing so none of that for this class. Grades will come in part from labs, but primarily from the content of his journal. I am looking for application of what he learns in his books to what he sees and experiences out in nature.

 

"Field work" will include hikes of course, some rock collecting, a trip to a local rock museum, and the prerequisite trip to Mt. St. Helen's. There is more to do in our area than there is time. I plan also to take a week or two to focus on mapping, adding some extra information from David Greenhood's Mapping, that isn't covered in other resources. Ds is taking a class at REI on using a compass as well.

 

Marine Science/Oceanography

For this, we'll replace chapters 13-15 in Tarbuck's with Peter Castro's Marine Biology, 5th ed. We are able to drop  a chapter or two since ds took AP Biology last year.  We have access to several aquariums as well as amazing marine environments and marine labs. Last summer we were able to watch a shark necropsy.  Ds is taking a break from sailing this fall and is utilizing some of his earnings to get his scuba diving certification so this is the reasoning for wanting to include marine biology.  Of course we'll do a dog shark dissection. Well, sailors should probably know about their marine environments as well.  We are fortunate in that a family member runs the diving program at a local university and another friend is a dive master who uses her skills to do some repairs on their boat. Ds should get lots of good input.

 

Meteorolgy

 

My goal is to cover this topic (Tarbuck - chapters 16-20) in the worst of the winter months when it will be tough to get some hiking in.

 

Astronomy

Ds isn't really interested in this topic, but too bad because his father and I are. :D  We are joining a local astronomy club for our own personal satisfaction.  Sailor Dude gets to read chapters 21-24 in Tarbuck's and to work his way through Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe.  I am still looking for some other exciting resources for astronomy and really wish the TC course wasn't 96 lectures long.

 

Nature Studies

This is meant to be simplistic and ongoing. On Fridays, we have a brief art lesson that usually has to do with learning terminology and applying it to art that lines up with our history studies. We are going to do a bit of drawing with the primary goal of recording in nature journals. I am asking ds to add 2 or more new entries a week for his journal.

 

For example, if he is out on a hike and sees a snake that is unfamiliar, I'd like him to take a picture or draw it and identify it. We'll be taking a trip to the Olympic National Forest and he can identify trees. I figure this can only add to his hiking experiences.  We are just using the National Audubon Society's Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest.

 

We are also going to add some literature like Italo Calvino's Cosmiccomics, Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals and maybe Steinbeck's Canary Row.

 

For labs, I have Applications & Investigations in Earth Science, 4th ed. and marine biology labs are fairly easy to find on the internet.

 

That's the plan in a nutshell.

[Robin in DFW]

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[swimmermom3]

Sounds great. I will have to check out that Tarbucks book. 

 

We are going to do weekly nature study/journaling and use the drawing component to round out ds art credits. He's lukewarm to the idea. Hopefully, once we get out into nature again (once it cools off a bit...been 99 degrees or thereabouts all week). We can't usually start our outdoor wanderings until late September. Even then it's still hot.

 

Thanks for taking the time to share. As always, you are awesome.

 

Robin

 

Robin, what do you plan on using for his nature journal?  I am a bit stumped. I think we need something that isn't too big, but big enough, and fairly weather impervious. Maybe keep it in a plastic bag while it's in the backpack?

 

[Penguin]

I just bought Rite inthe Rain Universal field notes journals for our biology course. I am ridiculously excited about them, but I am a notebook junkie. They just arrived, and the paper feels nice. I thought it might feel waxy, but it doesn't really.

 

http://www.riteintherain.com/shop-products

 

Here is a good Youtube Review

[Robin in DFW]

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