Question about using library resources for a school subject.

[gandpsmommy]

I am thinking about just using library resources for geography and earth science this year instead of purchasing a curriculum. We have considered buying a telescope for astronomy because it is an interest for dh, but I'm not sure if the money will be in the budget for that this year or not. I'm also considering buying a few experiment kits to go along with the library books we read. I'm wondering if anyone who has done this before has any tips/advice. Did you find it difficult to find books available when you needed them? Did it work out well or turn into a huge inconvenience? I think it would save us money and make these subjects more low key for us, but I'm not sure if it is worth it or not.

[johnandtinagilbert]

for me, I have done this, it just took so much time for me to lesson plan. Resources were always available, more than we could possibly us, and I got a couple of experiment books for dirt cheap at a used book sale, it just took so long to plan....there are great lists online now, though for living books, that I am sure it would be better now.

Best wishes,

[Shelly in IL]

I think that would be perfectly acceptable. Reading books is an excellent way to learn science, and the experiment kits sound like a fun side note!

 

If you can't afford the telescope this year - no biggie. We bought an expensive microscope when ds was in 4th grade. The curriculum we chose to use it with used it like 2 times! I wish I would have waited. Now in 7th, though, we'll get more use out of it!

[K&Rs Mom]

We use a ton of library books for science & history, mostly for cost reasons. I have spent a Saturday afternoon alone at the library jotting down a list of titles & call numbers that I think I might use over the next few months, and keep that in the back of my planning notebook. Our library also has online catalog access, so I can check availablility and place a hold if I need to, without having to go down there.

 

I'm not completely impressed with the kids' nonfiction selection, but for first grade it probably doesn't matter. I also have gotten cards at 2 other local libraries, and used interlibrary loan regularly when that was available (and look forward to it's return!).

[MomOfOneFunOne]

You'll need to be a lot more together than I was if you want to save money!

 

YOu absolutely can do it and pretty easily if you live near a decent library. For 1st, 2nd, and 3rd that's just how I did Science: I built my own units using library materials.

 

Two things to know:

1) if you want good books you must plan ahead! You have to reserve them in advance b/c nothing is worse when planning a unit than not getting the books you want/need. Having said that, if you do wait till Sunday evening to go to the library for your Monday lesson, you'll still get some, they just probably won't be your first choice.

 

2) Looking back, I'm pretty sure it would have saved money just to buy the books. Not for you! No! For me: the over-due fines kept catching up with me. They do sneak up on you so you really have to manage wisely. I plan creatively. I do not manage wisely. They always caught me. Here is how it goes. You want to have a specific book. You order it and get it but it's about a week b/f you plan to use it. You really wanted this book, do you dare to leave it on the shelf? I do not, thank you. So I ck it out a week early. It's due b/f I've even got my other materials together! I'll still need it two more weeks. Then again, just when we were about to start the unit, we got delayed a couple of days and did start when I had planned. All that trouble but it was a GRAND unit so we've decided to keep it going a little longer . . . well, as I said, I plan creatively, I do not manage wisely so all those fines would have just paid for the book in the first place. They make it so easy to re-new a book. Why wouldn't anyone do it?

 

Okay, all that just to say that it takes a little juggling.

 

Yes, if you have a decent library, you can teach Science from the library shelves. I haven't done geography but I bet it would work the same way!

 

Good luck!

[johnandtinagilbert]

You'll need to be a lot more together than I was if you want to save money!

 

 

 

For me: the over-due fines kept catching up with me. They do sneak up on you so you really have to manage wisely.

 

 

Try Library Elf (google it) If your library provides the connection, it has saved me TONS on fines. I get email reminders for books due and when my books have come in and are on hold at the front desk...a real saver for me

[Rhondabee]

When I used the library for science, I didn't really "plan". But, we have a huge library. I just let my dc choose a book, read it, and *if* there was an experiment in it, and he wanted to do it, we did.

 

If you did want to plan, perhaps it would be good to plan "topics". You could look in the Janice Van Cleave books (we have other books that are similar at our library as well), to see which easy experiments could go with each topic. Then, say, one of your topics is "erosion", and in your list, you would cover that in Week 6 - but the book you want isn't available. So, you move that and do a topic that *is* available. As long as you have a master list of topics and experiments that isn't "dated", then you can easily move "erosion" to Week 9 or 10.

 

We can keep books for 3 weeks, and have an online reserve system. So, I can go in and pretty much know the week ahead of time what books will be available. (But, really, I'm not the type of mom who's going to look through every book on erosion to determine which exact one I want to use.) Sometimes I will request a whole bunch, then choose just two of the ones that are there to take home.

 

I do understand your angst! We are doing all our literature from the library this year. Both boys are doing the 8th grade list, and I'll need a copy for me, and hopefully the Audio version - all from the library at the same time. So, I'm just going into it knowing ahead of time to build in extra "cushion" days; and trust that even if things don't go according to my plan, all will still be well.

 

Best wishes!

Rhonda

 

ps - It also helps me to remember that even if I were following someone else's plan, I'd probably tweak that, too! The best laid plans of mice and men kind of thing...

[Adrianne]

I am thinking about just using library resources for geography and earth science this year instead of purchasing a curriculum. We have considered buying a telescope for astronomy because it is an interest for dh, but I'm not sure if the money will be in the budget for that this year or not. I'm also considering buying a few experiment kits to go along with the library books we read. I'm wondering if anyone who has done this before has any tips/advice. Did you find it difficult to find books available when you needed them? Did it work out well or turn into a huge inconvenience? I think it would save us money and make these subjects more low key for us, but I'm not sure if it is worth it or not.

 

This works well for us at that age. I just made sure I had a spine that I owned to work from in case the library book was not available right way. At that age your goal is to expose them to science topics and have them experience science first hand through and experiments and projects. We do experiments once every couple weeks or weekly depending on interest and read books and narrate them.

 

Science is fun time around here. We use it to break from regular school work.

[dangermom]

I do it for both science and history--I buy a spine text and then most of the reading comes from the library.

 

I've found that I have to plan out the schedule and books during the summer, or I'll wind up with nothing. So I go through every topic in the spine book, list one per week, and then find the books in the library catalog online. I type them all out and note the call number and location of the book if it's in another branch. I try to find all the books on a given topic, so that I can pick and choose in case some of them are checked out.

 

Then during the year I can look at the topics for the next week or two, put the books on hold, and go pick them up. I would never buy all the books I use, so it's been great for us.

[starlashine]

I am trying to do this more this year, as our lbrary has an excellent online system, so I can renew from home. Otherwise, the fines would be so high I should just buy, ya know? Anywho, it is doable with planning, which I'm not sure I'll be able to achieve. On the telescope tip, if you have $100 to spend, you could find a high quality/magnification pair of binoculars on amazon.com and use them. This is what I'm doing this year for astronomy. Also, there may be an astronomy club in your area that has access to a BIG telescope. I googled astronomy club maryland and found five! HTH

[mcconnellboys]

I've done this a lot. If you have a decent library system, I think it works well. I always request my books about a week before I need them and over-request to insure that I actually get in enough material, then I go through it and pick the best to use. Janice Van Cleave has out a ton of good experiment/activity books for all science subject areas, including astronomy. You might even be able to get these from your library, too. You do have to pay attention to check-out times/return dates, but many libraries now have online check-out and renewal options, reminders for when things are coming due, etc., which could help you out if your system provides these services.

 

Have fun!

[chiguirre]

For geography and science, take a look at homeschoolshare:

 

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/levels.php

 

For your ages, I'd recommend Level Three or Four books. To give you an idea of how this can work, this is how we studied The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco. I got the book and all our extras from the library. I can reserve and renew online and can keep books for 6 weeks, videos for 3. I plan about 2 weeks in advance to give the most lead time possible to get everything sent to my branch. Usually I reserve materials for 3 units at a time to keep my pipeline full.

 

For The Butterfly, we read the book four times and studied a related topic. We also read Twenty and Ten as a chapter book to accompany our study. On day one, we read the book, found France on our map, traced the route from Paris to the Swiss border and talked a bit about French. We practiced some French words and phrases. On day two, we read Monarch about the butterfly life cycle, ds read a Level 1 DK reader Born to be a Butterfly and we made a mini-book on the stages of a butterfly's life. On day three, we discussed symbols in literature and talked about what the butterfly symbolized. On day four, we looked at pictures of Nazis and talked a little about WWII. We also watched a DK video on butterflies, Au Revoir Les Enfants (since it's in French, the kids didn't get the story) but they saw a French boarding school, heard French, saw the lack of food and heat, and saw the fear of the Nazis.

 

Personally, I think it's easier to organize mini-units if you're going to rely on the library. You don't have the problem of having to keep books for a long time. If you organize a couple and keep your pipeline full, you'll always have something interesting on hand. It's a bit more challenging to do this if you only want to study earth science, but there are quite a few possibilities on the hss list. It's not too hard to incorporate experiments. I did try to do the butterfly garden, but my oldest opened the caterpillars environment :eek: so that didn't work with this unit.

[kls126s]

with all the pp - absolutely doable, especially if you have a good local library system.

 

Keep in mind I'm a planning nerd. :001_smile:

 

I do all of the planning in the summer before we start school so that once we're actually doing school it's brainless.

• I choose a spine book that I buy so I have it always on hand. I like the Usborne Internet linked series - they are full of good content without bogging down and are visually appealing. I also use them because I go to the website and download pictures from the books and use them on our notebooking pages.
  
• Then I divide up the pages so we read a spread or two for each lesson. I search for library books on that topic and make a list of possibilities.
  
• Then I go looking for a few experiment kits or ideas to spread throughout the lesson. Janice VanCleave books are great and cover many subjects. Her "Play and Find Out About..." series is good for youngers. Here are a few good links to find experiments and hands on things to do:

 

Rocks Minerals & Fossils for Kids

Discover This

Science Store for the Stars

Science in a Nutshell

Supercharged Science

 

• We have a couple of libraries close, so I use worldcat.org to look up books and find which libraries have the books. You can search by subject so you can find books on volcanoes or Africa or comets or whatever you're looking for, and then see if your preferred library has it, or if any other close libraries do. It's linked to Amazon so I can then preview pages of the books or read reviews and tell if it's a book I'd really be interested in. I try to find at least five or six books on each subject, so if something is not available when I need it, I still have options. If they are all available, they just go in the book basket for the week for reading options.

 

• I also work ahead and make or find notebooking pages and experiment pages for each lesson, so I just have to pull it out of the binder and hand it to her.

I put all of my lessons into a Word document and just number them sequentially. Each lesson is on a separate page, because I print it and put it behind that week tab in my big-momma planning binder. Each lesson page includes: spine reading assignment, list of library book options, and an experiment or hands on option. I put the notebooking pages behind the correct lesson. I just go online and request the library books I need about two weeks before I need them. (I also use Library Elf, since I have personally funded the last library expansion with my overdue fines. :glare:)

 

There are also a few good (free) Earth science lesson plans floating around. You can look at these sites and see if you can find anything that interests you:

 

Discovery Science

Robert Krampf

Trivium Academy earth science notes

 

I also have a couple of pdfs that I downloaded but don't know where I got them so I can't credit the original author. I probably shouldn't post them here, but will email them to anyone who wants them. Just PM me.

[Saille]

We use library resources almost entirely for Reading, Science and History.

 

One thing that might be a helpful supplement is the Science in a Nutshell kits put out by Delta Education. They're basically small sterlite totes with a booklet of experiments, a student journal and most of the necessary supplies (except for common items like paper towels, drinking straws, or salt), so if there's one particular area you're having trouble planning, you can just slot in a kit instead. I used an ocean-related kits in a small classroom setting, and found it to be well worth it.

[Testimony]

Some of the Well Trained Mind Recommendations for science was in the library. I planned my entire science using the library and history just the literature books.

 

Blessings in your homeschool journey!

 

Sincerely,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[King Alfred Academy]

This is exactly what I am planning to do with my 5 & 7 yo boys for science this coming year. We are going to do Barb's Green Hour challenges and then dig a little deeper into the scientific things that interest us. We will do simple experiments with household items and lapbooks. I do plan on using the library for most of it. I think it can be done with a little bit of planning.:001_smile: