Ideas for science without a curriculum

[Medieval Mom]

My two year search for the perfect science curriculum has led me to conclude that I shall either have to write my own, or appraoch science without a curriculum, piece by piece.

 

So, to those of you who do not use a science curriculum, what do you do to provide structure and coherency? Do you use a standard line of questions and a science log ala WTM which the student completes for every book or experiment? Do you choose a spine and follow rabbit trails? Just narration, copywork, etc.? I am asking generally, for grades 3-8.

 

I have divided our science studies each year into three parts: nature study (with a nature notebook), natural history (readings), and "science". I have already planned out nature study and natural history, and have only "science" to consider. In this facet, I'd like us to study chemistry, zoology, botany, physics, astronomy, physical geography, meteorology, etc.

 

I have a general order of study, but HOW to go about this has my stymied. I have read the WTM recommendations for grammar and logic stage, but I'd love to hear from the hive, too.;)

 

 

Thank you for all your replies! :)

[TKDmom]

:bigear:

 

I'm having the hardest time with choosing a science curriculum this year. I broke down and bought BFSU, but I will be surprised if I manage to implement it. :tongue_smilie:

[Mallory]

This thread has a rough outline of our life science plans for this year.

 

I have 10th, 5th, 4th, and 4yo tag-along.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=199456

 

My 10th grader has a text, and the boys are following along the topics, just checking books out from the library. We will be doing narrations (probably orally) and for each section they will have a short report due (4th and 5th graders 1-3 paragraphs, 10th well written lab report). I think I have 12 reports due.

 

This is the first year I will require reports from the younger two, we'll see how it turns out. We only did narrations before.

[MamaSheep]

This year I have found books on Earth and space topics at different reading levels (primary, intermediate, advanced), and outlined 33 topics in those fields that I want us to cover (I was aiming for 4 units of 8 weeks each with one week in each 9 week quarter for flexibility and/or review, but I wound up with 9 topics in one batch). Then I went through and wrote down the pages in each level's book(s) that covered each topic so that I have a chart of topics with 3 levels of reading assignments on that topic. I plan for us to read through those and write about what we have learned, WTM style. Dd will read about it at the "primary" level, and ds will be allowed to choose between "intermediate" and "advanced" reading this year. Having all of them planned out gives us the flexibility to choose one level one week and the other level the next week. (Flexibility is important with ds, as some days his neurological issues interfere more than others.) And of course, each will write about what we have learned at his or her own level as well, but I will only have to cram on one topic at a time (I plan to read the advanced level assignments myself) and we can all talk about what we learned together. We'll also be doing some corresponding activities as we go.

 

I would love to go through and have a list of review/comprehension questions for each reading assignment, as well as a notebook page for each level for each week, and a suggested activity, and then publish it, but that hasn't come together for me this year. I may be able to pull some more of it together as we go along. We'll see.

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

So, to those of you who do not use a science curriculum, what do you do to provide structure and coherency? Do you use a standard line of questions and a science log ala WTM which the student completes for every book or experiment? Do you choose a spine and follow rabbit trails? Just narration, copywork, etc.? I am asking generally, for grades 3-8.

 

My kids are younger than 3-8 but the format I use works for all ages. My main resource for science was written for teachers of upper elementary students. I feel your pain about finding the perfect science curriculum. For me, the problem stems from my underlying belief that curiosity should be the major drive behind a good program. I know WTM looks at it from a grammar-stage viewpoint of kids being fact hungry but they are also very curious, of course. When they are working to satisfy their own curiosity and come by answers in that pursuit, they are even more likely to remember the facts they have discovered. To that end...

 

We begin with the rabbit trails. We keep a question board strictly for science and write down any and all questions. These questions can be posed anytime throughout our day but I deliberately solicit them at the beginning of official science time. Questions also emanate from our readings, which are often intentionally planned to provoke the dc's thoughts about certain timely subjects (gardens in the spring, ice in the winter, etc.). We then decide whether our questions are research questions (can find the answer in a book) or testable questions (can design an experiment and find the answer for ourselves instead of looking up the answer in a book). Then we act accordingly. (I tend to follow the dc's lead on this unless they are just not seeing something easy and obvious because I realize that there are many questions we could technically design experiments to answer but they would be too challenging for where we are--measuring the earth's circumference springs to mind!)

 

If we have questions about how to design a test or need more information about a subject before proceeding, we choose resources from our shelves (it really helps to have some great science resources on hand) or schedule a trip to the library. Sometimes we don't need books at all but instead just go ahead and figure out a way to throw together an experiment. Kids are far more clever and creative than we give them credit for.

 

I am now cutting and pasting from a few different threads I've posted to before, starting with the books I recommend ad nauseam. :D

 

Nurturing Inquiry

Science Notebooks

Scaffolding Science Inquiry Through Lesson Design

Organizing Wonder

The Really Useful Science Book (because in order to be successful in teaching with inquiry methods, it helps to know some stuff to help you be a better guide)

 

Nurturing Inquiry is my personal favorite, BUT (and this is a very big but for some people), it is not a complete how to. You will finish it inspired but with a lot of questions about how you can make his model work for you, as in how to design specific lesson plans (the Scaffolding book is the answer to those questions, although it's not as inspiring as I had hoped it would be). Of course, you will get a very good idea of how to incorporate inquiry science (and some excellent examples), but it's mostly thought provoking, laying down some philosophy and explaining the inquiry process. I'm not explaining this book well enough. There were used copies for $5 a while back and I'm disappointed that they're not still there. It is a pricey book. I personally think it's more than worth the price. Inter-Library Loan could help you decide if it's one you would want to own though. I would only buy the Scaffolding book if you bought Nurturing Inquiry, bought it hook, line, and sinker and wanted to know how to design your own program. That's where I was. Organizing Wonder is another inspiring inquiry book, though, and would be a good starting place. I might say NI first and then OW.

 

Science Notebooks is a different kind of book altogether (see sample here--Heinemann publishes all these books and I'm disappointed that there aren't samples for all the books. Usually they're much better about it). It will help you with specifics for getting good science notebooks going with your kids. I would say it's second to NI and/or OW. (Edit 8/11/10 to say I think this book is a must-buy no matter what program you use, especially for that 3-8 grade group for which you need resources. :D)

 

NI is the book that perfectly fits how I want science to happen in our homeschool. We're working on process; slow and steady wins the race. I was using R.E.A.L. Science Odyssey by Pandia Press with the BFSU concept of threads as a crutch to start out (and liked both reasonably well). Now I'm feeling confident enough to continue on solo from here on out, using just the question board as a springboard for our science studies. Actually, I think it will be much easier now that I don't have to integrate from multiple resources.

 

I put together an outline of some of my notes from the many inquiry books and articles I've read. The 5E Model (you can Google that for more info) has served as my guide for lesson planning. My outline will be completely distorted so forgive me. :)

 

 

 

 

5E Model

 

 

 

ØE1 – Engage

oConduct demonstration or read a book to hook the kids.

§Use fiction so you don’t give away answers.

§Pause for questions to encourage interaction with the book and its ideas. Ask kids if they can visualize.

oModel questioning. Maintain question board and write all questions down.

oKWL Chart – What I know. What I wonder. What I learned.

§Ask kids about prior knowledge. Don’t correct fallacies at this point.

§Wonderings can come from experiences with books, other students, personal interests and experiences and/or prior experiences with discovery boxes.

 

ØE2 – Explore

oProvide kids with free access to materials related to subject matter (discovery boxes).

oAllow hands-on interaction.

oModel observation and other process skills.

oNI – Encourage kids to ask questions. Differentiate between testable and research questions.

 

ØE3 – Explain

oHave kids articulate observations in their own words.

oDiscuss experiences with the students and introduce scientific terminology (helping to connect their exploration experience with appropriate new vocabulary).

oRead non-fiction books to help give words and meaning to what was observed and to further understanding.

oEncourage additional questioning.

oModel language and vocabulary that you want kids to learn.

 

ØE4 – Elaborate

oHave kids design tests to answer them. Discuss variables, controls and what constitutes a fair test.

oAsk kids to predict results.

 

ØE5 – Evaluate

oDiscuss the process and what was learned. (Finish KWL chart with this information).

oReview new vocabulary.

oRecord data, observations, experiences, conclusions, etc. in science notebook/discovery journal.

oIf age appropriate, allow for student dissemination of information in the form of presentations, keeping a Discovery Journal, stories and/or narration.

 

Questions to Encourage

What would happen if…?

What might you try instead?

What might you try next time?

What does this remind you of?

How are you going to do that?

Why did you decide to try that?

How do you know…?

Why do you think…?

What is your evidence?

Where could you get more information?

 

OK, that explore part up there is important. It's another place to start. Instead of soliciting questions from your kids, lets say you decide one day to give them a discovery box (big in NI). You give them styrofoam, a tub, a pitcher of water, some toothpicks, aluminum foil, etc. You say, "OK, kids, look what we've got. Let's all build boats and see whose can hold the most marbles. Go!" Now that's some fun and they're going to learn some great stuff. To solidify the great stuff they've learned, you can look up flotation in your science encyclopedia.

 

Anyway...this is long. This if FUN! Science is our favorite subject and the more loosey-goosey I get with it, the more we all like it and the more we learn!

[Medieval Mom]

Wow! Thank you for all for such a detailed and helpful posts.

 

I'm off to research the numerous ideas you gave, Alte Veste Academy! :) :auto:

[Farrar]

Thanks for those thoughts, Kristina! I'm going to look into some of those books.

 

We're just getting going (kids start 1st grade soon). Every single science curriculum just looked... dull or not right for me and my style so I decided to make our own plan. I asked the kids what they wanted to learn about and they picked the general topic of how things work - forces, simple machines, etc. Apparently you're not supposed to do that with younger grades. At least, the fact that there's not ANY curricula for it made me think that. But I bought the Usborne Science Encyclopedia to use as a spine (more for me than the kids) and I found lots of and lots of resources and experiments and made a little curriculum map and am gathering stuff for experiments - though rubber bands, marbles and balloons seem to be our primary needs and we already have those.

 

Anyway, I'm hoping we go off down lots of rabbit holes. But I'm also hoping the spine keeps us on some sort of general path to go back to. We're going to keep science journals and I'm going to have the kids do science vocab. in them as well as some sort of "write up" for each experiment.

[Guest]

Another, alternative way to create a coherence or "spine" is to choose a series of investigations from the GEMS program. The teacher's guides can be grouped by general topic, or there are series of more open-ended guides investigating bubbles, dry ice, etc. The guides allow you to work with kids of various ages and grades -- usually about a four-year spread -- and include lists of materials, detailed plans, multiple activities, assessment ideas (not tests, but activities or other projects), and lists of fiction and non-fiction books on the topic ranging from picture books to chapter books to adult books for the parent or teacher. The down side is that these are activities, not just books or kits, so you do have to gather some materials and be prepared for kids to make a mess. But this is terrific science; I've done about half of all they offer with my dd, with kids at a co-op, and at our house as science parties. The kids were engaged and always ran over time; they bubbled over with observations, questions, and ideas; it was hard to get them to go to something else afterwards. Once I had everything set up I would just watch my child or all the kids go to it, making comments, sometimes trying things alongside her, etc.

 

The guides are also easy to work in among other things: kits, books, models.

 

http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/GEMS (I just love them; I have no other connection)

[Nestof3]

I've always just decided on a topic and lined up books to read for each subtopic and added in handouts, activities and experiments as I see fit. It's more complicated than that, but I have never used a science textbook aside from my first year homeschooling and then for high school.

 

I am using spines this year for earth science and astronomy, but honestly, I feel I could drop the spines at this point because I have such fabulous books and activities to do.

 

Having homeschooled for 11 years, I have accumulated lots of fun resources by Scholastic (esp. Donald M. Silver), Naturescope, and other teacher resources that have fantastic handouts with labeling, papercrafts, etc.

 

This year, I have also typed up copywork sentences for our science lessons.

 

For example, for earth science and astronomy, I have lists of books typed up. I also have a binder with the handouts I plan to use organized in order of lesson. In each binder, I keep the copywork sentences the boys will write this year. These are downloadable from the left-hand side of my blog.

[Medieval Mom]

More wonderful ideas! Thank you! :)

 

KarenAnne-- I have looked at GEMS before, but thought it may not get done at our house. This was last year, with a new baby, two moves, etc. Our life has calmed down now, so I'll take another look!

[Ellie]

Well, you have it backwards: You decide on the *curriculum* first--what you'd like to be covered in your science instruction--*then* on instructional materials (textbooks or trade books--books you'd find in a bookstore or library) and methods (logs, field trips, hands-on, educational videos/DVDs).

 

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that "curriculum" means "that stack of textbooks there." It doesn't. It means "the course of study offered by an institution of education." You already have your course of study:

 

I have divided our science studies each year into three parts: nature study (with a nature notebook), natural history (readings), and "science". I have already planned out nature study and natural history, and have only "science" to consider. In this facet, I'd like us to study chemistry, zoology, botany, physics, astronomy, physical geography, meteorology, etc.

That's your curriculum. Now, you're looking for how to do it:

Do you use a standard line of questions and a science log ala WTM which the student completes for every book or experiment? Do you choose a spine and follow rabbit trails? Just narration, copywork, etc.?

And you have gotten some very good suggestions on how to do it. :)

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

I'm off to research the numerous ideas you gave, Alte Veste Academy!

 

Oh, I wanted to add one thing. If the idea of going completely to inquiry science feels overwhelming or is not in line with your feelings on how science should be taught (and obviously, that's fine as we are all different), you can just incorporate bits of it here and there.

 

One very easy and effective method is to periodically take experiments (and most are really more like recipes, imo) and turn them around. That is to say, instead of following the prescribed steps to get the desired outcome, just give the kids the materials from the experiment and see what useful information they can glean through their own decisions and efforts. It's fun to watch!

[JoyfulMama]

I agree with Ellie. You already know what topics you want to cover, now you determine the methods.

Me? I do the same thing , in the form of an outline of sorts.

I. Topic

A. Subtopic

1. Experiment

2. Book

3. Book

B. Subtopic

1. Experiment

2. Book

3. Book

II. Topic

...

III. Topic

 

Now, "Book" doesn't have to be a stand-alone book, but can be from a science encyclopedia. I have an Usborne and a Kingfisher. :D

I have browsed a few tables of contents and book lists for published science curricula, and have gleened some recommendations from there. I have *tried* to come up with an experiment for each subtopic, as my dc love the experiments (and so do I).

We then document in a variety of ways. Some photos, some narration/dictation, some lab reports, some observation drawings, some charts for observation over time.

[Medieval Mom]

Well, you have it backwards: You decide on the *curriculum* first--what you'd like to be covered in your science instruction--*then* on instructional materials (textbooks or trade books--books you'd find in a bookstore or library) and methods (logs, field trips, hands-on, educational videos/DVDs).

 

Don't fall into the trap of thinking that "curriculum" means "that stack of textbooks there." It doesn't. It means "the course of study offered by an institution of education." You already have your course of study:

 

 

That's your curriculum. Now, you're looking for how to do it:

 

And you have gotten some very good suggestions on how to do it. :)

 

I agree with Ellie. You already know what topics you want to cover, now you determine the methods.

Me? I do the same thing , in the form of an outline of sorts.

I. Topic

A. Subtopic

1. Experiment

2. Book

3. Book

B. Subtopic

1. Experiment

2. Book

3. Book

II. Topic

...

III. Topic

 

Now, "Book" doesn't have to be a stand-alone book, but can be from a science encyclopedia. I have an Usborne and a Kingfisher. :D

I have browsed a few tables of contents and book lists for published science curricula, and have gleened some recommendations from there. I have *tried* to come up with an experiment for each subtopic, as my dc love the experiments (and so do I).

We then document in a variety of ways. Some photos, some narration/dictation, some lab reports, some observation drawings, some charts for observation over time.

 

 

Yes, I agree that I have the WHAT & am looking for the HOW. (I'm not sure I agree that I have it backwards, but, of course, I could be wrong. ;) ) I'm a methodical person by nature, and would *ideally* have a plan for how we study each topic. Books and experiments for each subject, yes. But what shall we write? Perhaps all I need to do is a lab report (on the child's level) for each topic. I read WTM again last night and felt that SWB has excellent guidelines for writing in Science. I was hoping that others had different approaches. And they do! Thank you, everyone, for sharing your ideas.

:)

[Guest]

But what shall we write? Perhaps all I need to do is a lab report (on the child's level) for each topic. I read WTM again last night and felt that SWB has excellent guidelines for writing in Science. I was hoping that others had different approaches. And they do! Thank you, everyone, for sharing your ideas.

:)

 

My husband, who is a chemist, brought some of his lab notebooks home when my daughter was in elementary school and showed them to her, talking about how important this kind of record-keeping and writing was. We kept a lab notebook for her throughout elementary school, including pictures of the activities or experiments she did, narrations, and any data collection or other writing included in GEMS -- another plus for that program is that there are writing suggestions of various kinds ranging from quite creative to fairly standard "reports." Some of the GEMS teacher's guides come with built-in notebooks, with photos (black and white), questions, and responses to the activities.

[Medieval Mom]

My husband, who is a chemist, brought some of his lab notebooks home when my daughter was in elementary school and showed them to her, talking about how important this kind of record-keeping and writing was. We kept a lab notebook for her throughout elementary school, including pictures of the activities or experiments she did, narrations, and any data collection or other writing included in GEMS -- another plus for that program is that there are writing suggestions of various kinds ranging from quite creative to fairly standard "reports." Some of the GEMS teacher's guides come with built-in notebooks, with photos (black and white), questions, and responses to the activities.

 

Ah! Wonderful!

 

Did you use GEMS mainly in group settings? Do you feel it is adaptable to using with one child?

[Ellie]

Yes, I agree that I have the WHAT & am looking for the HOW. (I'm not sure I agree that I have it backwards, but, of course, I could be wrong. ;) )

Homeschoolers by and large use "curriculum" incorrectly, possibly because most of us are not professional educators and haven't learned the difference. Your "what" is the curriculum; your "how" is what you need to accomplish your "what."

I'm a methodical person by nature, and would *ideally* have a plan for how we study each topic. Books and experiments for each subject, yes. But what shall we write? Perhaps all I need to do is a lab report (on the child's level) for each topic. I read WTM again last night and felt that SWB has excellent guidelines for writing in Science. I was hoping that others had different approaches. And they do! Thank you, everyone, for sharing your ideas.:)

And it's possible that you're over-thinking the whole thing.:D

[JoyfulMama]

Perhaps seeing what others write might be helpful...

 

There is a great post here which shows various notebook pages created in one family. It has a many links, too.

[Guest Alte Veste Academy]

Perhaps seeing what others write might be helpful...

 

There is a great post here which shows various notebook pages created in one family. It has a many links, too.

 

That's a great link! Thanks for posting it!

[Guest]

Ah! Wonderful!

 

Did you use GEMS mainly in group settings? Do you feel it is adaptable to using with one child?

 

No, I used most of the ones we did with just my daughter and myself. They scaled down just fine. There are a few I would want to do with a group, because discussion and excitement levels are just so high, but these are mostly for older kids. I did Plate Tectonics, Mystery Festival, and River Cutters, for instance, with a co-op group; I had kids over to the house for Dry Ice Investigations and Bubble-ology. But nearly all of the rest I did with my daughter. Occasionally you, the parent, have to provide competing arguments or observations. The activities are so fun that I never minded doing them alongside her, but if you want your child to work independently, the instructions for younger kids are well done, in large print, with illustrations and diagrams.

 

If you do decide to try one or two, remember to scale down the materials list!

[mcconnellboys]

"chemistry, zoology, botany, physics, astronomy, physical geography, meteorology, etc. "

 

So, I'm assuming that your looking at only a half to a third of a year to cover this? (Are you covering natural history and nature study concurrently, or separately?)

 

Either way, I might only choose one of these topics per year in order to cover it with any depth. If you want a grand review of all these each year, then I guess I'd divide up into 8 topical areas (including the "other"), and allott generally 2 weeks to each topic, with 3 each to a couple of the topics you're more inclined to linger on. That's if you're giving this area 18 weeks of your time.

 

If you're only giving this about a third of a standard school year, then I guess I'd give one week each to half these topics, with the other half that are more important to me being assigned two weeks of our time.....

 

For each topic (say, chemistry), I'd pick one or a very few topics of interest to cover, since time is limited. I think depth is more important than breadth. I'd read a few shorter books that convey a good intro to this topic, covering only one topic at a time. I'd then do some activities and/or experiments that relate to this topic. And we might wrap up with a related field trip.

 

I would not worry about kids writing up things when they are as young as your students. If they'd like to draw a picture and/or write a sentence or two about something they've done and enjoyed, that would be fine, but I wouldn't require it.

 

I might try some memorization with younger kids and help them make a poster of their memory work. For chemistry, for instance, I might have them memorize the states of matter and a very brief discription of the characteristics of each state (there are five identified now, I believe).

 

"So, to those of you who do not use a science curriculum, what do you do to provide structure and coherency?"

 

I only study one area of science per year, in general, so we are immersed in that for a long period of time and I think this lends coherence over time. I do tend to pick one or more things that I use as my "spine" each year, basing other readings and studies around the layout of that kit or book. Alternatively, you could simply select topics and fill in with materials for each topic to be covered for the year. I try to make my topics flow from one into another.

 

"Do you use a standard line of questions and a science log ala WTM which the student completes for every book or experiment?"

 

No, I found very early on that even writing down every experiment simply kills the joy of doing the science. I look for a variety of methods to include writing.

 

Beginning in fifth grade, I started making up a science workbook to go along with my topics of study for the year. I research online to find a variety of worksheets and activities that I can incorporate into each week's studies.

 

For earth and space science this past year, I found several online scavenger hunts, which seem to be becoming more popular with teachers. This allowed for my son to do directed research on his own, writing his answers to the queries that were set forth in the worksheets. He seemed to like this approach. You could certainly make up some of your own of these once your children are a little older.

 

"Do you choose a spine and follow rabbit trails?" I think you could certainly do this, but chances are you're not going to get in all the topics you've included per year if you're following rabbit trails. For me, following rabbit trails takes me down a never ending path to madness, LOL, so I try to decide what topics I'll cover for the year and stick to the schedule I've given myself. Otherwise, I'd find myself doing biology and geology every year, and pretty much completely ignoring chemistry and physics.....

 

"Just narration, copywork, etc.?" Some narrations are great for youngers, instead of writing it down. Certainly you always want to talk about what you're doing, seeing, etc. I wouldn't require this for every book, etc., though, as it can rob the joy of the reading.

 

You're probably doing copywork, anyway, so making it relate to other subjects you're studying makes sense - but I'd count this as copywork time, not science time.

 

Memory work is another fun way to cement learning, review earlier topics covered, etc.

[Medieval Mom]

Regina, that was a very thoughtful response. Thank you!

 

No, I won't cover each subject every year. Whew! :svengo:

 

We take a 5 leaf approach to science:

1. Main text(s)

2. Experiments

3. Biography of Scientist(s)

4. Nature Study (journaling and logs, mostly)

5. Natural History (reading)

 

The "Science" subject of this post refers to #1 & 2 above. Clear as mud? :lol:

 

Here's our plan for our #1 & 2's:

 

Year 3: General overview with Holden's The Sciences

Year 4: Physics (and touch on Meteorology)

Year 5: Astronomy (and touch on some general science topics)

Year 6: Chemistry

Year 7: Biology (at the microscope level and Botany)

Year 8: General Overview with emphasis on Physics

 

I won't bore you with our booklists, or our books for nature study and natural history.

 

I guess I wasn't very clear with my original post. I apologize! I was asking for help with what to expect from the student in terms of writing and recording our readings and experiments. Thank you for volunteering your ideas. :)

[Medieval Mom]

Homeschoolers by and large use "curriculum" incorrectly, possibly because most of us are not professional educators and haven't learned the difference. Your "what" is the curriculum; your "how" is what you need to accomplish your "what."

 

And it's possible that you're over-thinking the whole thing.:D

 

Now I understand what you mean, Ellie! :blushing: Yep, I'm still a newbie and learning. :001_unsure: 'Tis certainly possible that I'm over-thinking things. :sad:

 

P.S. By "curriculum", I confess that I meant "a course of study already made up by someone else", ala the awesome thread Latin Without a Curriculum.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Medieval Mom

[littlebug42]

I couldn't decide what to accomplish for science this year and I decided to use our local science museums for my "Spine". We are members to the closest one and have two others in an hour's drive from us that we can get into. I am planning my monthly science units to coincide with their offerings and we can do a monthly field trip to one of the museums to reinforce what we learned. I will use the library extensively to find books on each topic that I want to cover. I had to think out of the box a little this year because honestly, I LOATHE science and I have to come up with some way that I can stomach it to be able to teach it. It is my dd8's favorite subject so I have to feed her desire to learn it as well.

[Medieval Mom]

I couldn't decide what to accomplish for science this year and I decided to use our local science museums for my "Spine". We are members to the closest one and have two others in an hour's drive from us that we can get into. I am planning my monthly science units to coincide with their offerings and we can do a monthly field trip to one of the museums to reinforce what we learned. I will use the library extensively to find books on each topic that I want to cover. I had to think out of the box a little this year because honestly, I LOATHE science and I have to come up with some way that I can stomach it to be able to teach it. It is my dd8's favorite subject so I have to feed her desire to learn it as well.

 

What an interesting idea! You are fortunate to live near science museums. Wonderful! :)

[momto2Cs]

We're approaching science a different way this year. Instead of starting with a topic, then books/etc., then an experiment, we're choosing the experiment first and I will work from that list to create a list of books, videos (my kids love Bill Nye the Science Guy!), and so forth. So I have 2 books on hand... 101 Great Nature Experiments and 101 Great Science Experiments. I'll go through them with the kids in the next week or so, we'll choose experiments which I will then group according to scientific discipline, and I'll go from there.

 

From time to time, we'll go through the books again and choose new groups of experiments.

 

I really wanted science this year to be 1) more or less child led, 2) more hands-on than pervious years, and 3) to cover more areas of science.

 

We'll also be doing nature journals, backed up with the Complete Among the People series book.

[Medieval Mom]

We're approaching science a different way this year. Instead of starting with a topic, then books/etc., then an experiment, we're choosing the experiment first and I will work from that list to create a list of books, videos (my kids love Bill Nye the Science Guy!), and so forth. So I have 2 books on hand... 101 Great Nature Experiments and 101 Great Science Experiments. I'll go through them with the kids in the next week or so, we'll choose experiments which I will then group according to scientific discipline, and I'll go from there.

 

From time to time, we'll go through the books again and choose new groups of experiments.

 

I really wanted science this year to be 1) more or less child led, 2) more hands-on than pervious years, and 3) to cover more areas of science.

 

We'll also be doing nature journals, backed up with the Complete Among the People series book.

 

What a wonderful adventure! Have fun! :)