Independent History and Science?

[cam112198]

I have 4 children ages 7, 4, 3, and I just had a baby 2 weeks ago. I only homeschool dd7. Dd3 and ds4 go to preschool. I'm starting to feel overwhelmed about starting back in January with a newborn. Is there anything for History and Science for a 2nd grader that would be somewhat independent? All of my other subjects are very teacher intensive, so I was looking for something for a few subjects that could be done somewhat independently. Does this exist? Any suggestions?

[Corraleno]

Honestly, in your situation I wouldn't even worry about formal history and science for a 2nd grader. Let her listen to the audiobook of SOTW or CHOW or LHOW (Gombrich), let her read some DK type books and watch BBC and National Geographic videos and don't even think about assignments, assessments, and that sort of thing. In the spring you can plant some seeds or hatch a caterpillar and talk about life cycles. Next year you can fold in your now-4-yo and do a more formal program, but right now I would not stress about it. Skipping a year of formal science and history at this age will not make any difference in the long run, so put your time and energy into your new little one (and taking care of YOURSELF) and don't feel guilty! :grouphug:

 

Jackie

[MIch elle]

Honestly, in your situation I wouldn't even worry about formal history and science for a 2nd grader. Let her listen to the audiobook of SOTW or CHOW or LHOW (Gombrich), let her read some DK type books and watch BBC and National Geographic videos and don't even think about assignments, assessments, and that sort of thing. In the spring you can plant some seeds or hatch a caterpillar and talk about life cycles. Next year you can fold in your now-4-yo and do a more formal program, but right now I would not stress about it. Skipping a year of formal science and history at this age will not make any difference in the long run, so put your time and energy into your new little one (and taking care of YOURSELF) and don't feel guilty! :grouphug:

 

Jackie

 

:iagree: or just watch Magic School Bus or Bill Nye on Youtube.

[Researcher]

:iagree:

 

There are also some great books on science and history that would be great independent reading or snuggle on the couch time.

[Makita]

I would agree. Young kids learn so much simply by being read to... enjoy snuggling up and reading fiction books according to their interest and questions. Allow their own natural curiousity to lead you ... and encourage them to ask questions like:

 

"I wonder what will happen when I ....

"Are there more bugs in wet places or dry places?"

 

Allow them time to explore and discover the answers to their own questions. This is scientific inquiry in its purest form.

[dragons in the flower bed]

How well does your seven-year-old read and write?

 

Galore Park's Junior History books are a colorful series with clearly laid out questions at the end of each chapter. A child of seven may be able to read it independently then answer the questions in a notebook.

 

For science, you may consider TOPS Lentils K-3. The instructions are written to the child. It's easy to collect the supplies and store them in an accessible place.

[Researcher]

 

For science, you may consider TOPS Lentils K-3. The instructions are written to the child. It's easy to collect the supplies and store them in an accessible place.

 

Thank you!!!!!

 

I've been trying to figure out ways to set up a science center for DS. He loves science and doing experiments with me. I plan to continue with our usual curriculum but really wanted to find something for him that he could do on his own for extra fun.

 

This looks like it will fit very nicely!

[cam112198]

Thanks for all your suggestions!! I think I will just find some good History and Science readers and listen to SOTW on audio!

[tdeveson]

Honestly, in your situation I wouldn't even worry about formal history and science for a 2nd grader. Let her listen to the audiobook of SOTW or CHOW or LHOW (Gombrich), let her read some DK type books and watch BBC and National Geographic videos and don't even think about assignments, assessments, and that sort of thing. In the spring you can plant some seeds or hatch a caterpillar and talk about life cycles. Next year you can fold in your now-4-yo and do a more formal program, but right now I would not stress about it. Skipping a year of formal science and history at this age will not make any difference in the long run, so put your time and energy into your new little one (and taking care of YOURSELF) and don't feel guilty!

 

Excellent advise.

:iagree:

 

For first grade, all we did for science was the Magic School Bus series, along with a huge number of TV programs pre-programmed by me. Science is his best subject now, so the lack of formal curricula didin't hurt a bit.

Edited December 21, 2009 by tdeveson

[PeterPan]

Totally AGREE with the others! For history readers, have you seen the COFA's? Childhood of Famous Americans series. They may be at your library, or many are still in-print. My dd has adored them for years, so they're worth buying.

 

You didn't ask, but I'll tell you what I did with my ds when I was at your stage last year. We did recliner school for a while, lost our minds (me tired, her cranky), and then I started loosening up. Get a whiteboard and just do the work together. A 2nd grader only needs 2-3 hours of school a day, and that INCLUDES his reading time! So get him books to read and do your math and LA art together for an hour. Some educational videos or book pile and he's done. Don't feel obligated to do a lot. But the BEST thing I did, the absolute best thing, was to start my baby on booster seat time when he was old enough to sit there, about 6 months. We started him for a real short period and worked up. Now he can sit for 45 min. to an hour, NO PROBLEM, every day. And the kicker is he LOVES school time. School time for him means special toys, me reading him board books while dd does her math, things he doesn't get any other time. I keep a laundry basket of premium toys just for school time and parcel them out one at a time to kill the time. Oh, and I use a timer. Set it in front of him and make a big deal of praising him when it goes off. Bribe with cheerios if needed. But most of the time he gets to play while dd works. Like I said, he LOVES it. He has pop beads, math manipulatives, a plastic toolbox set, boardbooks, phonics caterpillar, animal sounds toy, matching blocks, all sorts of stuff. I notice you're sending your other two off, and I'm just suggesting that a little effort early on might make it easier to keep them together later. It has worked out well for us. Timer, starting early, keeping it fun, never negative. He LOVES schooltime. He's 14 months old btw and quite the go bug. :)

[AngelBee]

:lurk5:

[Medieval Mom]

We were in a similar situation this year. :) I had a 6 yr old boy, and a newborn, new move, job, house, etc., etc., etc. Quite a year! Although I was all set up to do WTM history Ancients, we ended up sticking to the 3R's plus piano, singing, and memory work. Once ds was reading fluently, he began reading on his own for 10, 15, 25, 45, 60, 90 minutes a day independently! His favorite part of the day is reading! He LOVES history, and we've not yet "begun" any history "program". I decided we'd do history ala "living books" this year, focusing on American History (very informally). So, ds reads fun books from the library about many subjects, including American history. He's learned already more about American History than I ever knew. ;) We've done the same for science. "Nature walks" in the country and botanical gardens, nature books from the library, etc. I read aloud from various books, including books about American History and (his favorite) Burgess Bird Book. I must admit that I lightened up on our "no video" policy, too. We now watch David Attenborough's Life of Birds and Liberty's Kids. He has learned MUCH from these programs. (I have too.)

 

Now that ds#2 is 1 yr old, I'm trying to decide whether to continue this approach or integrate a more "formal" program for history and science into our day. :confused::confused::confused: I must admit, however, that this fairly laid-back, or shall I say, unscheduled approach has worked very well for us so far.

 

Best of luck to you! Enjoy your little ones :)

[RootAnn]

Glad others were able to give you some helpful advice.

 

I have five under eight (schooling two) including a three-month old. In my experience, one takes it a day at a time. And let yourself have a month or two to adjust to the newborn. The first six weeks post-baby you should be officially off most formal schooling, IMO.

 

:grouphug:

[Lovedtodeath]

 

Once ds was reading fluently, he began reading on his own for 10, 15, 25, 45, 60, 90 minutes a day independently! His favorite part of the day is reading! He LOVES history, and we've not yet "begun" any history "program".

:iagree:As I bought books from Amazon from the Ancient Explorations booklist, DD would pull them out of the boxes and read most of them on her own. She skipped about 1/4 of them, no harm done... and asked me to read 2 of them to her.

[cam112198]

Thanks for all your suggestions!! I haven't quite figured it out, but I am definitely thinking of letting her do a lot of her history and science reading by herself for the remainder of the year. And maybe dh can read science to her at night?! :-)