Cricket Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 Why is science so hard? We've been doing more nature studies this year but I figured we better revisit the circulatory system when my 9 yo called his veins "pipes". "Well, isn't that what they are, Mom?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Heck, yes! They have A LOT of information in them, probably as much as your average 3rd or 4th grade textbook on a subject, and it sticks with kids much more. IMHO, a video is probably the best way to hit a topic quickly for review or just a brief introduction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alana in Canada Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Unless the child does something with his information from the video, it is simply entertainment, no, edutainment. I love a edutainment video over any other kind of video, though, I have to confess! But, in all honesty, it isn't really "doing science." (Neither is simply reading from a text book either though that may be necessary for the next step--an experiment--) But science at the grammar stage isn't really science, anyway, just as arithmatic isn't math. We just don't have the words to differentiate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy in ME Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Sure it does. I don't think science beyond awareness of ones' surroundings is absolutely needed before high school. In my opinion, it should be interest driven to spark their curiosity of the world around them and introduce them to new concepts. Heck, I don't even have formal science scheduled for 5th and 6th next year. Enjoy some of the freedoms that homeschooling during the elementary years brings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 The very expensive summer camp that I sent my ds to several years ago used Bill Nye and Magic School Bus. He never went back there. I can get those videos for free at the library. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Academy Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 It does if you're comfortable with just that. Science is one of easy subjects that everyone makes hard. And my answer to your question is "No, Bill Nye the Science Guy is not enough science" for a child that you're responsible for academically. Science is supposed to be the FUN subject, the one where you get to show your child something they haven't seen before through an experiment or observation and you get to look like you're super smart for a little while longer! Get books on your child's level from the library, read to them. Discover things with them, do an experiment 1x a week or even once every two weeks, take a walk with them and listen to the world. Engage your child. Delight your child, science allows you to do it better at this age than any other subject. Watch a video- together and talk about it and duplicate something. A science video is not enough, even if it inspires a child to do an experiment, they probably won't say anything because they've been shown that Mom or Dad doesn't do that sort of thing and it's not worth asking about. Learning science at the early ages isn't about fulfilling academic requirements, it is about engaging your child in the world around them, making them look outside themselves to be observant of external things. When kids are younger, they want to focus on "me, me, me" and science is the perfect vehicle to get the child's attention on external things. There are morals to be learned within nature, inspirational stories of people how have done extraordinary things with their lives, there are passionate people probably locally who would love to share their knowledge with children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alana in Canada Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 You weren't really asking a philosophical question were you? Sorry, about that.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted March 7, 2008 Author Share Posted March 7, 2008 You weren't really asking a philosophical question were you?Sorry, about that.:D Well, yes, a little. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alana in Canada Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Oh, ok, then. I think that science is an activity. It starts with a question and investigates the world to find the answer. I don't think anything we do at the Grammar stage is really "science." It's more "vocabulary study" or something. "Pipes" is a perfectly good descriptive word for Blood vessels. Good heavens, I just looked up "science" in my Webster's 7th Collegiate. It says: 1a) possession of knowledge as distinquished from ignorance or misunderstanding. b: knowledge attained through study or practice. Well, there you go. If Bill Nye can give him a "possession of knowledge as distinquished from ignorance"...then yes, your son, as he is coming into possession of Mr. Nye's knowledge, by watching him, is, indeed, doing science. My sense of it isn't mentioned until the third definition: 3: knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws esp. as obtained and tested through scientific method; specif: Natural Science. (my italics). But that's just the dictionary--and dictionaries record and give the sense of a word as it is used, not the meaning of the thing itself, as it were, if you catch my drift. So, what is science? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Watching Bill Nye is good science exposure, IMHO, as long as it isn't the only science you do. We love science videos here. We also love experiments and have gone through many science kits. We've recently picked up a couple inexpensive workbooks by DK called Learn Science! These are not your typical workbooks. Each page includes a hands-on activity/experiment and then a suggestion on how to elaborate or extend this lesson. If you ever get the chance, check out a British show called Brainiac. Oh my, it is science experiments taken to the extreme. Not everything they do would be considered in good taste, but oh so funny. Pegasus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Well, ummmm, excuse me, but that IS what they are, LOL! He's simply looking at the human body from the standpoint of a great piece of architecture. Very engineering-minded of him. Of course Bill Nye is science! Science need never have dull or boring included in it's definition. We've just come off a round of visiting goat dairy farms, for goodness sake (poop is science, too)....... Regena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tami Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Vocabulary acquisition and scientific literacy are important components of science! Kudos to you for finding something to stimulate curiosity! I did not hear you asking if Bill Nye videos were a *complete* science program, but whether they were a *component* of your science program. 100% yes! Perhaps your student will generate questions that require further research. Stimulating curiosity is such a key component of science. It would be a great idea to have science kits or experiment books on hand that relate to videos your child enjoys. All education is self-education. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArwenA Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 I think Bill Nye is enough as a supplement but it isn't a full study in it's self. If you watch a Bill Nye video, read books on the subject do experiments, disscuss what you've learnt about and spend a few weeks or a month on it then you've got a science program up and running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 At age 9? Absolutely yes. If you can get him engaged with further activities and books, more power to you. The last time I asked someone in the know, my favorite local classical Christian school did not even offer a full blown science curriculum to grammar stage children. They offer exposure to the sciences. Bill Nye is certainly sufficient for that. Now if you asked this on the high school board, it would be a completely different thing. But I think you are fine for now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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