What is your procedure for making your own science curriculum?

[kaxy]

My science-nut 7yo would love for us to be more intentional about science, and I would like to map out a plan. Most likely a plan for earth science, astronomy, and physics. Not sure if this is a 2-year plan or what; I am flexible here.

 

I own the 3rd ed. of TWTM and have read SWB's description on science in the grammar stage. I *think* this might be our best bet, since it is so customizable and we can follow rabbit trails if we desire. But how can I make it cohesive? How can I turn it from a concept into something that we actually accomplish?

 

I've looked at Noeo Science and realy like what I've seen from the booklists and samples and methodology. BUT, I have concern about the reviews I've seen on the Young Scientist Club kits. It seems that if I opt out of doing the kits, I will need to figure out my own experiments from some source. Maybe a VanCleave book and fit some in somehow? Is it doable, or does Noeo really work best with the kit experiments? Would it be easier for me to get the TM and books and modify what they have already built vs. building my own thing from scratch? 

 

I've also looked at the Elemental Science samples. The 2nd ed. revisions look good. It isn't quite what I'm seeking (I think...maybe I ought to give it a go). I think I'd prefer to just read, narrate, and do the experiments rather than have my child do a bunch of paperwork. Maybe that would be easy to do if I just skipped the workbook and used the TM.

 

Edited to add this part: I love the Beautiful Feet history of science book selections, and it looks like some experiments are within. Maybe I could use this as my base from which to tweak?

 

So my ultimate question: What is your procedure for making your own curriculum? Do you follow TWTM method and start from scratch? Do you build on what others have done, tweaking it to fit your needs? 

 

If I make my own from scratch, is the method roughly: 

 

- Choose spines, maybe a science encyclopedia

- Pull topics from those spines using the table of contents

- Add in an experiment or 2 per week from experiment books (did you like Janice Van Cleave's books? they look really doable to me)

- Add in other books on the topic. Maybe some video clips

- Have child read and narrate

- The end?

 

Is it really that simple?

 

Is there a method to the procedure to simplify things? I don't want to make this harder on myself than need be. Thank you for any perspective!

Edited February 28, 2016 by kaxy

[happypamama]

That's really about how I would do it.

[Miss Tick]

Well, I use BFSU for science and it makes a great spine. It is not for everyone, and not terribly user friendly, but it is written to the teacher, weaves together a lot of topics and is very flexible.

 

That said, you might want to poke around fellow boardie Farrar Williams' blog. She is probably taking a Lent break from the boards. Here is a link to a recent post of gets aimed right at people like you!

https://farrarwilliams.wordpress.com/

[Targhee]

So my ultimate question: What is your procedure for making your own curriculum? Do you follow TWTM method and start from scratch? Do you build on what others have done, tweaking it to fit your needs?

 

I do not follow the WTM method (I personally don't think a 4 year science cycle is necessary, and prefer to emphasize skills and habits of mind until they're ready for a substantial science class in middle school).

 

I do build on others, researching, looking at plans, looking at texts, and pondering a lot in the beginning.

 

My process isn't exactly the same each time, but generally this is how I choose content:

 

1. Solicit ideas on what to study from the kids. Add to the list what I think would be a good idea.

2. Determine what ideas are realistic and I feel comfortable doing, which narrows it down.

3. Look at what others have done for these topics - on the boards, blogs, curriculum for purchase, TpT - and what resources I already have or are available in the community.

4. Decide on which topics to cover (usually multiple topics, like last year was Natural and Cultural History of our state and had marine bio, forest ecosystems, volcanoes, and alternative energy).

5. Map out the school year and decide how long for each topic; determine subtopics

6. Choose resources, start procuring them (books, equipment, supplies, pinning videos or other online content, decide on field trips, etc)

7. When I have resources on hand plan out weekly schedules - I can't have lessons overly detailed (daily, specific page numbers) or I get frustrated when life happens and boxes don't get checked

8. mentally prepare myself to be flexible

 

When I have the content planned out I decide on a select number of outputs. I'm not a fan of the read-narrate-add to notebook pattern. Blah. Over the year we might have a handful of projects for them to work on, some note-booking, and some years a science fair project.

 

But I thoroughly believe the most crucial part of our science is the habits of mind. Especially questions - mine and theirs. What is this? What other thing does it look like? Have you seen/heard anything like this before? What do you think it's purpose is? What do you think would happen if I did this? How can we tell if your answer is right? How can we measure that? Why didn't we get your expected results? could we change anything in order to get your expected results? What's the difference between this and that? How might this have formed? Does the position/location/orientation/size/temperature/(put any variable in here) make a difference? Could we test that? Etc.

[lmrich]

I love GEM guides. I enjoyed TOPS guides as well. I own a lot of science stuff so it easy for me to do experiments like magnets, beakers, microscopes, magnifying glasses, rock collections etc... I also love letting students create their own experiments and 'play' with science. One thing I wish all my science students (at the hybrid school where I teach) were better at is observation skills and drawing or desribing what they see whether that is an actual sketch or a graph or a table... I think good elementary science would teach how to really observe; how to look closely. 

[kaxy]

I love GEM guides. I enjoyed TOPS guides as well. I own a lot of science stuff so it easy for me to do experiments like magnets, beakers, microscopes, magnifying glasses, rock collections etc... I also love letting students create their own experiments and 'play' with science. One thing I wish all my science students (at the hybrid school where I teach) were better at is observation skills and drawing or desribing what they see whether that is an actual sketch or a graph or a table... I think good elementary science would teach how to really observe; how to look closely. 

 

Thank you for mentioning this! I hope to help my kids (and myself) with observation, sketching, notebooking via nature study. It really does seem like it will have an impact on their understanding, observational skills, and enjoyment of nature. This is one area where I'm really stinking at right now, but I'm joining forces with some local nature-loving homeschoolers and we'll do it together.

[sweetpea3829]

I designed our oceanography/marine biology curriculum last year and am designing our earth science curriculum for this year and next.

 

First thing I do is research the topic a bit to get an idea of the basic outline of what we will cover. I make a list of relevant main topics, then I research those a bit deeper and make a list of relevant subtopics.

 

Then I sit down and organize our sequence of study. I break down the main topics into units and then I break those down into subtopics. When I'm done, I'll have a general outline of topics for our entire semester.

 

I call this the skeleton of my curriculum. From there, I fill in details. For each unit, I find experiments/demonstrations/projects/activities. I find corresponding lapbook pieces, or I make my own. I find corresponding videos, library books, etc.

 

For each unit, I note which resources we'll be needing and I add that to my topic outline.

 

I decide which books I want to buy vs checking out from the library.

 

I try to plan out the basic outline and materials needed and lapbooks ahead of time, so it's ready to go whenever we need it.

 

Right now, I've completed our earth science outline and have begun identifying activities and whatnot.

 

It is a lot of legwork, but worth it. We enjoyed science quite a bit last year, compared with the years we did Apologia.

[kaxy]

Well, I use BFSU for science and it makes a great spine. It is not for everyone, and not terribly user friendly, but it is written to the teacher, weaves together a lot of topics and is very flexible.

 

That said, you might want to poke around fellow boardie Farrar Williams' blog. She is probably taking a Lent break from the boards. Here is a link to a recent post of gets aimed right at people like you!

https://farrarwilliams.wordpress.com/

 

I actually have volume 1 of BFSU on loan from a friend right now. I haven't had a chance to start looking at it until tonight, and wow. I have a lot of tabs open and I'm joining the Yahoo group for it. I am not sure if it will be something I will use, but I do want to get a better understanding of Dr. Nebel's approach. It seems fascinating (though overwhelming to me!).

 

Thank you for the blog link, too.

[BusyMom5]

I am not a pro, I have tried to do curriculums the last 2 years, but they just flop.  What works best for us is to pick a topic- say Simple Machines- I research it, find any science books I have that talk about simple machines, search Pintrest and TPT for ideas - there are some excellent unit studies from TPT, and it's worth the $$ to buy them!  Next, I look at the library to see what they have.  I pick a few experiments I think the kids will enjoy, I Print out a few worksheets or make up some books for them to print, and we start.  For simple machines, first we talked about each one - I used an ecyclopeida (Usborne), found some worksheets, and we went around and 'found' all sorts of simple machines around our house, the store, ect.  Next, I decided that we should also talk about force, motion, friction and gravity, so we read some books on those things, made balloon cars to talk about force and friction (experimented on carpet, hard floors, made ramps (inclined planes)), talked about gravity and did some gravity experiments.  I think the kids enjoyed it, and I think they learned a little.  When things pop up, they can relate to our unit- I also talked about different simple machines, and how they were used in history (inclined planes for Egyptian pyramids, wheel and axle on chariots, ect.). 

 

Now we are doing a weather unit- I got some DVDs from Netflix, some books I already had, and have some stuff pinned on Pintrest from TPT if I think we need worksheets.  This week we are going to learn how meteorologist tell the weather, how to depict cold fronts, warm fronts, ect.  I plan to have them watch the newscast each day, and then give us their own version ;)  We will take a day to learn about hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, ect.  They already know the water cycle, but we will review it, and I have some experiments on making rain on pintrest.  I hope to talk about things like humidity, barometer, ect., but that may get over their heads- we will see.  I just teach on a topic until I think they are bored with it (or I am).  Netflix DVDs are great!

[Hunter]

Bear with me for a bit, if you can.

 

What is YOUR current relationship with science? Where and how did YOU learn the science you USE, now?

 

Don't automatically dismiss your education as inferior to what you are now drawn to. We are often initially drawn to what we don't know and quick to think the grass is greener on the other side. We tend to take for granted what came easy.

 

After I changed how I viewed myself and my previous education, it changed what and how I taught.

 

So, as dumb as this sounds, step one might be to like yourself, and plan stuff familiar and easy to you.

 

I grew up mostly ignored, hiding in corners reading books, punctuated by some periods of having my witch grandmother set up experiences for me to play that involved being out in nature. Grandma was purposefully strewing things other than books.

 

I no longer am a wannabee student or teacher. I'm content in MY world, even though I'm told I live in such a bad place and contentment is just plain WRONG. :lol:

 

My science is a braid of mostly vintage geographies, vintage narratives, and Handbook of Nature Study. I focus on better understanding what slaps us in face every day.

 

And that braid usually makes sense alongside my history, but not always. Sometimes certain topics just get dumped into a developmentally appropriate empty space in the curriculum.

 

Then I add some classic literature that includes my science braid and history topics. Literature is more likely to match the science braid, than the history.

 

Handbook of Nature Study is my most used book. I try to make each year a memorable unit study, with HONS at the center.

 

I'm trying for grounded. Focusing on what doesn't change, instead of all that is new. Focusing on the big, not the small. Focusing on the concrete, not the abstract. Is that "college prep"? Not always. :lol: like I said, I'm not supposed to be content and strive for more contentment. Too bad. I'm tired of fighting a fight I can't win and don't even want anymore.

 

But what about YOU? What if this were back in pre-Y2K when almost all homeschoolers were radical and HOMEschool was an extension of HOME? What is an extension of you and your home? Do you dare to love you and your life and to full out just be you? If you dared, what would that look like?

[Hunter]

I do like TWTM science. I have done that at times. It is a solid and logical plan. I find it less grounding. At one point that was a plus, and why I went back to it.

 

A bomb had just gone off in my life and the last thing I wanted to do was ground. I just wanted to float and distract. I spent a couple months on TWTM 3rd rotation. Early American history books are everywhere and I literally just tossed random titles to students. And chemistry was distracting and NOT grounding.

 

When I settled down, I pulled out the HONS based plan I had been using before that, and started tweaking it to meet the needs of the new person I had become. The grounding felt good again. We went back to sitting on the grass watching duck butts instead of making atom models out of candy in a stale-air city high-rise apartment.

Edited February 28, 2016 by Hunter

[waa510]

I choose a spine or at least a table of contents from a book on whatever thing we'll be working on that year. I follow the WTM cycle.  I really need an outlined framework to operate within before I can start filling it in with videos, crafts, experiments, coloring pages, pinterest projects.  That's just me though and how I think.

 

I align the topics at the various levels of my kids while creating a notebook for science for the year for each of my kids by chapter. I make fold-ables a la interactive notebook style, illustrate concepts and write silly notes, draw comics, fun facts, print out pictures or coloring pages, crosswords ,activity sheets, essay questions, and align any review sheets that might go along with the topic. I usually pick the topic order for older Dd and align little Dd to that list. 

 

My kids also loved when we did Ellen J. McHenry's stuff and she had youtube videos aligned to the chapter topics. So now I go through each subtopic and make a humongous playlist of Youtube videos for the year. I do this for History too. It takes forever but my kids enjoy it. 

[kaxy]

@Hunter #10

 

You have given me some interesting things to ponder. For me, I get excited about science when:

• It's something I can observe and marvel at (constellations, the planets, the moon; a seed growing into a flower; such variety of land forms, etc.) Just enjoying the wonder of nature and being curious about it
• I can make connections from one thing to another. And another. And another. Love that!
• Interesting, well-written books. 

Looking back on how you described your "braid" it sounds similar in that you're making connections in other areas.

 

So in practice for my family right now, this might look like using BFSU as a guide, adding in GREAT living books (I'm not super excited about the book recs listed, but we can grab some/add our own), follow those bunny trails and dig in. It will also look like CM nature study -- spending time in nature, observing, enjoying our surroundings, nature notebooks, reading nature lore.

 

Haven't decided if I will use BFSU or something else, but I feel further along in my process and I wanted to update here.

 

Thank you everyone for your input!

[Hunter]

Of course we want to always keep learning and growing, but if we decide we are good enough at present, and willing to teach what we know and love, it becomes easier to plan.

[8filltheheart]

Hi kaxy,

 

I have been creating my own science curricula for my non-high school level science kids for over 20 yrs. My approach tends to horrify textbook loving, test giving, heavy science demonstration parents, though. :)

 

My kids read trade books (non-fiction books) on just about whatever science topic interests them, 30 mins per day when they are younger, 45-60 mins per day when they are older. Whenever they are solid readers and are writing little reports, once every 2-3 weeks their writing assignment is a topic from whatever they are reading.

 

For our family, it is that simple. ;) All that reading over the yrs covers a broad range of topics in greater depth than textbook coverage. When they are ready for high school science, nothing about science is boring or intimidating. They have zero adjustment to taking standard science courses when the time comes. My older kids have all been science-oriented (chemical engineer, health care profession, physics/math). All of them took science dual enrolled at a local university during high school and maintained very high grades.

 

I have never had a child not totally love science until my current 11th grader. She only tolerates it. She had no problems taking standard high school courses; she is just not at all interested in a science field.

 

Anyway, for all the horror it induces ;) , my kids' real life outcomes from the approach have been that they have a strong science foundation and are well-prepared for their higher level academic pursuits.

[regentrude]

I have been creating my own science curricula for my non-high school level science kids for over 20 yrs. My approach tends to horrify textbook loving, test giving, heavy science demonstration parents, though. :)

 

My kids read trade books (non-fiction books) on just about whatever science topic interests them, 30 mins per day when they are younger, 45-60 mins per day when they are older. Whenever they are solid readers and are writing little reports, once every 2-3 weeks their writing assignment is a topic from whatever they are reading.

 

For our family, it is that simple. ;) All that reading over the yrs covers a broad range of topics in greater depth than textbook coverage. When they are ready for high school science, nothing about science is boring or intimidating. They have zero adjustment to taking standard science courses when the time comes. My older kids have all been science-oriented (chemical engineer, health care profession, physics/math). All of them took science dual enrolled at a local university during high school and maintained very high grades.

 

Similar here. We do interest led science with non fiction books, documentaries, nature study and visits to science centers and museums, until the kids are ready for introductory college texts in high school.

I do not consider it necessary to use textbooks or any kind of scripted "curriculum" in the early ages.

My goal for science education in elementary and middle grades is to wake curiosity and create a broad knowledge base as a foundation for systematic studies in high school.

 

FWIW, both DH and I are physics professors, and our DD majors in physics. The above approach was very successful in getting her prepared for her first college science class in 9th grade.

 

As for the science "rotation" suggested by WTM: the rationale stands on very shaky grounds, and there is no good reason to tie science to the history rotation like that. Humans have engaged in all science fields at all times in history, so assigning a certain science to a certain period is completely arbitrary.

If I had to design a sequence for children, I would proceed from the near, daily observable to the farther, more abstract. So it makes sense to begin with nature studies and observations in the child's environment before embarking on theoretical concepts about things invisible to the naked eye - i.e., I would begin with an exploration of plants and animals and rocks the child can carefully observe and relate to, and deal with chemistry and atoms at a later point. Of course, I personally would always use a child's natural interest as a spring board and embark on deeper explorations of whatever question the child had at that moment, irrespective of sequence.

[sweetpea3829]

If I had to design a sequence for children, I would proceed from the near, daily observable to the farther, more abstract. So it makes sense to begin with nature studies and observations in the child's environment before embarking on theoretical concepts about things invisible to the naked eye - i.e., I would begin with an exploration of plants and animals and rocks the child can carefully observe and relate to, and deal with chemistry and atoms at a later point. Of course, I personally would always use a child's natural interest as a spring board and embark on deeper explorations of whatever question the child had at that moment, irrespective of sequence.

 

This near to far approach works unless you have a kid like eldest DS. My "But why? How?" kid.

 

I remember him at 3-4 yrs old asking how the heart works and wanting more and more detail until finally I found myself trying to explain to a preschooler how cardiac cells function.

 

Like you pointed out, sometimes you have to alter the expected sequence, lol.

[regentrude]

This near to far approach works unless you have a kid like eldest DS. My "But why? How?" kid.

 

I remember him at 3-4 yrs old asking how the heart works and wanting more and more detail until finally I found myself trying to explain to a preschooler how cardiac cells function.

 

Like you pointed out, sometimes you have to alter the expected sequence, lol.

 

Oh yes, absolutely. I recall a detailed conversation with my 5 y/o about human reproduction, genetics, and related social constructs. Twins, incest, puberty.. all topics that came up, branching off the original question whether a woman can become president.

[kaxy]

I think at our house, it could indeed look like a delight-directed study going down those rabbit trails and making connections and enjoying the question and answer. We had a particularly fun discussion with lots of new questions and searches popping up yesterday, and I turned it into a mind map here so I could remember it. I want to keep that curiosity and sense of wonder alive! Some of the things he knew in response to my questions ("Hmm, I wonder what the deepest known part of the ocean is?" "It's the Mariana Trench. I think it's in the Pacific." "How do you KNOW that??" "I know more about science than you realize, Mommy." "....").

 

Then last night, he was showing me how astronauts simulate free fall in the vomit comet. He just picked up a book, put a lego man on it and pulled the book to the floor faster than the speed of gravity. This kid is teaching me so much about how his brain works.

 

It is encouraging to hear how others don't use a structured curriculum in the younger years, but rather encourage observation, asking questions, and reading interesting books. I think that process can result in far greater connections and impact to that child, than following a sequence that doesn't interest that child. I also think if a child has enough interest (like Sweatpea's son above who needed to know how the heart works), they will be able to understand if we can explain it well. And that is awesome!!

 

I am not concerned about packing facts into his brain. I want to expose him to the possibilities, let him make connections to the world and process it in his own way, but most of all keep that sense of wonder and excitement.

Edited March 4, 2016 by kaxy

[Hunter]

I just want to say again that if it is not made by ME for ME, I think TWTM is my favorite science curriculum written by someone ELSE for the general population. And I am SO curious to see the new science section in the 4th edition.

 

Wayfarers full curriculum and TWTM 4th science are things I expect to see people converting to in the next couple years, even if they are long time users of other things.

[Lori D.]

My science-nut 7yo would love for us to be more intentional about science, and I would like to map out a plan… 

 

… I've looked at Noeo Science and realy like what I've seen from the booklists and samples and methodology… Would it be easier for me to get the TM and books and modify what they have already built vs. building my own thing from scratch? 

 

...Elemental Science samples... It isn't quite what I'm seeking (I think...maybe I ought to give it a go). I think I'd prefer to just read, narrate, and do the experiments rather than have my child do a bunch of paperwork...

 

... I love the Beautiful Feet history of science book selections, and it looks like some experiments are within. Maybe I could use this as my base from which to tweak?

 

Sure! If there's something you like the looks of, start there, do some tweaking and adding for practice, and then in a later semester or year, if you feel like you and DS would prefer it, then you can go "full on" with planning your own science.

 

… I have concern about… Young Scientist Club kits. ..

… if I opt out of doing the kits, I will need to figure out my own experiments from some source. Maybe a VanCleave book and fit some in somehow? Is it doable, or does Noeo really work best with the kit experiments? ...

 

No personal experience with Noeo, so I can't help there. But, we did use some of the VanCleave books to along with some of our grade 1-3 science topics. The books are really geared for grades 4-8, so only a small handful of experiments from each VanCleave book worked for us at the younger ages. But that ended up being enough, what with all of the other resources I was drawing from. To keep expenses down, I just used what VanCleave books our library had.

 

 

... What is your procedure for making your own curriculum? Do you follow TWTM method and start from scratch? 

 

I pulled together our science for grades 1-8 for 2 DSs. We did not use a formal Science program/textbook until high school. I did not follow the WTM science method exactly -- she really emphasizes reading and narration/writing, and all that formal narrating/writing would have killed any love of science and learning for our DSs who were very "pencil phobic" and very hands-on (LOL). So, I saved the writing for our LA, and our Science included loads of reading aloud, science videos, and hands-on, with liberal sprinklings of other supplements as I could find them.

 

What I did like about the WTM science method was using the "orderliness" of covering a major science subject per year, and then good coverage of all the topics under that subject for exploring during the year. That helped me feel like I was avoiding major "gaps" in our learning, and that helped DSs feel like they had a lot of variety (some elementary children get really bored doing all Earth Science or all Life Science for an entire year). For example, the year we did Earth Science, we did a unit on Oceanography, which felt very different than Geology and rocks, which in turn felt very different from the unit on Biomes (climate zones, plants, animals).

 

 

... Do you build on what others have done, tweaking it to fit your needs? 

 

I didn't often find something done by others that fit us, but yes, save yourself time/effort! If you find things on Pinterest, or from a pre-made program that works for you, use it and tweak! :)

 

 

...If I make my own from scratch, is the method roughly: 

 

- Choose spines, maybe a science encyclopedia

- Pull topics from those spines using the table of contents

- Add in an experiment or 2 per week from experiment books (did you like Janice Van Cleave's books? they look really doable to me)

- Add in other books on the topic. Maybe some video clips

- Have child read and narrate

- The end?

 

Is it really that simple?

Is there a method to the procedure to simplify things?

 

Yes, it is that simple… but it is time-consuming to plan/prepare.

 

I did my planning in the summer, when we weren't doing school, and take 3-4 weeks of research to pull together a master list for the entire next year. For middle school grades, it took about twice as long to research/plan the science -- a good 6-7 weeks. I used the table of contents from science encyclopedias, kids' science websites, and science programs to make a big list of topics for a science subject.

 

Rather than schedule the material, I just listed by topic, and then listed the resources I wanted to use, and where they were (i.e., did I purchase/own, from the library, or an online source). That allowed us to spend as much or as little time on a topic as was of interest to us, and allowed us to diverge into other topics that might suddenly become of interest to DSs. If I really wanted to make sure we finished the overall science subject by the end of the year, I marked some resources and some topics as being less critical for elementary exposure, so I could drop them if needed.

 

In elementary grades, most weeks, we did Science 4x/week, for 30-40 min/day and used:

- a spine for overview

- individual book(s) to to deeper on the topic

- 2-4 hands-on/experiments (per week)

- educational video

- supplements (as desired or available): field trips; museums; website or article; sticker book; learning page (ex: Enchanted Learning website); game; other activity

 

While our DSs were not "into" lap books, that might be a nice thing to have at the completion of a topic or unit, that you added a little to each week -- learning pages, little booklets with a sentence or two of information the student learned, photos of experiments, etc. ...

 

I did not have DSs do narration -- we were getting enough of that skill from History.

 

 

DSs did NOT do much of the science reading (in early elementary grades), for several reasons:

Science readers that are written for grades 1-3 have to be extremely simplistic because the child is just learning to read and needs the simple vocabulary; DSs' understanding was way above that, so I read aloud from books above their reading level, but that matched their understanding level (a lot of books from the middle school/upper elementary non-fiction section of the library). In grades 1-2 we did use a number of younger elementary books (esp. the Let's Read and Find Out About Science series) for science, but because one DS was slower to click with fluent reading (not until age 8.5), I still needed to do the reading. And, we were also using the older children's non-fiction books, too.

 

In case it helps you, below are lists of topic ideas for Earth Science and for Astronomy.

 

Just thought of another way we differed from WTM -- no way we could jam Life Science, Earth Science/Astronomy, Chemistry, and Physics each into 1 year. Chemistry, Life Science, and Earth Science took each took us 1 year. Astronomy took us 0.5 year. Physics took us about 1.5 years. And we sometimes took time out of our master list to follow unrelated bunny trails of interest, or to have a short season of free exploration of nature or building things, or to participate in a Science Fair, or just took a break from time to time from Science to focus on other things in our homeschooling… So one complete "cycle" of Science took us just about 6 years, and was completely NOT attached to the WTM History cycle (WTM connects Ancients and Life Science; Medieval and Earth Science; etc.). I'm super glad we chose to do it that way! :)

 

Thinking of things Hunter said in her posts above -- Planning ahead to get myself both the "big picture overview" as well as the individual "parts" (topics), really fed ME and my extremely high quotient of "love to learn", as I could, in advance, be digging in and getting both big picture and details as I planned, even if a lot of it might not end up being material that ended up "on the table" for DSs. :)

 

In case it helps get you started, below is a list of topics for Earth Science and for Astronomy. For elementary grades, I would NOT try and do every single topic below, but I would probably try and hit at least briefly most of the topic sub-headings in some way.

 

 

EARTH SCIENCE TOPICS

Earth's structure

- shape of Earth

- structure of Earth's interior

- plate tectonics

- earthquakes

- faults, volcanoes

rocks (geology)

- rocks: rock types, testing rocks, fossils, 

- minerals, crystals, gemstones

- caves

- weathering, erosion (wind, water (rain, runoff, rivers), glaciers, ocean waves, avalanche/landslide)

- land forms

- soil: formation, layers, soil life

water (hydrology)

- water types: fresh, ground, sea

- water cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation

- water transport: streams/lakes/oceans

- rivers: delta, meander, ox-bow lake, rapids and waterfalls, watershed

- ground water

- water quality

biomes ("climate zones" -- special features, climate, plants, animals)

- marine: coral reef, estuary, island, beach/coast, ocean, deep ocean

- aquatic: freshwater: stream, pond/lake wetland

- terrestrial: desert; arctic/antarctic; cave; jungle/rainforest; grassland/savanna; forest; alpine/mountain

oceanography

- currents/waves/tides

- coastline

- coral reef

- "layers" of the ocean

- special features (example: "black smokers")

- geology and mapping of sea floor

- ocean exploration/explorers (example: treasure seekers; finding of the Titantic…)

weather (meteorology)

- sun, temperature

- wind, air pressure

- water, humidity, fog, clouds, rain, snow, sleet

- interesting features: rainbows

- storms: thunder & lightning, tornados, hurricanes/cyclones, dust storms

- forecasting, equipment for measuring weather

- air pollution

atmosphere (eeronomy)

- atmosphere layers: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere

- greenhouse effect

- magnetosphere (magnetic field), "northern lights" 

 

ASTRONOMY

overview

- universe, cosmology

- gravity

- electromagnetic spectrum, x-rays, radio waves, visible light, Dopplar effect

galaxies

- types, clusters

- constellations

- Milky Way

stars

- types

- formation, "life cycle"

interesting objects

- black hole, white dwarf, neutron star, super nova, quasar, nebula

solar system

- gravity, rotation and day/night, earth's tilt and seasons

- sun, solar flares, solar wind

- moon, eclipse

- astroids, comets, planetoids

planets

- Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, (Pluto)

observing/exploring

- telescopes, night sky viewing, Hubble telescope, radio telescopes

- planetary probes, space flight, astronauts, space shuttle, space station

Edited March 3, 2016 by Lori D.

[Sahamamama]

Hi kaxy,

 

I have been creating my own science curricula for my non-high school level science kids for over 20 yrs. My approach tends to horrify textbook loving, test giving, heavy science demonstration parents, though. :)

 

My kids read trade books (non-fiction books) on just about whatever science topic interests them, 30 mins per day when they are younger, 45-60 mins per day when they are older. Whenever they are solid readers and are writing little reports, once every 2-3 weeks their writing assignment is a topic from whatever they are reading.

 

For our family, it is that simple. ;) All that reading over the yrs covers a broad range of topics in greater depth than textbook coverage. When they are ready for high school science, nothing about science is boring or intimidating. They have zero adjustment to taking standard science courses when the time comes. My older kids have all been science-oriented (chemical engineer, health care profession, physics/math). All of them took science dual enrolled at a local university during high school and maintained very high grades.

 

I have never had a child not totally love science until my current 11th grader. She only tolerates it. She had no problems taking standard high school courses; she is just not at all interested in a science field.

 

Anyway, for all the horror it induces ;) , my kids' real life outcomes from the approach have been that they have a strong science foundation and are well-prepared for their higher level academic pursuits.

 

Hi, Eight. Could you give a few examples of what you mean when you say "trade books" (for various levels)? I'm having my girls do something that I think may be similar this year, and they are loving it, for sure. Along with that, we elected as a group to devote a part of our year to studying birds (also loving it), and when that course wraps up in a few weeks, we'll move outside for gardening, hiking, fishing, yard work, swimming, building fires, and flying kites. ;) I'm sure there is science in all of that!

 

But I've often wondered what types of books you mean. Here's some of what my girls have been reading over the past few years:

 

• Let's Read and Find Out About Science -- we have loads of these, they were (and still are) favorites for free time reading
• Nature Friends series
• Smithsonian's Backyard series
• Apologia Science books (Flying Creatures, Swimming Creatures, Land Creatures, Human Body, Botany, Chemistry & Physics) -- the girls read these on their own, sometimes along with a CD (if there is one); they were assigned Flying and Swimming this year, and I've gotten good feedback on this (about every 2-3 weeks, they write a one-page summary of their assigned reading for science)
• Janice Van Cleave books -- sometimes the girls will gather materials for a science demonstration, and they conduct it and clean up afterwards; I'm trying to grow in this area, LOL, but I'm just not convinced that it should be something I need to "lead" or "teach." If they have the interest, they are free to follow through on it, and I'll supply them with what is needed (within reason). But complicated, teacher-directed "hands-on" science with young students, that I can't seem to do. I love that you're saying I don't have to. :)
• Seymour Simon's books -- quite a bit meatier, my oldest reads these the most

 

And of course, we have a stack of field guides (birds, trees, horses, wildflowers, reptiles, pond life). They spend hours pouring over those at times. They all love to draw, especially depictions of things they place in our nature collection. I'm sure they've read scientist and inventor biographies (Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, William Jenner, Nikola Tesla, Louis Pasteur, G. W. Carver, Ben Carson, and several others I can't remember tonight).

 

Where do you find your titles? I'm curious. :bigear:

[8filltheheart]

There is no single type of book they read. We choose from a wide array. The younger kids read everything from Scientists in the Field to Jean Craighead George's 13 Moons. The older kids might read something like The Invention of Clouds: How an Amateur Meteorologist Forged the Language of the Skies or What Einstein Told His Cook. I search for titles all over the place for topics they are interested in. (And after all these yrs, my house has its own small library. ;) )

 

Your list looks great. :)

[kaxy]

I think scientist biographies are so key. I have been following one of the bloggers at a CM podcast, and she just posted a brief list that looks really good: http://sabbathmoodhomeschool.com/2016/03/favorite-science-biographies/

 

She has other living book lists for science on her site, too. 

[Minerva]

Oh yes, absolutely. I recall a detailed conversation with my 5 y/o about human reproduction, genetics, and related social constructs. Twins, incest, puberty.. all topics that came up, branching off the original question whether a woman can become president.

 

LOL!

[ALB]

Some of you are WAY more organized about this than I am!  I pick a topic, currently botany, and just find all the books I can from the library.  We just read through them, about 20 minutes a day, making notebook pages here and there where helpful (usually drawing a diagram or illustrating a process).  We do random experiments that are in the books, based on the kids' interest and the educational value of the experiment/ demonstration.  Our library system has enough materials to last us about 3 months on plants, which I think is perfect.  I do buy used books if they are especially great as a reference and worth having on hand for longer than 2-4 weeks.

 

That's it!

[sweetpea3829]

Some of you are WAY more organized about this than I am!  I pick a topic, currently botany, and just find all the books I can from the library.  We just read through them, about 20 minutes a day, making notebook pages here and there where helpful (usually drawing a diagram or illustrating a process).  We do random experiments that are in the books, based on the kids' interest and the educational value of the experiment/ demonstration.  Our library system has enough materials to last us about 3 months on plants, which I think is perfect.  I do buy used books if they are especially great as a reference and worth having on hand for longer than 2-4 weeks.

 

That's it!

 

 

LOL, see...if did it this way...nothing would EVER get done.  I have to be organized and scheduled, or I slack big time.  

[Sahamamama]

There is no single type of book they read. We choose from a wide array. The younger kids read everything from Scientists in the Field to Jean Craighead George's 13 Moons. The older kids might read something like The Invention of Clouds: How an Amateur Meteorologist Forged the Language of the Skies or What Einstein Told His Cook. I search for titles all over the place for topics they are interested in. (And after all these yrs, my house has its own small library. ;) )

 

Your list looks great. :)

 

Just one more question -- Do you buy these (used? new?) from ____ (Amazon? Abe? Alibris? somewhere else)? I've looked, but can't seem to find these, except for used (in not so great condition), and our library doesn't have any of them. I wish I could find a whole (new! hardcover!) set in one fell swoop! ;)

[GeorgiaH]

You are too amazing! I stick with BJU DVDs for science. I don't agree with the young earth theory, but I think BJU's science is terrific nonetheless. Hearing the teacher explain the text, using PowerPoints, illustrations, and demonstrations ensures the subject matter is fully understood. If you ever decide you don't want to pursue designing your own science curriculum, you may want to consider BJU DVDs.

 

I'm looking at Plato Science, an online interactive software (from what I gather) as an add-on for my son, but only to ensure he remembers what he has already learned in Earth and Physical Science.

Edited March 5, 2016 by GeorgiaH

[8filltheheart]

Just one more question -- Do you buy these (used? new?) from ____ (Amazon? Abe? Alibris? somewhere else)? I've looked, but can't seem to find these, except for used (in not so great condition), and our library doesn't have any of them. I wish I could find a whole (new! hardcover!) set in one fell swoop! ;)

 

I have picked mine up (definitely used) in various places: Amazon, Goodwill, antique stores (I have found a lot of great books at antique stores), and Friends of the Library sales.  

[Holly]

We are using Christian Kids Explore for our spine.  Each week has a fairly short reading and a science experiment or activity.  There are also some coloring pages, lists of books to get at the library, items to memorize, and notebook pages.  Since it's done in two days, we can spend the rest of the week reading related (or non-related) books.  Since I'm selecting the optional books, I can tailor them to fit the ages of my DC.  I've tried so many science curriculums, but I really like the freedom with CKE.  

[sweetpea3829]

People....pray for me.  I'm eyeball deep in Science lesson-planning...lol.  I've been at the meat of it since overnight yesterday (because seriously?  the only time I can actually focus on things is overnight when nobody else is up) and I'm only one week in! 23 more weeks to go!  

[kaxy]

People....pray for me.  I'm eyeball deep in Science lesson-planning...lol.  I've been at the meat of it since overnight yesterday (because seriously?  the only time I can actually focus on things is overnight when nobody else is up) and I'm only one week in! 23 more weeks to go!  

 

Good luck!  :lol: I'm glad I'm not the only one losing sleep and having science show up in my dreams! 

 

Wait a minute, didn't you already make your earth science curriculum? Are you adding to it or? 

[sweetpea3829]

Good luck!  :lol: I'm glad I'm not the only one losing sleep and having science show up in my dreams! 

 

Wait a minute, didn't you already make your earth science curriculum? Are you adding to it or? 

 

No, I'd only created the framework and sequence.  Now I'm adding in specifics.  The videos, lapbooks, activities, projects, etc.  

[tmstranger]

This thread is inspiring! I can never seem to find the perfect science fit, but making up my own seems so overwhelming.

 

One question...if you were going to use an encyclopedia as your spine, which one do you prefer for grade 4 and 7??  Kingfisher or Usborne?  Any others I am unaware of?

Edited March 5, 2016 by tmstranger

[Lori D.]

This thread is inspiring! I can never seem to find the perfect science fit, but making up my own seems so overwhelming.

 

One question...if you were going to use an encyclopedia as your spine, which one do you prefer for grade 4 and 7??  Kingfisher or Usborne?  Any others I am unaware of?

 

Well, because one was never enough (lol), we used a number of resources and had multiple "spines" sometimes. At different times, we used various combinations of these, as some are better suited for different ages, and some are meatier than others. We tended to prefer spines that were focused on one science subject (ex: Earth Science), as you tend to get more topic coverage and more information. You WILL want books and other resources on the specific topics, as all of these are just broad overviews of the topics included.

 

Dempsey-Parr Science Encyclopedia (gr. 1-5)

I really loved this one for the early elementary grades; we esp. liked this for Chemistry topics around grade 3-5

 

Rader's websites  (gr. 4-8)

while these don't cover absolutely every topic, they do mention quite a few topics, and make good articles to start with, then springboard into more depth with other resources; the "sweet spot" for these is right around grade 6

Biology4Kids (Life Science)

Geography4Kids (Earth Science)

Chem4Kids (Chemistry)

Physics4Kids (Physics)

Cosmos4Kids (Astronomy)

 

Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of… series (gr. 4-7)

we used and liked the first three titles for Life Science for 5th/6th grade time frame:

Human Body (Life Science)

Animal World (Life Science)

World of Plants (Life Science)

Planet Earth (Earth Science)

Mixtures and Compounds (Chemistry)

Earth and Space (Earth Science and Astronomy)

Materials (Chemistry)

Energy, Forces and Motion (Physics)

Light, Sound and Electricity (Physics)

 

Reader's Digest books (gr. 5-8)

these include hands-on activities/experiments, which is a great plus, and mention all kinds of scientists and other topics which would make great extension research; we esp. liked Earth -- it made a terrific middle school spine; the How Science Works was nice too, but didn't cover as many topics as we would have liked; the other didn't connect so well for us, but are probably fine as spines for grades 4-6

- How Nature Works (Life Science: Zoology (animals) and Botany (plant) topics)

- How the Body Works (Life Science: Anatomy)

- How Earth Works (Earth Science)

- How Science Works (Chemistry & Physics topics)

- How the Universe Works (Astronomy)

 

The New Way Things Work (MacCauley) -- (gr. 5+) -- physics topics

we used a bit of this around gr. 4-5 when covering simple machines; this is a good one if you have children who like to build and want to actually put the physics topics into practice by making machines and things that work

 

Exploring the World of… series (Tine) -- Christian perspective; key people/events/discoveries

World of Biology (gr. 7-10) -- Life Science

History of Medicine (gr. 5-8) -- Life Science

​Exploring Planet Earth (gr. 4-6) -- mostly Geography topics and Explorers rather Earth Science

World of Chemistry (gr. 6-9) -- Chemistry

World of Physics (gr. 7-10) -- Physics

World of Astronomy (gr. 6-9) -- Astronomy

World of Mathematics (gr. 7-10)

 

The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia (gr. 5-9)

I linked the c.2000 version for the sample pages; there are also c.2006 and c.2011 versions

we didn't end up using this one very much -- by 7th/8th grade we frequently needed more "meat" than the snippet approach of the highly illustrated encyclopedias/dictionaries, and we were starting to switch over and sometimes used portions of textbooks or teen non-fiction books as our spine as well as our deeper info source...

 

DK Ultimate Visual Dictionary (gr. 6+)

we really liked the geology/geography/meteorology section when we did Earth Science in middle school -- just the right amount of info on topics that weren't covered in other sources; this book is a compilation from various DK visual dictionaries, science and other topic -- this volume contains the following books (science topics bolded):

Universe; (Astronomy)

Pre-Historic Earth;

Plants; Animals; Human Body; (Life Science)

Geology Geography and Meteorology; (Earth Science)

Physics and Chemistry; (Chemistry, Physics)

Rail and Road; Sea and Air;

The Visual Arts; Architecture; Music;

Sports;

The Modern World

 

DK Illustrated Encyclopedia of… series

a meatier series on individual topics (gr. 7+)

...Universe (Astronomy)

...Human Body

…Animal Life

Edited March 5, 2016 by Lori D.

[tmstranger]

double posting problems...

 

Edited March 6, 2016 by tmstranger

[tmstranger]

Thank you so much for all of the resources.  One of the things that was making me slightly crazy is that I couldn't find a "preview" of the Kingfisher Ency.  Thank you for linking the older version.  All of these look great...so hard to choose!

 

 

Well, because one was never enough (lol), we used a number of resources and had multiple "spines" sometimes. At different times, we used various combinations of these, as some are better suited for different ages, and some are meatier than others. We tended to prefer spines that were focused on one science subject (ex: Earth Science), as you tend to get more topic coverage and more information. You WILL want books and other resources on the specific topics, as all of these are just broad overviews of the topics included.

 

Dempsey-Parr Science Encyclopedia (gr. 1-5)

I really loved this one for the early elementary grades; we esp. liked this for Chemistry topics around grade 3-5

 

Rader's websites  (gr. 4-8)

while these don't cover absolutely every topic, they do mention quite a few topics, and make good articles to start with, then springboard into more depth with other resources; the "sweet spot" for these is right around grade 6

Biology4Kids (Life Science)

Geography4Kids (Earth Science)

Chem4Kids (Chemistry)

Physics4Kids (Physics)

Cosmos4Kids (Astronomy)

 

Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of… series (gr. 4-7)

we used and liked the first three titles for Life Science for 5th/6th grade time frame:

Human Body (Life Science)

Animal World (Life Science)

World of Plants (Life Science)

Planet Earth (Earth Science)

Mixtures and Compounds (Chemistry)

Earth and Space (Earth Science and Astronomy)

Materials (Chemistry)

Energy, Forces and Motion (Physics)

Light, Sound and Electricity (Physics)

 

Reader's Digest books (gr. 5-8)

these include hands-on activities/experiments, which is a great plus, and mention all kinds of scientists and other topics which would make great extension research; we esp. liked Earth -- it made a terrific middle school spine; the How Science Works was nice too, but didn't cover as many topics as we would have liked; the other didn't connect so well for us, but are probably fine as spines for grades 4-6

- How Nature Works (Life Science: Zoology (animals) and Botany (plant) topics)

- How the Body Works (Life Science: Anatomy)

- How Earth Works (Earth Science)

- How Science Works (Chemistry & Physics topics)

- How the Universe Works (Astronomy)

 

The New Way Things Work (MacCauley) -- (gr. 5+) -- physics topics

we used a bit of this around gr. 4-5 when covering simple machines; this is a good one if you have children who like to build and want to actually put the physics topics into practice by making machines and things that work

 

Exploring the World of… series (Tine) -- Christian perspective; key people/events/discoveries

World of Biology (gr. 7-10) -- Life Science
History of Medicine (gr. 5-8) -- Life Science

​Exploring Planet Earth (gr. 4-6) -- mostly Geography topics and Explorers rather Earth Science
World of Chemistry (gr. 6-9) -- Chemistry
World of Physics (gr. 7-10) -- Physics

World of Astronomy (gr. 6-9) -- Astronomy
World of Mathematics (gr. 7-10)

 

The Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia (gr. 5-9)

I linked the c.2000 version for the sample pages; there are also c.2006 and c.2011 versions

we didn't end up using this one very much -- by 7th/8th grade we frequently needed more "meat" than the snippet approach of the highly illustrated encyclopedias/dictionaries, and we were starting to switch over and sometimes used portions of textbooks or teen non-fiction books as our spine as well as our deeper info source...

 

DK Ultimate Visual Dictionary (gr. 6+)

we really liked the geology/geography/meteorology section when we did Earth Science in middle school -- just the right amount of info on topics that weren't covered in other sources; this book is a compilation from various DK visual dictionaries, science and other topic -- this volume contains the following books (science topics bolded):

Universe; (Astronomy)

Pre-Historic Earth;

Plants; Animals; Human Body; (Life Science)

Geology Geography and Meteorology; (Earth Science)

Physics and Chemistry; (Chemistry, Physics)

Rail and Road; Sea and Air;

The Visual Arts; Architecture; Music;

Sports;

The Modern World

 

DK Illustrated Encyclopedia of… series

a meatier series on individual topics (gr. 7+)

...Universe (Astronomy)

...Human Body

…Animal Life