[Science for Middle Grades.]

On 10/8/2023 at 10:15 PM, 8filltheheart said:

No planned experiments/labs until high school level courses. They can do whatever they want, but not during our school day and not with me. I am probably a lone voice in modern ed, but I think the focus on hands on demonstrations gives kids a completely false idea of what a career in science entails. (Want to know what my ds's physics  work entailed? Programming. Sifting through data. Want to know what my college dr's atmospheric science research entails? Programming. Sifting through data. 😉 ) 

CN are a way of organizing information. My kids use them for their reading and lectures. They continue to use them in college bc it is a simple way to organize notes into an effective study system.

 

Thanks so much. That's really interesting!! And, yes, everything is all about 'hands-on' like there's no other way to do science. I'm starting to get a little excited about science for my kids now. My 7th grader says she wants to be a midwife, and she is naturally interested in science topics. I don't want to kill that by having her do a program that causes her to lose the love. KWIM?

Thanks again 🙂

[Science for Middle Grades.]

10 hours ago, SilverMoon said:

The kid I mentioned is dysgraphic and in the pre-notetaking stage. I sprinkle some worksheets with open ended questions that are correlated to his spine text, and I guide our discussions to things that would be put in notes or a report. We're still heavily discussion based. 

The older kids would have done notes or notebooking in 7th. 

Thanks. So do you 'guide' your son's topic choices or let him pick his own topic of interest?

[Science for Middle Grades.]

14 hours ago, 8filltheheart said:

also don't use the WTM plans or preplanned program.  My kids can study whatever science topic they are interested in studying.  They pick the topic.  I help them find books.  They read for 30-45 mins and take Cornell Notes from their reading.  Every few weeks their writing assignment will be on a topic related to their current science topic.  They'll spend a week researching more information and then writing their paper.  

FWIW, I have taken the above approach with all of my kids through elementary school until they are ready for high school level science (except they don't start Cornell Notes until 7th grade, before that they just read and write their assigned reports).  This approach has provided my kids with a strong science foundation.  They have gone on to pursue STEM careers without any issue

Great!!!! Thanks for your reply. So do you have them do experiments/practical demonstrations or do you leave that to their own discretion and interest level? Also...what are Cornell Notes??

[Science for Middle Grades.]

55 minutes ago, SilverMoon said:

None of the above. 

We've cobbled our own lit based plan together. We've covered more than a curriculum would this way, and my kids have been more engaged. 🤷‍♀️

The youngest human did zoology in 5th and evolution in 6th. For 7th this year it's chemistry, using a blend of "light" high school supplements and a pile of books to read. I'm not going to guess what he'll do for 8th until we're closer. He tends to get an urgent rabbit trail in early summer and I just go with it. He'll definitely be ready for intro high school level by then but I'm not pushing him into it. 

Thanks for your reply. That sounds really good. I have used set science programs in the past with my older kids but I'm thinking of using a different approach with my current logic-stagers. Did you have your son keep a notebook, write reports etc. Or something else???

[Science for Middle Grades.]

Does anyone here do Logic Stage science as outlined in TWTM or does everyone use a program? I'm just curious....🤔

[Logic Stage History Facts]

Hi. I am currently re-reading the logic stage section of WTM and am in the history section. My girls are just moving into the Modern period and the recommendation is to write a list of 6-8 facts for each week's core history encyclopedia reading. Also, it is recommended to cover two sections a week from the core history encyclopedia (2 double pages). 

 

So.....do you think SWB meant 6-8 points for each double page OR 6-8 points covering all 4 pages? The two sections can be completely unrelated in topic so therefore there would only be 3-4 points on each topic. What do you think???

 

I know it's our homeschool and I can totally choose how I want us to do it etc etc but my inquiring mind wants to know 😉😉

[Crosspost: Inexpensive online courses in English, math, history, and science for 11-year-old and 13-year-old?]

I agree with CTC math.

Also.....this is all free

https://allinonehomeschool.com/

[thanks!]

On 11/15/2022 at 6:50 AM, bookbard said:

Rooted in Australia is a synonym for a well known swear word starting with F. So it has the usual meaning of that word as well as the other meaning of "damaged/in trouble" that the F word has. 

So very 'nicely' explained @bookbard😉

[If you're homeschooling fulltime, how many outside activities do you do?]

My 10yo and 12yo play cricket (it's an Aussie thing 😉) which involves training on Monday and a game on Friday. They have two dance classes each on Tuesdays. Wednesday is choir...currently in 2 choirs because one is their regular kid's choir and one is a special choir leading up to Christmas. Both rehearsals are on Wednesday (thankfully at different times). Thursday is free for them except they usually have friends come over then. Sunday is kid's church and sometimes another kids group they are in. They were doing horse riding lessons on Mondays but it clashes with cricket training now so it had to stop. They also do piano and violin but I'm a piano teacher and one of my older daughters teaches violin so I don't count them as outside activities.

None of these activities are homeschool groups. We occasionally do a homeschool group activity as well. 

These two kids are my 7th and 8th. When my older kids were younger we did waaay less outside activities so this feels like a lot.  But it's just the way things are at the moment 😊.

[Books for My 17 Year Old]

My 16yo son is not a massive reader but he loved Going Solo, autobiography of Roald Dahl. Loved it!!

He also really enjoys the Ranger's Apprentice series by John Flanagan. He reads these for fun over and over. 

[Sometimes I want a 5th kid, but I'm already 40.]

I was 44 and 46 when I had our last two. They are now 8 and 10 and it's so good. Wouldn't change it for the world.

 

[Duolingo offers Latin]

I know!!! I just discovered this last night and I'm going to start my youngest two on it on Monday. They already do Duolingo French so they are used to the format. What a great resource 😊👍.

[What curriculum have you never changed?]

Sonlight  

Story of the World.

The way I use these resources has changed but I still love them and they still work. 

 

[Science for a 1st and 7th grader]

I highly highly highly recommend Layers of Learning. Each unit includes a history, geography, science and arts topic with activities for all ages. So....if the science topic was planets, for example, there would be book suggestions, info and activities to apply to the different ages. One topic = different levels of work. 

https://layers-of-learning.com

[What if, you just are not "feeling it?"]

Follow your heart and instinct. Choose the book or method that you want to use and go your hardest. You and your kids will learn heaps. 

[Epic fantasy with strong female protagonists?]

The Green Ember series

Ranger's Apprentice series (strong female leads develop during the series).

[Getting pregnant end of your 40s?]

I had my last two at 44 and 46 - no intervention, both healthy.  I had high blood pressure during my pregnancy with the '46' baby but it wasn't age related because I had high bp in a number of my other pregnancies - including the first two. 

[Question for international home educators... high school with no American history?]

We are Australian and I have had my kids do Sonlight's Core 300 (20th century history) sometime during the last 2 years of school. This has been a good broad coverage of major world events/issues (ie: not a specifically American focus) for them. 

They have also done 'Understanding the Times' which is a Christian worldview course including sociology,  psychology, etc. They have found it really good.

[How long to recover from bronchitis?]

My dd was in hospital with pneumonia 2-3 weeks ago.  She is now out and has finished her antibiotics but has still been struggling with fatigue and some breathlessness etc. She's been back to the doc (he did check her iron levels - all good) and he told her that it can take up to 6 weeks to really recover. Bronchitis would be similar...not a whole lot of difference between them. 

So...take it easy...rest lots.  Hope you are feeling better soon. 

[13 yo BOYS. Oi!]

7 hours ago, Denise in IN said:

Lots of food.  Lots of sleep.  Lots of physical exercise.  LOTS of patience from the mother, but you don't need to accept rude, disrespectful, whining on and on, etc.  Calm, firm, direct, with as much humor as you can muster.  ?

This. Totally this. 

I have 7 girls...but my one 13yo boy 'takes the cake'. I agree with everything Denise has said above (including not accepting rude/whiny etc) and I'd add one more to the list. 

Hugs. Plenty of them. 

My ds practically melts if I just give him a good strong understanding hug. 

[Systems for household management]

13 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I don't even get how it would work.  I look around my bedroom and I see, dust on the ceiling fan, fingerprints on the glass mirror doors, a stain on the quilt cover, milipedes that have come on the floor overnight, a pile of dhs clothes that may be clean or dirty and a washing pile that is double the height of the washing basket.  That's just one room of my house! As I take the quilt cover to laundry I walk through three more rooms all with similar levels of dirt!  If I deal with it my kids will be getting educated by minecraft and YouTube.  My house generates more cleaning in a day than I can do so having a system at least means some of it gets done...

Oh wow. Thankyou for actually saying this. You described just how my place is right now and I didn't know anyone felt like I do when looking around their house. 

And I agree....doing what needs to be done would never work for me because there is just TOO MUCH. 

A system is seriously required!!

[Not Worrying About Adult Kids Out Late]

I just request that my kids let me know when they come home - even if it means tapping on my door and waking me enough to just let me know that they are home.  That way I'm not constantly waking up wondering....

This is what my parents asked of me too. Always seemed to work. 

 

[BookShark Science 7/Sonlight Science H?]

SL Science H is brand new so no-one would have done it yet. I don't know if it had already been available with Bookshark or not but it is new to SL. My ds, who is already doing Apologia General, is interested in Science H too so I might have to figure out a way to fit it in....

[Saxon 8/7 now... what for next year?]

I 'third' setting the time limit. Also, with 80+ on the tests I definitely wouldn't repeat 87. If you really think that your dd is not ready for Algebra 1 then maybe do Algebra 1/2 instead.  You could start Algebra 1/2 by working through the tests until she starts getting less than 80 then pick up the text from there.  

[Empowering girl read alouds]

I recommend the Ranger's Apprentice series. The main character is male but there are also strong, prominent female characters throughout the whole series. My girls have loved it.