Accelerated-ish Science

[IvyInFlorida]

Apparently "what-would-you-do" posts are my favorite, 'cause here's another one!

 

My 7 1/2 year old son has an affinity for science.  He eats up science like crazy, especially zoology and geology.  I estimate he comprehends science on a middle-school level.  We've plowed through our library system's juvenile science section pretty thoroughly and he's devoured quite a bit of curriculum for a kid his age.  I really want to foster this enthusiasm/talent since--thanks to dyslexia and ADHD--educational stuff is often frustrating for him.

 

Extra-curricular things we do: science and nature field trips, lots of read-alouds, documentaries, and nature study (easy out here in the middle of nowhere).  We have/have had fish, frogs, hermit crabs, poultry, rabbits, a garden, rock collections, etc.  Man, it's hard to find rocks in Florida that aren't limestone...

 

I have been trying to think about how to feed his desire for science knowledge but keep thinking myself in circles since he can't read and dislikes writing.  He has little confidence in drawing skills, though we work on that.  Maybe introduce him to cells/atoms/chemistry/something more abstract?  Not sure what resources are out there that can be adapted for him.  He is a very experienced listener and is gifted verbally, just not with reading.

 

Help me out, y'all.  My degrees are in music and 18th Century English Lit, for heaven's sake.  :)

[SunshineMom]

Ellen McHenry's Basement Workshop is full of great hands on type materials & games along with curriculum.  Many freebies:)

[EndOfOrdinary]

Thames and Kosmos kits. You would need to supervise and possiblly help with fine motor anyway, so reading would be no big deal for him. They are pretty fantastic. In our experience, if you have the money, go for the largest kit you can afford. Not only do they last longer, but they tend to give you far more in the long run for your money.

 

Some of the kits are interchangable with each other to allow further exploration. We own the Physics Workshop and the Solar Physics Workshop. Ds combined them after going through each the first time to make larger solar creations.

[Jackie]

Seconding both suggestions above.

 

6yo DD loved The Elements and Botany, both from Ellen McHenry. I suspect she'll continue to love that stuff, we just haven't gotten to it yet.

 

And we've had a few of the Thames and Kosmos kits, which have always gone over well. They annoy me for not having everything you need included, but otherwise have been pretty solid kits. Do check Amazon - not only are the prices usually better than elsewhere, but you can also read the reviews and avoid what duds there are.

 

Videos from The Happy Scientist have also gone over well for her. He has quite a few free, so you can check it out before deciding on a subscription.

 

BrainPop has also been successful for her. None of the topics go into depth, but there's quite a lot of breadth in both science and history.

 

ETA: David Macaulay books are great. Definitely for you to read aloud, but there's lots of good information and some great illustrations.

Edited March 4, 2017 by Jackie

[Guest]

Documentaries and reading to him from regular/adult books about science.

[Xahm]

This may be completely off, but if he likes geology, would he be interested in branching off into archeology? Florida may not have really interesting rocks, but I know art least some areas have pretty interesting digs. If he could get into that lots of new bunny trails could open up. Not science, I know, but an opportunity for hands on learning.

[Runningmom80]

I'm not sure if he's into chemistry, but the Mel science kits are a big hit here.

[Dmmetler]

On zoology, almost anything from the BBC is good documentary-wise. The Disney Nature ones are good, but may be too basic and anthropomorphized. Avoid Animal Planet-they have some good ones, but some really, really inaccurate ones. The Dirty jobs episodes involving animal field study are pretty accurate (I know two of the researchers who took Mike Rowe out for the Snake and turtle research ones, and both say that it really was him following them through a normal day and he's willing to just dive in, learn and try, so the others probably are as well).

 

The 4D Famemaster models are good for Anatomy and Physiology. You'll probably need to help-they definitely don't snap together like legos or Knex and can be downright fiddly at times, but they're very accurate.

 

Basher books were a favorite here for many years, and have a lot of content. You will have to read aloud, probably. There are now cute little toys of some of the characters. (I think a bunch of them will be hiding in DD12's easter basket this year., to join her collection of giant microbes, I heart guts organs, and Parasite pals...)

[IvyInFlorida]

Thanks so much!  Off to research these suggestions.

Re: archaeology--I had thought about this, filed it away in my brain, and then forgot.  We have several shell mound type places within driving distance we can explore.

[mckittre]

I have a science nut (just turned 8) who can't read. Probably dyslexic, but I'm not totally sure. He has enjoyed chemistry the most, and has primarily learned through videos, websites and simulations, combined with a molecular model kit, experiments, and me reading popular science (adult) books out loud. There are a lot of good videos out there. Some favorite YouTube channels of his are "Periodic Table of Videos", "Crash Course", and "Amoeba Sisters", but he browses related videos a fair amount too. He's enjoyed the simulations on pHet, and has spent many hours on ptable.com. We have a huge collection of molecular models, and the Mel chemistry kits (though we just had amazon purchased chemicals and some beakers before -- that worked too).

He's taught me science I don't know, so not reading hasn't been a big issue.