Somebody put me out of my science misery

[plain jane]

Please. :willy_nilly:

 

To simplify my life I need to stick with my grammar stage child's science rotation and so my grade 5 dd will be studying earth and space. I want them studying the same topic but they don't need to be using the same books. :)

 

We did Apologia's Astronomy last time and a mish mash of earth stuff that left a lot to be desired (we dabbled with CKE and then a few other things). We got the topics covered but our earth science part could have been so much more.

 

So, here I am at logic stage and have no clue what I want to do and every time I think about it I want to puke. I love science, my dd loves science and dh thinks it's very important we devote a lot of time to science. So how do I put together a solid earth & space program for this year? :001_huh:

 

I do not want to do CPO. I simply can't wrap my head around it and I get too stressed so that's not what I need.

 

I'm thinking PLATO? Maybe? Is it stand-alone or a supplement? I could do things the WTM way but I'm not so sure that's going to go over. It could if I dedicate a lot of time to planning it out ahead but I don't know if I'll have that time in the spring or not. Plus, I'm kind of worried I'd miss something crucial. :glare:

 

Please, somebody just tell me what to do. :tongue_smilie:

[JudoMom]

What about using Real Science Odyssey's Earth & Space, and adding in the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia for your oldest? This was my plan for my boys, but now they get science elsewhere so I won't be doing it.

[radiobrain]

To throw this one out there....

 

You could look at the "Our Solar System" by Dr. Dave. I have not seen these in person...

http://www.rfwp.com/series88.htm

 

You should also look at NASA's kids site.

 

These 2 books are good, one is aimed the the younger, one towards the older.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Find-Constellations-H-Rey/dp/054713178X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293642981&sr=8-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/Stars-H-Rey/dp/0547132808/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

 

I wouldn't stress out too much. ;)

[JennW in SoCal]

First of all. This notion that haunts many homeschool parents that they will "miss something crucial" is a load of horsefeathers. Of COURSE you are going to miss things -- all of earth and space science cannot be covered in one year by a 2nd and 5th grader. And even if you use the best, most complete science curricula and read every word, and it all won't stick in your child's mind. I promise you that one day your teens will ask the most dumbfounding questions and you'll say "but we covered that!".

 

Either scenario is not the end of the world. Your children will have high school, college and the rest of their long lives to explore geology and astronomy.

 

Find some good text book or program so that you feel reassured that you are not missing anything, but don't rely on it for science. Use it as a spring board but get out of the house and DO science. Find a local astronomy club and make a point of going to a public viewing and peer through their telescopes. See if your local natural history museum has nature walks that include interesting local geology. Collect rocks. Identify constellations.

 

Here's my favorite resources for this age group:

 

Geology Crafts for Kids We did a bunch of these over the years -- it is one of my favorites.

 

H.A. Rey's Find the Constellations and A New Way to See the Stars (I see Radiobrain has put links to these. Great minds think alike:D)

 

Neil DeGrasse Tyson's The Pluto Files There was a NOVA episode with the same title.

 

Get a kit of the planets -- we had one the kids painted. You can debate whether to include Pluto or not!

 

Get out of the house and Walk the Solar System

 

NASA has some terrific websites for kids.

 

As we live in Southern California, the US Geological Survey site is a place I frequently visit (to check on the magnitude of a quake). They have this page for kids.

 

And have fun. It is supposed to be fun!! I didn't do any formal science with my kids until high school and they were more than well prepared. Forget units and tests -- just channel Ms. Frizzle and get messy, make mistakes!

[Corraleno]

:iagree: with Jenn.

 

Here are the topics that an Earth Science course would cover:

 

History & Structure of the Earth:

Tectonics

Earthquakes

Volcanoes

 

Rocks & Minerals:

Rock cycle

Igneous

Metamorphic

Sedimentary

 

Weather & the Water Cycle

 

Oceans

 

Astronomy:

Constellations

Solar system

Types of stars & life cycle

 

You can get DK books and other fun, non-textbook resources for all those topics. Netflix has lots of documentaries like How the Earth Was Made, The Planets, The Universe, etc. Do lots of experiments and take lots of field trips. Take up Geocaching as a hobby. Look for a local astronomy club and attend some of their "star parties," or get a good pair of binoculars and learn the constellations from your backyard. Have fun!

 

ETA: If you feel like you really need some kind of spine, the PLATO Earth Science course is very simple and straightforward and covers most of the above topics, although at a very "light" level. You could use that for structure and then supplement with fun resources. I don't think it's enough on it's own (my DS did it in 5th grade and finished it in about 3 weeks).

 

Jackie

Edited December 29, 2010 by Corraleno

[mcconnellboys]

I haven't looked at Plato, but here are some online sites I have used and I liked them:

 

http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/plate-tectonics

 

This is Oregon State's Volcano World. They are redoing the site and still only have back up the plate tectonics stuff. They used to also have lessons on the various rock types, but those have not been up all year. What they do have is good and they have good, online photos. They also have a lot of other videos and photos at their website in addition to the lesson plans. This would make a good study for tectonic plates, volcanoes and earthquakes.

 

And this is the MSNucleus Website:

 

 

http://msnucleus.org/membership/html/jh/earth/index.html

 

Their "secondary" science is for middle schoolers....

 

You can use this online, or print it out, as you choose. They now offer a lot of lab packs that you can buy to specifically complete their labs, but if you already have similar materials at home, you can easily get along without buying their lab kits.... This study includes Space, too....

 

And here's another online site I like for space study:

 

http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/capture/

 

And this one's good, too:

 

http://www.cosmos4kids.com/index.html

 

And here are some NASA earth science lesson plans:

 

http://www.middleschoolscience.com/earth.htm

 

And I have a ton of other topics (soil studies, water studies, etc.) listed in the online resources page at my blog if you're interested in looking at other stuff.

 

One of my favorite Science in a Nutshell kits has always been Rock Origins, which makes a great lab to do with any of these online studies in place of or in addition to their labs.....

[plain jane]

First of all. This notion that haunts many homeschool parents that they will "miss something crucial" is a load of horsefeathers. Of COURSE you are going to miss things -- all of earth and space science cannot be covered in one year by a 2nd and 5th grader. And even if you use the best, most complete science curricula and read every word, and it all won't stick in your child's mind. I promise you that one day your teens will ask the most dumbfounding questions and you'll say "but we covered that!".

 

 

 

Thank you for stating this. :) You're right- I can't cover everything. What I should have said is that I want something that is laid out for me already (or at least mostly) so I don't have the stress/burden on myself to try not to miss anything too crucial. I tend to obsess about the weirdest things or get too intensely absorbed by them and planning grade 5 science isn't one of those things that I want to be consumed by. :)

[plain jane]

What about using Real Science Odyssey's Earth & Space, and adding in the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia for your oldest? This was my plan for my boys, but now they get science elsewhere so I won't be doing it.

 

I think RSO will be far too easy for her. I did buy RSO for younger dd so she'll get to listen in but she'll need something far more meaty and substantial. I found Apologia's text to be perfect for *her* the first time around and I would like to step things up a bit this time- as would she. She loved studying astronomy. :)

 

Thanks for the reminder to get that KF Science Encyclopedia.. must add it to my cart. :)

[plain jane]

To throw this one out there....

 

You could look at the "Our Solar System" by Dr. Dave. I have not seen these in person...

http://www.rfwp.com/series88.htm

 

You should also look at NASA's kids site.

 

These 2 books are good, one is aimed the the younger, one towards the older.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Find-Constellations-H-Rey/dp/054713178X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293642981&sr=8-1

 

http://www.amazon.com/Stars-H-Rey/dp/0547132808/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

 

I wouldn't stress out too much. ;)

 

:w00t: I should have seen the RFWP materials coming. :lol::lol::lol:

 

 

Thanks for the book recommendations, I've added the amazon ones to my wish list and will take a closer look at the Dr. Dave book. I already have a decent collection of RFWP books, so what's a few more. ;)

[Narrow Gate Academy]

God's Design Heaven & Earth series might work for you, and both your kids could use the same book. We're using it this year with a 6th, 4th, & 1st. It's been great for us!

[Guest]

You might have a look at GEMS teacher's guides: http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/GEMS

 

They are designed to be used with children across multiple age levels and grades. Sometimes you tweak a bit, but they are made to accommodate a wide range.

 

They have some fantastic earth science and space guides -- there's a space series designed in conjunction with NASA that is meant for grades 3-5, I think; but again, it's eminently usable across ages.

 

For earth science there are units on plate tectonics, convection, rocks and stones, rivers, oceans, currents, and more. Space studies run from units on the solar system to units on the sun and solar energy to the universe as a whole.

 

Each guide has detailed lesson plans, a range of highly engaging hands-on activities -- the best part of the guides and the best science I've encountered for kids; in the co-op I did these with we always ran out of time, the kids never wanted to stop -- data collection sheets, discussion guides and questions, background material for the teacher, further activities and assessment ideas, lists of fiction and non-fiction books that usually range from picture books to chapter books to books for adults.

 

The down side is that these don't come with kits. You have a list of materials which is very specific but which you need to break down for use with one or two kids. You then gather them, which sometimes requires trips to the grocery store, hardware store, drug store, or very very rarely, some basic science equipment. (The unit on rocks requires a lot of clay.) But as you use the guides, you use much of the same stuff over and over. I just started keeping a big box filled with things that recur, like straws, yogurt tubs, plastic spoons, etc.

 

Once you have the materials, the units practically run themselves. They're really, really fun -- I can't stress this enough. They emphasize conceptual understanding and scientific processes: observation, note-taking, models, results that can be repeated, etc.

 

We did earth science along with tours of local geology: an old gold mine, fault lines, fossil layers at the beach cliffs, etc. For space science, our local aerospace museum was wonderful, with exhibits of space technology, models of the galaxy, activities and programs.

[MIch elle]

It's very good if you don't mind using a religious science curricula. It's not Earth science. http://samples.rodandstaffbooks.com/1-14501/

[katilac]

Plato science has a warm place in my heart; I luvs it very much :D.

 

My 5th and 7th graders use it together. They are doing physical science right now, but we do have the earth science if you have any particular questions or want the chapter titles. Each chapter/unit has a lesson, an application, and a test. The application is an exercise that somehow applies what they have learned in the lesson: given these properties, what metal is this? can you assemble the virtual robot correctly so that he can work? etc.

 

You would need to add in any hands-on experiments and writing assignments if you want those included. We do our science experiments rather randomly, with no great attempt to match up to the current chapter. Works for us!

[Alice]

I know this is a slightly old thread but it came up when I was searching for astronomy ideas.

 

I've been doing earth science with a second grader this year. We've been doing the kits from Delta Science. http://www.delta-education.com/siangallery.aspx?subjectID=5&subID=5&menuID=67. They are expensive, but it is all laid out for you. Lots of experiements that ds has loved. It's doable at his age but I leave our some so could be used for an older child. And my 4 yr old sits in and thinks it's fun. It's really "just" experiments but the teacher's guide has lots of info. You could probably just do this and nothing else but I add in library books on a topic, the occasional Magic School Bus video, nature center classes, etc and it's a very solid curriculum. The kits come with everything you need except basic supplies like paper cups or towels. And they have more than you would need for one child so you could also share with another family and split the cost.

 

We've done the one on "our changing earth" and "rock origins". Both were very good. The rock one in particular was fun. It came with samples of 20 mystery rocks and minerals and led you through a series of experiments designed to figure out what they were.