For those of you who did interest-led science in the younger years..questions!

[Halcyon]

How's it working for you? How old are your kids now? Are they "science-y" kids? Did you find that NOT doing a formal science program in the early years positively or negatively influenced their attitude/knowledge/love of science as they grew older?

 

And finally, what exactly did you "do" in those interest led years? Read alot? Random experiments? Mythbusters? Nature walks?

 

Thank you!

[Cherryanne]

:bigear: I've been thinking a lot about this topic lately.

[Halcyon]

Glad to know I'm not the only one! I have been thinking about this after reading LCC, which advocates an interest-led approach to science in the early years.

[AngelBee]

Been thinking about this as well, but feel very torn.

[FloridaLisa]

How's it working for you? How old are your kids now? Are they "science-y" kids? Did you find that NOT doing a formal science program in the early years positively or negatively influenced their attitude/knowledge/love of science as they grew older?

 

And finally, what exactly did you "do" in those interest led years? Read alot? Random experiments? Mythbusters? Nature walks?

 

Thank you!

 

My oldest is a huge science nut. Partly nature, partly nuture I think. Homeschooling or not, we would have done science museums, nature walks, hiking, canoeing, animals, hunting (=knowing the nature of animals and gutting them), fishing, science films, science fairs, and general science talk around the house. We are definitely more of the naturalist type science lovers than engineering type scientists.

 

In middle school, he did two years of delight-directed science. One year, he raised worked with a biologist and raised quail at home. He incubated the eggs, turned them, candled them, made a brooder, and raised them to adults. He raised a couple of generations before we moved from that house and he had to give them away. His next projects involved lots of backyard ballistics. The potato cannon is still a crowd pleaser. :tongue_smilie:

 

He began textbook science in 8th grade w/ Apologia biology. He went on to take AP bio in high school and then chem I and II at a university his senior year. He's now a science major in college and loves every minute of it.

 

HTH,

Lisa

[Guest]

:bigear:

I'm all ears on this. We did a somewhat child-led science this year. I wouldn't say that I am pleased. I am very curious to hear what other, more seasoned moms have to say.

[patchfire]

How's it working for you? How old are your kids now? Are they "science-y" kids? Did you find that NOT doing a formal science program in the early years positively or negatively influenced their attitude/knowledge/love of science as they grew older?

 

And finally, what exactly did you "do" in those interest led years? Read alot? Random experiments? Mythbusters? Nature walks?

 

Thank you!

 

We did interest-led science until late in dd's third grade year, so maybe I'm not the best person to respond. At that point, she started asking for more formal science study. Since then, she's requested an extremely rigorous, accelerated course of study for science, so obviously it didn't hurt her too much in terms of loving science.

 

That said, it wasn't necessarily by design that we did science that way. We did do random experiments, she went to the zoo & museums, and we watched documentaries and DVDs, mainly about animals. My main sense of the time, however, is regret. She and I both wish we had been more systematic and put more emphasis on science than we did at that time. Perhaps it's partially a matter of personality; while dh & I both have backgrounds in science, neither of us is the type to pull out things for an experiment at random. Still, dd had plenty of exposure, and was also exposed to various scientific concepts and experiments through Girl Scouting as well, yet we're both left with the thought of what we missed out on, not what was gained.

[JennW in SoCal]

I did no formal science with my kids until high school. Both love science and one is bound for a science or engineering major in college. Like Lisa, it is part nature and part nurture that my boys love science and do well in it.

 

As they were growing up, we spent huge amounts of time at the local Natural History museum, the zoo, the science museum and the aerospace museum, just visiting, sometimes attending lectures or classes, sometimes going on field trips with naturalists. We went to local astronomy club meetings to look through their telescopes. My boys built many a lego kit and contraption, we built rockets, electrical circuits, electromagnets and anything else we could think of. I started Project Feeder Watch and we got to know all the neighborhood birds.

 

We read books on science and biographies of scientists, watched NOVA, Mythbusters and other science shows, and in earlier years watched Bill Nye the Science Guy and Magic School Bus (those both used to be on PBS 15 years ago...). I had Scientific America and other magazines around, too.

 

I had magnifying glasses, a microscope and binoculars always handy along with field guides and star charts. There were magnets and oodles of legos and k'nex at their disposal as well as a big box of miscellaneous electrical supplies (large batteries, insulated wires with metal clips, simple motors and lights...). I sometimes introduced topics, such as dissecting flowers, or doing cell models, but mostly they led the way with their interests.

 

By the time my youngest was 12, he was reading books by scientists on everything from zoology to quantum physics. He was on a competitive robotics team for a couple of years, had an internship last year at age 14 with an electrical engineer and an internship with the zoo this year. He is taking math and science classes at the community college now as I can't give him the level of work he craves.

 

Finally, just a philosophical musing. To me, the problem with a science curriculum is that it instills the idea that science is a finite subject that is meant to be passively learned. I think that is the wrong way to go about science because science is more of a verb in spirit than a noun. Science is the act of asking questions, of observing, categorizing, manipulating and seeing what happens. Working scientists have a true child-like wonder of the world around them -- that is something that is NOT learned through a text book!

[momto2Cs]

We have been primarily interest led and free range in science. We did one semester with RS4K, which the kids enjoyed somewhat, but generally speaking I have let them do their own thing. Now, in direct answer to your questions...

 

How's it working for you? We're basically doing it as unit studies right now. I let the kids choose topics and we go from there. The current study is dinosaurs, although my ds (the 9 yo) is also researching the solar system. They also choose various experiments from either one of the many project books we have or their chemistry set.

How old are your kids now? Almost 8 and almost 10.

Are they "science-y" kids? Yes. They love science and often ask to do more!

Did you find that NOT doing a formal science program in the early years positively or negatively influenced their attitude/knowledge/love of science as they grew older? Well, I think it helps. Allowing them to pursue their own interests means a higher level of engagement. When I did try to formalize our studies, there was more resistance. I also think allowing their curiosity to blossom helps with their current scientific fascinations.

 

And finally, what exactly did you "do" in those interest led years?

Read alot? Yes. Currently we're reading the Thirteen Moons series, one a month. We went through every Let's Read & Find Out Science book we could find when they were younger.

Random experiments? Yes. I have about 10 project books that we own, plus probably 2-4 from the library on hand. They like to choose random projects and do them. We also have crystal growing kits, a solar building set, a chemistry set, and so forth.

Mythbusters? Yes, and Head Rush, and lots of documentaries.

Nature walks? We go hiking as a family on a fairly regular basis. We also participate in Citizen Science projects such as Project FeederWatch and The Great Sunflower Project. I'd really like to get some bug hatching kits for them, and we hope to raise tadpoles this spring.We also garden, they have bug collecting kits (always letting the little critters go when they're done looking at them), and we have a number of pets.

 

Science seems easy to me to incorporate on a day-to-day basis, more so than other subjects. Having said all that though, I may start guiding their studies a little more as they get older.

[Melanie]

We don't study formal science until high school. My freshman (who is a theatre/Latin/literature lover) is very much enjoying his geology studies this year; he has expressed an interest in studying it further in college. He points out geological features when we're out and about. He initiates discussions about what he's learned. Also, not using a formal science program has not kept him from using my college geology texts and syllabus (along with lighter books and Teaching Company lectures) successfully.

 

In his earlier years, I made everything needed (books, equipment, supplies) for formal study available, I just didn't require that he use any of it. He read books, did projects, kept a nature journal, watched documentaries, and did random experiments as it pleased him (it usually didn't). We also made frequent family trips to science museums, zoos, and nature centers, and we did a lot of stargazing.

 

I used to lie awake worrying about our lack of formal science studies, but if I could go back in time and change anything, I probably wouldn't.

[Guest]

Throughout elementary school and up to eighth grade we did activity-based and informal science.

 

A local zoological park near us offered a wonderful homeschool program that dd attended once a month for seven years. The kids did great stuff: they let a baby alligator walk through a tray of paint and over a huge piece of paper to make a "painting," which the park staff hung over the entrance, and then they all washed the alligator; they made "tiger meat balls" and put them in boxes covered with flour past, which the keeper put into the enclosure and then let the kids watch while the tigers discovered them; they made scent trails for an aardvark; they toured the animal hospital, the DNA research center, the animals' "bedrooms." It was fantastic stuff and we cried when the program for older kids folded due to funding problems.

 

We also went to every science museum in every city we traveled to over the years. Most of these were wonderful. The ones in San Francisco and Glasgow are dd's favorite.

 

We had an eclectic collection of science kits, many from Wild Goose Science, which sadly has since hugely reduced what it does. Scientific Explorer kits were also good, especially one about doing science with your dog.

 

Then from around third grade on up to seventh, I used a lot of GEMS teachers' guides, which are units based on exploration, observation, hands-on activities, and associated fiction and non-fiction books. These were some of the best things we ever did. They were highly engaging -- so much so that when I used them with a sixth grade co-op class we always had people from preschoolers to adults come in to watch. They taught real science skills with a wide range of materials. They included lots of open-ended exploratory activities as well as more guided ones, eventually ending up with the design, by the kid, of a single-variable controlled experiment.

 

From there, dd went to Conceptual Physics in 8th grade with a textbook, and loved it. This year, 9th, she's doing chemistry with her dad, who is a marine chemist. The thing that astonishes me most is that while she reluctantly does the labs (she's terrified of fire and explosions), she LOVES the equations and asks her dad to make them "harder." Where did THIS come from in a child who at best tolerates math?

 

What I regret is being boxed in by the college-prep requirements for our state university system, which I feel we must fulfill in case financially that is all we can afford when dd hits college age. I'd rather continue to pursue dd's interest in physics and not be bound to a whole year of biology, which she is already dreading. I'd rather read great science writing on a variety of topics, do science-related field trips, and in other ways pursue an advanced version of what she did when she was younger.

[Halcyon]

 

Finally, just a philosophical musing. To me, the problem with a science curriculum is that it instills the idea that science is a finite subject that is meant to be passively learned. I think that is the wrong way to go about science because science is more of a verb in spirit than a noun. Science is the act of asking questions, of observing, categorizing, manipulating and seeing what happens. Working scientists have a true child-like wonder of the world around them -- that is something that is NOT learned through a text book!

 

This really resonates with me. I see science as so open-ended, and fitting all that into a neat "curriculum" seems almost impossible, which is why (IMHO) so many homeschoolers struggle to make science "work" in their homeschools. Certainly I do. I think I have to let go and allow my kids to simply explore. I mean, they do "science" in their way, whether we're using a curriculum or not!... snap circuits, huge k'nex buildnigs, planting herbs, growing butterflies, reading books on Edison and Einstein, taking apart old remote controls, watching mythbusters, making slime in the microwave...you get the idea.

 

Thank you.

Edited January 20, 2011 by Halcyon

[lovinmomma]

Glad to know I'm not the only one! I have been thinking about this after reading LCC, which advocates an interest-led approach to science in the early years.

 

Really? I didn't know that LCC advocated that. I may just have to go read it now. :D Thanks!

 

P.S. We're doing interest-led science, but my kids are still young.

[mom2boys030507]

My kids are still young. We are dong interest led and parent driven. I have yet to find a science curriculum that works for us. So, I ask the boys what they want to learn about and we do some units centered around their interests. I also introduce new topics to them through books or as part of their history. For example, we just did a unit on volcanos at the end of our time in Ancient Rome. This is a topic that the boys would not have necessarily choosen on their own yet it fit in with our other studies really well. As a result, they both worked on writting a lab report - through dictation. They both were able to come up with the different parts of the scientific process.

 

I guess I write all this to say that I think interest driven will serve my boys well as long as I am paying attention to introducing all different kinds of science to them over the years.

[JennW in SoCal]

I adopted this mindset after a post from a science professor/homeschool mom who YEARS ago posted on a thread such as this that she wishes all her college freshman students had played in the mud, so to speak, instead of reading science text books. Their curiosity was simply non-existent. So that is what we did.

 

I forgot all about the butterflies we raised!! And the animals we kept. And the gardens. So much has rubbed off on me -- I am continuing Project Feeder Watch, continuing to garden and am fascinated by the natural history -- the geology, plants and animals of anywhere I visit. Florida is my current area of interest as I've been in Orlando 3 times in the last year while my son was living there. It is so darn flat!!! And why aren't the utility lines buried -- is it because of the sandy soil and the high water table?? And that a place that gets so much more rain than California struggles with drought and wild fires too, well it fascinates me!!

 

Hope this thread helps others just follow their and their children's interests.

[8filltheheart]

How's it working for you? How old are your kids now? Are they "science-y" kids? Did you find that NOT doing a formal science program in the early years positively or negatively influenced their attitude/knowledge/love of science as they grew older?

 

And finally, what exactly did you "do" in those interest led years? Read alot? Random experiments? Mythbusters? Nature walks?

 

Thank you!

 

My oldest is a chemical engineering major in his sr yr.

 

My 11th grader is vacillating between majoring in forensic chemistry, forensic anthropology, or biochemistry.

 

My 9th grader wants to major in astrophysics.

 

So...........all of kids (with the exception of my 18 yo Aspie) so far are planning on science oriented careers.

 

What do they do? Read 30-45 mins/day on whatever science topics they want starting in about 3rd grade (solid independent reading skills). In about 8th grade, we do transition to traditional textbooks.

[Poke Salad Annie]

I agree. I have found that so much is absorbed via reading and real-life experience. We are very low-key with science around here.

[Dawn E]

Dd is taking a very informal science class that meets twice a month and is taught by a retired high school science teacher. The teacher does a great job of igniting a spark and encouraging the children to explore topics on their own. She plans many experiments and field trips for them. She also has them keep a "Discovery journal" to notate discoveries they encounter in day-to-day experiences. I'm hoping that this class continues for a few years, but will likely follow the teacher's lead if not.

 

Over the years I've amassed a pretty large collection of science books based on recommendations from this forum. I've just started pulling out books on particular topics and placing them in a box for her to read from each day. Depending on her interest in particular topics we will collect more books from the library. When she's ready to be done with that topic, I'll gather books on a different topic. She's in 3rd grade now.

 

I forgot to add, as of course I have no wisdom to offer, thanks for asking this question. I like the idea of doing science this way until she's in 8th, but we'll see what happens. :)

Edited January 20, 2011 by Dawn E

[Quiver0f10]

We read science topics that interest us. I usually have them grab a few science books from the library each visit and we read, draw pictures, do narrations ala wtm, and keep a vocab list. We do experiments when we feel like it. The watch their siblings do their science experiments too. All my kids enjoy science and I don't feel doing interest led has negatively affected them at all.

[Embassy]

How's it working for you? How old are your kids now? Are they "science-y" kids? Did you find that NOT doing a formal science program in the early years positively or negatively influenced their attitude/knowledge/love of science as they grew older?

 

And finally, what exactly did you "do" in those interest led years? Read alot? Random experiments? Mythbusters? Nature walks?

 

Thank you!

 

My boys are young - just turned 7 and 9. My oldest lives and breathes science, but that is how he was born. My youngest hasn't been so interested in science, but loves examining how things work and usually sees things from a unique perspective. He did tell me recently that he really likes science now.

 

We have taken a middle of the road approach. We have used Real Science 4 Kids, but other than that we have stayed away from anything formal. Science is a combination of parent-led and interest-led. We have a science time where we focus on a particular topic. We do experiments, activities, watch DVDs, and read books. We have time for nature walks (when the weather is warmer) and do insect/wildflower studies and grow plants. Interest-led exists alongside the parent-led. My oldest son spends his free time learning more about different science topics and now for his precious Wii time he is playing Endless Ocean. My younger son doesn't spend much time following scientific interests on his own unless his brother initiates it.

 

I think if I did the standard textbook program with them it would have hampered their love/liking for science. They need more depth and activities than the standard formal curriculum.

 

But then again, I'm not sure what we do would qualify for interest-led by some people. This is an example of what we are doing this year for parent-led science time.

[angela in ohio]

I was influenced by Veritas Press, which we used extensively when my dc were younger. They have been advocating this approach for many years.

 

We did science through videos, library books, park programs, zoo classes, field trips, nature journaling, etc. Dc could get any books they wanted about science out of the library each week, but they had to get a few. They would sometimes choose randomly and sometimes go through jags of one subject or another. My oldest read through every book on space science in the children's non-fiction section of the main city library at one point. :001_smile: Sometimes we would do a "unit" on a topic related to an upcoming event. When we visited the Mammoth Caves on vacation, for example, we had read all about caves and watched some videos. When we went to a planetarium program about fractals, it inspired a run of building and reading about fractals for weeks on end. Each dc also had a science related hobby most of the time: bird watching, rock collecting, etc. We had a library of science reference books here to look through, and I had all of the A Beka elementary science books on the shelf for them to look at when they were interested in a topic (to balance out the worldview of the library books.) We also have six plastic drawers full of science stuff in our homeschool area, next to all the math manipulatives.

 

I am adamently NOT of the "hands-on is superior to reading about it" mindset of many homeschoolers, though. We are a bookish family, and it has served us well. I wasn't concerned about projects and experiments. We mostly read and discussed, watched videos and observed. I follow the classical model closely, and I let them spend their childhood taking in the grammar of science and the world around them. We worked on the skills of listening, observing, sketching, and recording.

 

Meanwhile, I put down the real foundation, imho, for a successful upper level science student: they learned math very well, they learned to read and write well, and they learned logic and problem solving skills. My science prep was a rigorous math program.

 

A few years ago, my girls took the Explore test through a talent search. With no foraml science background, they outscored most of the other students (and most of the 8th graders who usually take the test.) The recommendation from the talent search came back that my 5th grader at the time was ready to start high school science. :D

 

By 6th grade, with no previous formal science, my oldest dd did Apologia General science in a few months and spent the rest of the year back on reading science. She hated Apologia, as did I, so for 7th and 8th, she did BJU's Life and Earth & Space Science curriculums and continued reading about science. My 12 did those as well, for the last half of her 6th grade and her 7th grade year. This year they are both doing the DIVE Biology with BJU, doing all of the AP labs in the DIVE and studying the AP Bio guide. They will not take the AP test this year, but rather wait and take another half year of AP Bio prep after Chemistry next year. They took to experiments and writing formal lab reports very well, even with no previous experience.

 

They both are learning computer programming and have an interest in engineering-type projects and robotics. They spend most of their free time poring over Make magazine and Popular Science. I have no doubt they will both enter science fields or get degrees to teach math and/or science, though they both are probably a bit stronger in the humanities.

 

I am using a science curriculum for my youngest, though he is still required to check out books on science and has plenty of interests in science. I just can't make science surround him to the extent I did with the girls, because I am busy with high school things now. We don't do as many outside science classes and programs, because we spend that time at music and art lessons and this or that meeting or event. I am using the curriculum as a way to keep myself talking to him about science at least once a week in an organized way.

Edited January 21, 2011 by angela in ohio

[Corraleno]

With the exception of a brief (unsuccessful) foray into textbook learning last year, we have always done interest-led science and DS (now 12) plans a career in science (biology/paleontology). We do lots of nature study (we live a few blocks from a large nature preserve), including catching/raising/studying all kinds of critters. We watch tons of documentaries, Teaching Company lectures, and NOVA/Discovery/Science Channel programs. We have memberships to our Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Zoo, and Aquarium, and visit them frequently. We have a large library of science and nature books, we read several science magazines, and we try to keep up with the latest science news. We also do messy experiments, chop things up, look at things under the microscope, and basically just jump on any questions or scientific musings that arise. Last week DD8 asked how the gasoline gets from the gas tank to the engine in a car, so DH grabbed some books and a transparent model of an engine that DS got for Christmas many years ago and explained combustion engines to her, then took her out to look under the hood of the car. Today DS decided to research sea cucumbers, for some reason, and has spent the afternoon telling me far more about sea cucumbers than I ever wanted to know! We spent weeks last summer learning about all the different species of ants we have on our property (including watching an ant "milking" a mealybug under the microscope!) and we had an awesome praying mantis that kept us entertained for hours — and she left us with 7 egg cases, currently chilling in the garage, which we'll hatch in the spring. The tiny baby toad that DS caught last summer is now a big fat happy guy sitting in a tank a few feet away from me. I would say that science is probably the main focus of our homeschool.

 

I think the key to doing interest-led science, though, is to actually get out and do it. If you don't make an effort to incorporate it into your daily life, then "interest-led science" can become a euphemism for "we thumb through a DK book once a month," kwim?

 

Jackie

[Corraleno]

Finally, just a philosophical musing. To me, the problem with a science curriculum is that it instills the idea that science is a finite subject that is meant to be passively learned. I think that is the wrong way to go about science because science is more of a verb in spirit than a noun. Science is the act of asking questions, of observing, categorizing, manipulating and seeing what happens. Working scientists have a true child-like wonder of the world around them -- that is something that is NOT learned through a text book!

I love this! :thumbup1:

 

Jackie

[Karenciavo]

We do some unit studies, but mostly reading interest driven topics until 8th grade. Ds17 is not going into math/science but he does well with them, ds15 is just not into it at all, ds8 is science driven and reads whatever he can get his hands on.

[justamouse]

Finally, just a philosophical musing. To me, the problem with a science curriculum is that it instills the idea that science is a finite subject that is meant to be passively learned. I think that is the wrong way to go about science because science is more of a verb in spirit than a noun. Science is the act of asking questions, of observing, categorizing, manipulating and seeing what happens. Working scientists have a true child-like wonder of the world around them -- that is something that is NOT learned through a text book!

 

What a great thread. The more afraid I am of my lack of ability to 'teach' a subject, the more I cling to the rigidity of a textbook approach. The textbooks, know, right?:D

 

I let go of formal science last year after my science minded kid started getting very bored. I wanted to nurture the flame, not put it out. It was a very hard thing to do, but it's because of reading answers like this, and reading about scientists who wish for kids to play more that I finally made the decision.

 

So we go with whatever is interesting them. Ds makes robots continually, the girls love nature study and gardening, and sometimes I go on the Odyssey of the Mind site and we work out a few problems. Mythbusters, Discovery Channel, NGC and netflix are things we watch all of the time. Thankfully I have collected books and books on sciences -just in preparation-and tons of animal books for my budding vet.

 

I still get frozen with fear.

[Kalmia]

One of the primary reasons we started homeschooling was that the "science" presented in elementary school was a JOKE. The public school curriculum barely covered any science at all, and what they had was so simple we'd covered it when he was 2 and 3 years old! My son was rabid for science, in particular zoology and astronomy, from age 3. We went to museums, did hundreds of nature walks, eclosed (hatched) cocoons, examined plants, collected rocks, watched NOVA and Nature, and read science books all the time. My son came home from school disgusted that science was so devalued in school.

 

When we left school, I tried to do Real Science for Kids. Frankly, we read it and did none of the experiments. Instead, we did go outside and learn the constellations in the freezing cold; go on nature walks all the time; caught critters; watched tons of science videos; and read more and more science books. We did do some experiments from 730 Easy Science Experiments (mostly determined by what materials we had on hand).

 

Now that we're in 5th, I have some anxiety that we aren't "doing" science properly. I have Prentice Hall Science Explorer Physical Science. We are only on chapter 4. I think it is a good textbook. Reading the material is fine, but we just can't stomach the end of the chapter question method of teaching science. The textbook method does seem to turn science into a chore for him. He never asks for the textbook, he begs me for the other science books. He is a high level reader, so when it comes to science I find myself skipping Science Explorer and handing him: The Mystery of the Periodic Table (Wiker); (parts of) The Disappearing Spoon (Kean); The Elements: A Visual Guide to of Every Known Atom in the Universe (Gray); and (parts of) The Joy of Chemistry (Cobb). These are living books and the authors express their love of science on every page.

 

I also try to avoid doing just one science at a time: we continue outdoor nature study and he is reading Animals without Backbones (a college text by Buchsbaum) for classification; Reading the Rocks: The Autobiography of the Earth (Bjornerud) for geology; and The Voyage of the Beagle (Charles Darwin) for biology/history; the out-of-print Our Living World of Nature (McGraw-Hill) for habitats. He is also going through the DVD sets of the History Channel series The Universe and How the Earth was Made again.

 

I like what Susan Wise Bauer says about learning the "grammar" of a subject. I think constant exposure to the science concepts at different levels and from different media (books, videos, the outdoors, and experiments) throughout the years will help cement the terms and conventions in a way a textbook cannot. But the same amount of time has to be devoted to science as to history or literature, even if you are doing it informally. It is too easy to let it fall by the wayside, especially when you believe in a classical education (and the importance of the humanities). There never seems to be enough time in the day. To combat this, I've been successful with looping. Whatever we don't get to on Monday, we do first on Tuesday, etc.. That way we don't end up running out of time for science.

 

I am not sure you can "do" science until you are versed in the language, history, math, and general knowledge of science. I know I'm old-fashioned and many folks just plunge in the deep end, begin with research, and do great, but I'd like my crew to know whether they are jumping into a bog, a fen, a salt marsh or the ocean before they leap. In that way they can bring background knowledge to bear right alongside their curiosity as they swim about in the raw material of learning.

[AngelBee]

I need to research looping more. My main thing is we always seem to run out of time. That concerns me that if we don't make it "formal", it will be skipped.

[Cherryanne]

Finally, just a philosophical musing. To me, the problem with a science curriculum is that it instills the idea that science is a finite subject that is meant to be passively learned. I think that is the wrong way to go about science because science is more of a verb in spirit than a noun. Science is the act of asking questions, of observing, categorizing, manipulating and seeing what happens. Working scientists have a true child-like wonder of the world around them -- that is something that is NOT learned through a text book!

 

This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing!

[Tress]

What do they do? Read 30-45 mins/day on whatever science topics they want starting in about 3rd grade (solid independent reading skills). In about 8th grade, we do transition to traditional textbooks.

 

8filltheheart,

 

I see so many posts about nature walks, going to the zoo, all kinds of science musea, hiking, watching science videos etc, and you are the only one who only mentions reading. Do you feel reading for 30-45 min/day (and talking about it) is enough? Or do your children also do a lot of field trips etc? Reading/talking I can do, the other things not so much.

[Amy Jo]

This thread is really inspiring. I'm not a very science-y person, possibly because I saw it as a subject to learn, not an area to explore. My eldest especially is so into science I want to incorporate it more into our lives as fun, not work. We already love Mythbusters, but I can see we need to add some science reading like 8filltheheart and I need to show the boys our experiment books. I think I'll have to check out the science section of the library tomorrow. :001_smile:

 

Amy

[Targhee]

My kids are still too young (8, 6, 4) to tell you the "results" of what we do. But this is what we do:

 

I first have lots of science books around for them to read, explore, look at. We own lots of field guides, reference books, visual science-y encyclopedias, etc. I get a few new ones at the library each week usually about anything we may be/have been talking about. Then I add experiences - nature walks, trips to zoos/museums/science centers, encourage playing in puddles and making catapults, etc. Then I try to seize upon "teachable moments" BUT without taking the joy out of what they are doing. They play or investigate, I ask questions to get them thinking about why? what would happen if? what is this like? etc. It's all rather organic, but that's because I am science-y, and it's the way I think. I use scientific vocabulary when possible to name things, processes, etc. but I do this for exposure - there is no assessment to see if they learn definitions. My 8 yr old is starting to get really big on facts and figures, which is true in other subjects as well, so I do provide facts and numbers for her in books and help her look things up. But for the most part it's a pursuit of a way of thinking and not a knowledge accumulation race. I posted several years ago my rants about curricula, and short of writing my own I think BFSU is the best out there for this approach (for young kids). But I don't use it much, because like I said this is MY thing (former science educator and wildlife biologist). For me it's more like I'm teaching my kids a second language that I'm fluent in just by speaking/interacting with them.

 

Results thus far - kids love science, making up experiments to discover things, and hearing about scientific discoveries/scientists/experiments, and they understand a lot. They can't balance chemical equations or recite Newton's Laws of Motion, but I am not after that. They will be able to learn that easily in 9-12th grade or so. What I am teaching them now I hope will help them understand HOW those ideas were discovered, WHY we use them, and WHAT is really going on behind those numbers, words, and symbols.

 

ETA: I reread this and realized it may sound arrogant. That isn't my intention, and I am certainly not a science expert in everything. I just meant to say I love being to share this with my kids similar to the way a musician might teach their child to play an instrument or a carpenter might teach their child to build. The results of exposure are beautiful, and I prefer them over rote memorization of scientific information. The body of knowledge in science is too vast to memorize. Instead, learning how science works and how to interpret scientific information is essential.

Edited January 22, 2011 by Targhee

[8filltheheart]

8filltheheart,

 

I see so many posts about nature walks, going to the zoo, all kinds of science musea, hiking, watching science videos etc, and you are the only one who only mentions reading. Do you feel reading for 30-45 min/day (and talking about it) is enough? Or do your children also do a lot of field trips etc? Reading/talking I can do, the other things not so much.

 

 

Yes, I believe reading is enough. We are not a field trip family. Too many kids too far apart in ages and too involved in other activities.

 

I do assign writing across curriculum when they are older. Science topics are typically every 2-3 weeks. (1 paper on a subtopic within whatever they are reading.)

[Tress]

Yes, I believe reading is enough. We are not a field trip family. Too many kids too far apart in ages and too involved in other activities.

 

I do assign writing across curriculum when they are older. Science topics are typically every 2-3 weeks. (1 paper on a subtopic within whatever they are reading.)

 

Thank you, 8filltheheart!

 

This is such a relief :thumbup:.

 

I really like science (have a masters degree in astrophysics) and I can totally see that structured science curricula for young children suck the joy and inquisitiveness out of them, but....threads about all sorts of field trips make me super nervous. It will sound silly, with only 4 children, but without a car and having to travel by bike...I'm just not going to be able to do a lot of field trips.

 

I had planned to start Singapore MPH in 3th grade, just to have some plan, but now I'm going to try your reading approach first. My dd is a strong reader and I'm going to take some time observing how much she is learning.

 

Thanks! (Can you now hold my hand about teaching writing, too?? :D)

Edited January 22, 2011 by Tress

[Halcyon]

This is such a wonderful thread-keep all the ideas and input coming, please! :D

[lovinmomma]

This is such a wonderful thread-keep all the ideas and input coming, please! :D

 

:iagree:These are my favorite threads. LOVE them.

[Mama Lynx]

We are a science-oriented family, in that we love to go to science museums, tend to watch documentaries, read and discuss scientific happenings, etc. We value science very highly ... and don't "teach" it in the lower grades/middle school.

 

Occasionally we dipped into a science program, but I pretty much hated all of them (exception - Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry).

 

We are currently doing science through our co-op. For my high schooler, he needs a high school science credit. For my 7th, 4th and 3rd graders, we're doing the science class because it is part and parcel of co-op. If we didn't have co-op, we wouldn't be doing formal science.

 

My oldest is now doing high school biology, and is having no trouble. He loves it. My 7th grader is actually bored with the co-op Rainbow science, because his knowledge is beyond Rainbow.

 

Science *content* is easily obtained through books, museums, documentaries, etc. As other people have mentioned, it's much more valuable to teach a spirit of inquiry, and of ****critical**** thought and accurate observation.

[Halcyon]

 

Science *content* is easily obtained through books, museums, documentaries, etc. As other people have mentioned, it's much more valuable to teach a spirit of inquiry, and of ****critical**** thought and accurate observation.

:iagree::iagree: Thank you for this. Science is not drudgery, right? And there's no need whatsoever for me to impose any drudgery on my kids LOL. I do think some subjects require a bit of tough love, but I am thinking science is not one of them.

 

I think what might be helpful for me is to look at a scope and sequence, maybe the Core Knowledge free sequence (warning, this is a HUGE pdf). That might help guide me a little in terms of what we need to cover, without imposing any particular curriculum or format on how we do that.

[lovinmomma]

:iagree::iagree: Thank you for this. Science is not drudgery, right? And there's no need whatsoever for me to impose any drudgery on my kids LOL. I do think some subjects require a bit of tough love, but I am thinking science is not one of them.

 

I think what might be helpful for me is to look at a scope and sequence, maybe the Core Knowledge free sequence (warning, this is a HUGE pdf). That might help guide me a little in terms of what we need to cover, without imposing any particular curriculum or format on how we do that.

 

Or you could follow a WTM-ish type of thing where you take a year and cover living things such as plants, animals, human body. What you could do is take a trip to the library and let the kids choose whatever science topics they want to choose but you also choose some books on the topic that you choose for that year or month or whatever.

[SunshineMom]

We are going to do more citizen science projects found here http://scienceforcitizens.net/finder/ This website is filled with real research projects for kids and adults.

[FloridaLisa]

And why aren't the utility lines buried -- is it because of the sandy soil and the high water table??

 

We just like the look. :D

 

Lisa

 

P.S. Have you read The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjorie Stoneman Douglas? It's a Florida classic. You might also enjoy another classic, The Yearling -- more about Florida crackers, but lots of details about turn of the century Florida and the land just east and north of Orlando. Orlando was deep in cracker country until The Big Mouse arrived.

[FO4UR]

My oldest is a chemical engineering major in his sr yr.

 

My 11th grader is vacillating between majoring in forensic chemistry, forensic anthropology, or biochemistry.

 

My 9th grader wants to major in astrophysics.

 

So...........all of kids (with the exception of my 18 yo Aspie) so far are planning on science oriented careers.

 

What do they do? Read 30-45 mins/day on whatever science topics they want starting in about 3rd grade (solid independent reading skills). In about 8th grade, we do transition to traditional textbooks.

 

It sounds so simple...(so many of your posts resonate with me)...that's IT? Just reading until 8th grade. hmmm...

[mom2boys030507]

I think what might be helpful for me is to look at a scope and sequence, maybe the Core Knowledge free sequence (warning, this is a HUGE pdf). That might help guide me a little in terms of what we need to cover, without imposing any particular curriculum or format on how we do that.

 

This is what I do when I need new ideas or I check our school district topics so I can see the topics other kids are covering. I find this to be a great way to let my boys lead yet I can gentle nudge too :)

[Scuff]

I love science, but for many years we didn't do anything formal. My oldest and youngest (well, used to be) love science. Middle dd is more of a history buff, but still enjoys it. We just had tons of books for them to read and rdid fun stuff as it came up. (butterflies, ladybugs, ect.) I also really tried to teach them to "stop and smell the roses" from a young age; noticing things in the yard or on walks.

[moonlight]

thanks for all these wonderful ideas....i'm sooo motivated now!!

[Halcyon]

It sounds so simple...(so many of your posts resonate with me)...that's IT? Just reading until 8th grade. hmmm...

 

I agree. I like this! And in any case, my boys will both ALWAYS do science experiments on their own, so encouraging them to read on a science topic daily for 30 minutes will be a wonderful addition.

[Pam Wilhelm]

I've tried textbooks.... I think they kill science. beat it to death!

 

We live science....... we watch the science programs (mythbusters, SCI channel, etc). We are outside to watch shooting stars. We play in the snow and talk about the different types of snow. We talk about stuff alot. Hubby is a mechanic and always brings the physics end of his job home, so to speak.

 

I don't know... it is just in our lives. We do some reading about it....but not much. I think it can squash the fun of science. We do museums....the kids love museums.

[linguistmama]

I know I'm late to this thread, but I was wondering what programs the posters with older children used in high school? Some programs I've looked at seem to require certain courses for 7th and 8th grade.

[happypamama]

My kids are still young, same age as the OP, but I can already see a huge difference in their attitudes about science vs. my own. I distinctly remember that, except for about two units in the entire 12 years (genetics and one of the physics units), science was my absolute least favorite subject. Hated it beyond belief. It was dull and dry and completely uninteresting to me. (I hear there are people who feel that way about history and math, which totally amuses me -- I'll take the intricacies of number patterns or how people lived in the 16th century over the insides of a frog or the mysteries of the solar system any day!)

 

Now, my children, otoh, are very different. They think sciencey stuff is fun. They like going out and collecting leaves and labeling them, or watching birds, or stargazing, or whatever. I've never used a formal science program, and I'm fairly lax about projects and experiments. We read books, we look up stuff on youtube, DH builds stuff with them, etc. They both spent a while building robot-type things out of Legos the other day, something that never would have crossed my radar. I got them a bunch of Peterson's first nature guides a couple of years ago, and now they won't take walks without bringing at least one. At four, DD went through a ridiculously obsessed stage about lizards, just could not get enough of them at all. (Fwiw, while I liked history as a kid, they also have a lot more interest in it than I did at their ages.)

 

I really do think that letting them follow their interests in their early years has really helped them retain their innate curiosity about the world.

[angela in ohio]

I know I'm late to this thread, but I was wondering what programs the posters with older children used in high school? Some programs I've looked at seem to require certain courses for 7th and 8th grade.

 

We do relaxed for K-5/6, then formal science for 6/7-12. I think many others do, as well. Many science sequences actually start in 7th grade, not 9th.

[8filltheheart]

I know I'm late to this thread, but I was wondering what programs the posters with older children used in high school? Some programs I've looked at seem to require certain courses for 7th and 8th grade.

 

We do relaxed for K-5/6, then formal science for 6/7-12. I think many others do, as well. Many science sequences actually start in 7th grade, not 9th.

 

Which texts require certain courses in 7th or 8th grade? None of the high school science courses we have used have had a middle school course as a pre-req. Some texts might recommend a life science or physical science course prior to taking it, but recommended is not the same as required.

 

Introductory biology, chemistry, and physics can all be taken w/o any pre-reqs. (for that matter, their college level equivalents can be taken w/o the high school course. I makes for more memorization and more effort, but it is definitely still possible.)