Science necessary for K-3 grades?

[I.Dup.]

My dd is going into 2nd grade in the fall and all I have planned for science is the Klutz book of science activities and several books recommended by Sonlight (like Magic Schoolbus and a couple on specific scientists). We're going to be doing some activities in history, and I just didn't think I could handle science experiements at this point. We will be having a new baby this fall, along with a toddler, an infant and a preschooler.

 

I'm not really a "gather supplies together and do a craft/experiment" kind of person anyway, and I'm guessing there has to be a lot of that in science. Do you think science experiments are necessary in lower elementary? If so, what science do you do with your younger kiddos?

[8filltheheart]

I am not an experiment person, either. (I would definitely not qualify for a Miss Frizzle award!!) We read lots of nature related whole books through elementary school. My kids love science and not one of them is "science deprived" or behind. :)

[greenmamato3]

i'm not that into experiments, either .... so i'm interested to hear what others say :)

where's that lurk button? :)

[I.Dup.]

I am not an experiment person, either. (I would definitely not qualify for a Miss Frizzle award!!) We read lots of nature related whole books through elementary school. My kids love science and not one of them is "science deprived" or behind. :)

 

 

Thank you for sharing! Does this mean that the nature related whole books (examples please?) are all you do for science through elementary?

[8filltheheart]

Thank you for sharing! Does this mean that the nature related whole books (examples please?) are all you do for science through elementary?

 

Yes. When they are younger, I read to them books on whatever topics they are interested in (everything from bees to electricity). As they get older, they pick out the books on their own to read (science is 30 minutes of reading/day starting around 3rd or 4th grade......whenever they are strong readers). We own a huge library of books, but we also go to the library to get books on topics we don't own.

 

My oldest never used a textbook until 8th grade physical science. Some of them started in 7th (last yr my 7th grader did all 3 Plato science courses for middle school b/c he wanted to.)

 

FWIW......my oldest is now a rising senior in chemical engineering and doing extremely well.

 

For me, science is about creating inquistiveness about nature and the wonder of why. As my kids get older, they spend hours doing all sorts of experiments on their own. I simply buy them what they ask for building whatever gizmo they are interested in (my favorite so far was my oldest's potato launcher).

 

They own all sorts of electricity kits, pulleys/gadgets, etc. But none of that is something they really start doing until they around 10 or so.

[I.Dup.]

Oh perfect, that is definitely something I can do! Thank you! :001_smile:

[EKS]

Here's my opinion on elementary science, and actually it's my opinion on middle and high school level science as well.

 

The hands-on stuff is not all that important.

 

The really effective and important experiments/activities included in elementary science programs are few and far between. You could honestly get away with doing maybe 10 labs/activities per year, as long as the ones you picked were the good ones, and your children wouldn't miss anything at all.

 

Now, that said, I do think there is a lot of value in observing nature regularly and talking about the observations. But doing formal work, other than reading and (maybe) watching nature shows, is really not necessary, IMO. In fact, if the time spent doing activities eclipses time spent learning content, then there is a problem. The idea that science is a process and if we teach the process then children will automatically have a wonderful science education is ridiculous. There is a lot of content that needs to be learned first.

 

BTW: My degree is in biochemistry and I worked for many years as a scientist at a biopharmaceutical company.

[winoelle]

My only issue with observing nature as your science study is that you are limited by where you are located and I tend to doubt that much actually gets observed/noted. If my daughter's sole science education consisted of observation of nature, she would really miss out on a lot. To me, the point of what we do now for science is to draw her in while she is fascinated by everything. I wouldn't call our science "formal" by any means, but it is organized. We spent a LOT of time on space this year, because she just could not get enough. We probably did some sort of activity/experiment once a week. Sometimes they were VERY basic and took 5-10 minutes, sometimes they were more involved. We also talked about weather, rocks, water, typical earth science topics. I used R.E.A.L. Science for the backbone of our study, but I tweaked it a lot. We read a lot of "science" books, watch discovery channel, and talk, talk, talk (and yes, also observe). I can't imagine dropping science as it is probably her favorite subject. Like I said, I see it as building a foundation for the future. The small amount of time I spend prepping experiments is pretty minimal, the enjoyment she gets from them and questions that come out of them are more than worth it.

 

Noelle

[gardening momma]

I think "observation" would include reading. Experiments/activities are active; observation/reading is passive (but still valid!).

[KrissiK]

I wouldn't say science is necessary at that age, but IMO, it's what makes school fun. My boys are fine with school, they'll do their reading and math without complaint (we did Kinder last year), but it's the content areas they just love. They love learning about social studies stuff and the little bit of science we did they just loved, too. We observed spiders and webs in the fall, and did a little experiment on evaporation, nothing too elaborate. We did little things here and there, but I just wasn't prepared and didn't have any good and easy resources. I'm doing a lot of work on science and history this summer so I can have something I can just go with without too much prep.

[Mommyof4ks]

I don't know if they are necessary per se, but the kids LOVE them. My kids have been doing science experiments for years and science is their favorite subject (all three of the kids love it). Do your kids like experiments? If so I would look for some kits that are already put together (some are sold at Target) or through a hs cirrc. site so you would not have to pull alot of stuff together.

[EKS]

My only issue with observing nature as your science study is that you are limited by where you are located and I tend to doubt that much actually gets observed/noted. If my daughter's sole science education consisted of observation of nature, she would really miss out on a lot. To me, the point of what we do now for science is to draw her in while she is fascinated by everything. I wouldn't call our science "formal" by any means, but it is organized.

 

 

I'm assuming this was directed at my comments about observing nature and not needing to do formal experimentation in the elementary grades, so I just wanted to clarify. When I said formal, I was talking about experiments where children are supposed to develop hypotheses with essentially no knowledge of the subject at hand and then test them. Or doing other activities that are little more than scientifically oriented art projects. That sort of thing.

 

I guess my point was that the content of science should take priority and the hands on stuff should be at most a fun supplement. Only after content is learned, IMHO, is it worthwhile to teach the process. If you try to teach the process before that, what ends up happening is instead of making educated guesses (hypotheses) and testing them systematically, students make random guesses and then play with the science materials.

 

That said, there are some fabulous science activities and demonstrations that are extremely illuminating and are appropriate for children. But there aren't enough of these to fill up the elementary years with tons of hands-on science.

 

Or maybe I'm just the most boring homeschool mother on the planet.

[JennW in SoCal]

I just want to elaborate on the value of nature study.

 

The real work of scientists is to observe, classify, quantify, identify and through that notice changes, details and oddities. These are the same activities done in nature study -- to take the time to observe something big or little that is outside, and compare it over time, compare it to other things, and find ways to describe it whether in words or drawing. Measure it, sketch it, write about it. Look it up in reference books and area field guides.

 

Observing nature means collecting rocks, looking at them with magnifying glasses, chipping them, scratching them, dropping vinegar on them. Are they all the same? How are they different? It means reading about rocks from library and internet sites. It means watching cool DVDs on volcanoes.

 

It can be having a bird feeder and learning to identify your neighborhood birds. Why do different birds have different types of wings or beaks? Look at plants and trees and make rubbings of them. Is the leaf edge straight or jagged? What about the bark? How does it smell? What kind of bugs live on it? It means noticing the stars, the angle of the sun throughout the year, the different kinds of clouds, the different shapes of hills. Looking at the bugs in your house and yard, the lizards and rabbits and whatever else is in the neighborhood. And it means wondering aloud and often, "why".

 

This is not a limited endeavor and it touches upon every scientific discipline -- the rocks are chemistry, birds, plants and insects are biology and physiology, the stars and the sun are the solar system which leads to physics and more chemistry. It is endless, with an endless variety of subjects to observe no matter what kind of climate you live in.

 

So I'd say the best investment for science for elementary kids are magnifying glasses, binoculars, measuring tape and lots of area field guides. And a library card:D.

 

And I'd like to give a plug to Project Feeder Watch through Cornell University. You and your kids can be a part of a science project by reporting on birds in your yard through out the winter. They also have a wonderful curriculum for homeschoolers. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/

Edited July 5, 2009 by JennW in SoCal

[I.Dup.]

For those of you who do science and enjoy it, can you share where you get your materials and experiements?

[greenmamato3]

I just want to elaborate on the value of nature study.

 

The real work of scientists is to observe, classify, quantify, identify and through that notice changes, details and oddities. These are the same activities done in nature study -- to take the time to observe something big or little that is outside, and compare it over time, compare it to other things, and find ways to describe it whether in words or drawing. Measure it, sketch it, write about it. Look it up in reference books and area field guides.

 

Observing nature means collecting rocks, looking at them with magnifying glasses, chipping them, scratching them, dropping vinegar on them. Are they all the same? How are they different? It means reading about rocks from library and internet sites. It means watching cool DVDs on volcanoes.

 

It can be having a bird feeder and learning to identify your neighborhood birds. Why do different birds have different types of wings or beaks? Look at plants and trees and make rubbings of them. Is the leaf edge straight or jagged? What about the bark? How does it smell? What kind of bugs live on it? It means noticing the stars, the angle of the sun throughout the year, the different kinds of clouds, the different shapes of hills. Looking at the bugs in your house and yard, the lizards and rabbits and whatever else is in the neighborhood. And it means wondering aloud and often, "why".

 

This is not a limited endeavor and it touches upon every scientific discipline -- the rocks are chemistry, birds, plants and insects are biology and physiology, the stars and the sun are the solar system which leads to physics and more chemistry. It is endless, with an endless variety of subjects to observe no matter what kind of climate you live in.

 

So I'd say the best investment for science for elementary kids are magnifying glasses, binoculars, measuring tape and lots of area field guides. And a library card:D.

 

And I'd like to give a plug to Project Feeder Watch through Cornell University. You and your kids can be a part of a science project by reporting on birds in your yard through out the winter. They also have a wonderful curriculum for homeschoolers. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/

 

i just want to say that you painted a beautiful picture of nature study ... one that SHOULD whet ALL of our appetites and excited our sensibilities!!! thanks :)

 

i think a lot of us tend to shy away from nature study b/c it's open ended, it's unpredictable, and it's unquantifiable. but that doesn't mean it's lacking value!!! thanks for the reminder!!!!!! :)

[blessedmom3]

I also have a 6 yo , 5 yo 3 yo and a 3 months old. I don't find much time for science hands on but we read a lot . I focus on the basics: math , phonics , writing. When we can , we do some easy chemistry like baking soda +vinegar or soluble/insoluble matter ( see what dissolves in water: oil ,sugar, salt,coffee ,pepper) and some experiments from 100 cool science experiments. I also teach them about evaporation, condensation , precipitation , etc. when we cook . Boil some water , put a lid on and they learn how the rain is formed. But mostly we read from encyclopedias or nice science books with lots of pictures .

I don't believe in buying expensive science materials or curriculums until at least 10-12 maybe later.

[KrissiK]

Mudpies and Magnets is a great resource for that age. I also just Googled stuff like "Science activities for preschoolers" and came up with all sorts of easy websites. Oh, yeah, Exploratorium Snacks is also great, but more for upper elememtary. (I'm sorry I'm not putting links, I'm feeling a little lazy tonight. I took a nap this afternoon and haven't yet recovered) Like I said, my boys are going into first grade, so we didn't go super in-depth. Last fall we went out and hunted spider webs. There are some beauties in October. We drew pictures of them. We said if the spider was there or not. What it looked like he ate. We talked about spiders as compared to insects. What made them different. They loved it. We collect rolly pollies and watch what they do. You might put snails in a shoebox with different types of food all around and see where they head. Ants are always fun to watch, too. You might get a bird book and count the number of birds in your yard. Plant some butterfly loving plants and see if it attracts butterflies and write down which ones you see. The beauty of the primary grades is you don't have to get too technical.

[sagira]

Neat discussion :lurk5:

[Coffeetime]

We haven't done science until this year.. 3rd grade for my oldest.

I just don't have time to do a million experiments! :p

 

For K-2nd I just let the kids browse the non-fiction section at the library each time we went and they'd pick out books they were interested in. Then we'd read them at our leisure!

 

HTH!

[amsunshine]

For those of you who do science and enjoy it, can you share where you get your materials and experiements?

 

For dds 6 and 7.5, we used RS4K's Chemistry Pre-level 1 this year, as well as Sonlight's Discover and Do DVD, level 1, along with the consumable and non-consumable kits from Sonlight. We also used the ScienceWiz Chemistry set. My dds had a blast with these, and learned a lot!