Science for an advanced 90 and a curious 7yo? Long, but I would be grateful for help!

[yellowperch]

X-posted:

 

 

How would you do science with a gifted, lazy autodidact 9 yo and a hard-working, grade-level, curious and game 7yo. It’s ten days before our official start of school and still don’t have a plan for science. I’ve looked at a few things, and I’ve liked several of them, but I’m just not sure.

 

I’ve listened to SWB elementary science lecture, and I like the approach of taking one major science area and cramming lots of facts into their eager little brains; discovery, observation and real analytic thinking should really not be the focus. Filling their little brains with lots of nifty nitty-gritty knowledge is. Lots of experiential stuff seems like the life blood of science, but I want this are of study to be more than “wow, cool, look at that.†I want them to learn facts, the scientific process and how to apply learning skills to science. I also want them to have fun and have many aha! moments. (well, who doesn’t?)

 

Both DS and DD love science--I mean, really, what child doesn’t?--and they both have sky-high expectations about what they are going to learn. DD was in school last year, and did five or so science units. DS began homeschooling in the spring. His science was mainly reading and doing some of the activities in the Story of Science conducting his own nature study of the lake near our house (which means he did a few drawing and diagrams, took a few measurements and caught a lot of fish).

 

DD, DS and I all love life science so this is waht we will do for our first all-out, multi-age, full year of homeschooling. The problem is this: DS9 is very well read in science; he simply knows a lot about science, and has a few disparate areas of extensive knowledge. A few things that’ve I’ve liked at first glance seem like they would have too much of a focus on things we already know a lot about. For example, Real Science 4 Kids has chapters on butterflies, frogs and food webs, which we have down cold. (My daughter would gain much from the other chapters but I do need to do science together for them.)

 

I’m really looking for material or an approach that has high level content that doesn’t require advanced academic skills to do the associated work. Does that make sense? I like what I’ve seen of the Ellen McHenry materials (DS11, who goes to school, has been reading through her elements program. He really likes it and wants to try to start an after school club to work on it) but we really do want to do animal studies.

 

We did buy a batch of dissection specimens that I plan to use this year, but I’d like some real guidance about how to do this with young children in a way that is more than simply “coolâ€.

 

Anyway, If you’ve read this far I can only say thank you. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Our science has to be secular, FWIW. Thank you.

 

Also, FWIW, DS is not an independent learner, which is to say that he does not have great follow through on assigned work.

[NittanyJen]

Have you looked at NOEO?

 

I can only give examples from chemistry right now, but we are extremely pleased with the program. You can either get the level 2 program and let the DS7 tag along; get the level 1 program and get some of the level 2 books to beef it up for DS9, or get both and run them concurrently (but know their topics will not always line up if you do that). They do also have a bio set of programs (and physics; chemistry includes geology/earth science; physics includes the astronomy component).

 

The experiments are pertinent to what they learn, and practical to implement (you don't have to run to the hardware store for supplies). The books are spot on for intelligent kids, and the instructor's guide makes weaving all the "real books" together seamless and very, very logical, and the book selection is fantastic (I found them cheaper on Amazon, though apparently this does not hold true for the Biology series).

 

There is enough science there for 36 weeks, either 4x per week or 2x/week a little bit longer each session. I am doing chem with them 2x/week for 40 weeks (I added in more, because we are science nuts).

 

I have a blog post with photos from chem, and in the K-8 boards I just started a thread about something DS8 wrote as a narration/summary of his chem I assignment today from one of the chem books if you wish to see what that age would be learning at that level.

[lewelma]

Seems like you should avoid a structured program as your 9yo is widely read. I would recommend using the WTM approach to science. Pick a main topic for the year, and 4 to 8 minor topics, and go to the library and have her pick out books that have info in them that she does not know yet that are on her reading level. For example: Biology: human body, cell biology, botany, animal diversity. For animals, she may know everything about tigers, but what about sea anemones. For botany, she may know about trees, but what about the moss life cycle, you could even get into some genetics here if you want. etc. Have them read, narrate, copy some diagrams (if desired), write reports, etc. Then, at the end of the year, we do an 8 week science fair project for hands on. This approach has worked very well for my children.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Julie Smith]

I keep getting interested in this thread because I want to hear about you 90 year ok'd science student.

[Laura Corin]

I agree with you about RS4K biology - a mishmash of levels. RS4K Chemistry Level I is a great programme though - in-depth and thorough. My children were at a similar stage to yours when they studied it and it was a big hit with both.

 

Laura

[Crimson Wife]

Mr. Q Life Science is available free for download, and IMHO is very Ellen McHenryish in its tone. You'd probably need to beef it up for your 9 y.o., however.

 

My oldest is using Prentice-Hall Science Explorer and the life science chapters in Singapore My Pals are Here 5/6 with the Higher Order Thinking Skills workbook.

[swimmermom3]

I could be wrong and often am, but I don't think you are going to be happy with any specific curriculum from what you have written. First, you do know that you do not have to commit to one area of study, right? No one is going to die if you spend a month or two studying marine creatures, a month studying rocks, another two months studying astronomy, and a month studying basic physics. Take them to your local science museum. What gets them excited? Proceed from there. The internet offers so many resources as does a good library. There are Bill Nye the Science Guy videos and the Home Science Tools catalog. Go back and read some of 8FilltheHeart's posts on how the handle science and remember, I believe she has kids that have chosen science fields as adults. Go read Corraleno's posts. They really get into hands-on science. The key is to build joy and develop powers of observation for this age. Teaching the scientific process to kids who don't know how to "observe" the world around them is difficult. Teach them to draw on nature hikes. Talk about what they have observed. Go to star parties. Is there a marine biology lab nearby?

 

Have fun. I thought I disliked science until we started homeschooling. Then I realized that what I disliked was the way science was taught in ancient times when I was in school. Science is one of my favorite subjects now and my kids love it.

 

Someone posted a while back about picking topics from a science encyclopedia and then extending their studies. I always loved that idea and thought it was worth pursuing.

[Capt_Uhura]

I could be wrong and often am, but I don't think you are going to be happy with any specific curriculum from what you have written. First, you do know that you do not have to commit to one area of study, right? No one is going to die if you spend a month or two studying marine creatures, a month studying rocks, another two months studying astronomy, and a month studying basic physics. Take them to your local science museum. What gets them excited? Proceed from there. The internet offers so many resources as does a good library. There are Bill Nye the Science Guy videos and the Home Science Tools catalog. Go back and read some of 8FilltheHeart's posts on how the handle science and remember, I believe she has kids that have chosen science fields as adults. Go read Corraleno's posts. They really get into hands-on science. The key is to build joy and develop powers of observation for this age. Teaching the scientific process to kids who don't know how to "observe" the world around them is difficult. Teach them to draw on nature hikes. Talk about what they have observed. Go to star parties. Is there a marine biology lab nearby?

 

.

:iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree: We've done a lot of science. The only year (last year) where we didn't do a lot of science was when I tried to use a curriculum. Read Correlano's post and 8FilltheHearts posts!!!! Have your DC write down 3-4 areas he's interested in learning more about. Then get some books, some resources, some experiments, find a museum on the topic, etc and you're good to go. He can outline, write summaries, write lab reports etc. this year we're doing a unit on Digestion using Dr. Dave's digestion unit. My oldest will read corresponding chapters in The Way We Work. I think later we'll do a unit on genetics and read The Way We Work, Exploring the Way We Work, do some fruit fly breeding or plant breeding, etc. DS will work mostly independently on Exploration Education. He'll be reading corresponding chapters in CPO Physical Science.