How are YOU doing interest-led Science?

[Sue G in PA]

For elementary? I have a PreK, 2nd, and 4th grader (I already have curriculum for the older ones) and I just don't want to be tied down to a curriculum. But, I'm a bit nervous about "winging it". I need some type of plan to keep me on track. We have The Nature Connection for Nature Study and I am looking forward to using that. I have CKE Earth and Space but we tried that last year and it just wasn't our cup of tea. If you do interest led science, how do you do it? Do you plan out your year, wing it, combo of both, lol? I really need some help so I am :bigear: Thanks!

[Plink]

I consider our studies interest led, but momma controlled :D

 

I have lots of chats with my kids about what they would like to study over the coming year, and then I get to control how and when we work through those subjects. Sometimes I have to push them to become thrilled about a subject (insects being a perfect example), but once I have captured their imagination, we are off and running, with momma choosing the spine (often Apologia or Real Science for Kids) and kids in control of library supplements.

 

Not sure if I answered your question well. Feel free to ask me to clarify if you are more confused now.

[Kathryn]

We are doing Elemental Science for a curriculum, but for interest-led, I got BFSU and read the whole thing to familiarize myself with it. Then, whenever DS asks a random question or makes a random observation, I can run with it with confidence.

[TracyP]

In the past all I did was ask the kids what they wanted to learn and get library books. I'm trying to be slightly more formal about it this year. I made a word doc using the headings from Paula's archives science book list to help them (and me) generate ideas.

 

I am then getting them a pile of library books with the hope that each topic lasts about three weeks. I also stuck a few in the pile that I think they might like - Jane Goodall and chimps this time. I am hoping to steer them out of the box a bit while still letting them delve into their interests. They are very interested in learning more about the things around them, which I suppose is pretty appropriate for their age, but I don't think there is much more to learn about chipmunks. :tongue_smilie:

 

My two oldest are voracious readers, so I see no need to assign reading at this point. I am asking for a freewrite and illustration for their notebook at the end of the week on either their science or history (which is also interest led) topic.

 

We are on Week 2 of our year, so the jury is still out when it comes to seeing how this works.

[Zoo Keeper]

Two easy, not-so-stressful science plans we have done:

 

1. PBS Nature. Watch one show a week; after watching, ask child what he remembers, and do a narration page/drawing. Used whatever books I had on the shelves for more info, or used the library if I got my act together that week. Very low key--my kids have loved doing this. My oldest STILL remembers pages he drew during his K year. I let them stay on a show/topic as long as they wanted--one week, two weeks, whatever. :)

 

2. Work through some scientists in chronological order. One year we did this when the chemistry I had planned didn't work out. We started at ancients and went up to modern times, studying whatever scientists I could find some info on. Once again, I shopped my shelves, or the library. If I could find an experiement/coloring page/activity online, great. If not, we just read, narrated, and moved on. Some folks we looked at ( not in order, just what I can remember w/o getting my notes out):

 

Archimedes

Ancient Egyptians (building pyramids)

Eratosthenes (The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Lasky)

Galileo (we had a blast dropping different sized balls from our own Tower of Pisa--tall slide at playground)

DaVinci (we parked on him for weeks...so much science and art)

Building castles/cathedrals/mosques (one of my boys is very into buildings)

the Curies

Leevenhook (I KNOW I spelled that wrong...:tongue_smilie:)

Pasteur

Einstein

 

We used The Magic School Bus and the Science Fair Expedition for brief bios on some of these scientists.

 

PBS.org is a great site for science...my boys watch lots of NOVA. Yes, the majority of it goes over their heads (my head as well...), but it sparks an interest. They are really excited about chemistry after watching this for two days...

Edited August 9, 2012 by Zoo Keeper
added links

[kb44]

We have a ton of "experiment" books they picked up, by choice, at a used book store. I am also thinking of getting (science) studies weekly to motivate ideas that we can expand on!

[SorrelZG]

Books and Netflix/DVDs. DS is always eager to regurgitate every new thing he learns that interests him (I could count this as narration, I suppose) and in listening there arise opportunities to ask questions and from questions come opportunities to gain more knowledge. I pick up on things he might be interested from listening to him in general or from the daily questions he asks and I may go looking for more books or videos or whatever that would feed that curiosity. Getting outside and observing what is out there inspires endless curiosity and questions. Basically I just follow along, make stuff available, share my own questions and interests, as does DH and DS's uncle and sometimes they just all explore and experiment with stuff together (they do this even without a 6yo around).

[Moniksca]

We use lapbooks, I ask the my ds what topic he wants to do one on and I gather all the books, videos, and find experiments for us to do. Right now we're learning about deserts. I'm going to order BFSU to see if it can help me round out our studies.

[MerryAtHope]

When they were young, I would ask what they were interested in, and then choose books or a whole curriculum for that topic. I just picked an amount of time to spend daily or per week as my goal, rather than planning out everything exactly.

[Sue G in PA]

Thanks everyone. I asked dd6 what she wanted to study for science this year. Her eyes got real big and she said, (with a cute little "evil" sort of tone to her voice) "EXPLOSIONS!". Nice. She wants to blow things up. I'm moving toward using an already laid out curriculum. I just can't even fathom planning yet another subject. But, any other ideas are welcome. Thanks!

[dbmamaz]

i have been struggling with science, but ds 8 just doesnt like curriculum. my plan for this year is to collect a bunch of science books around his reading level and put them in a basket and tell him he has to read them every day for some amount of time. we'll get more out of the library sometimes, or more if we find series we like, etc. he is just getting really fluent in his reading, and he actually seems to like learning by reading things himself.

[MerryAtHope]

Thanks everyone. I asked dd6 what she wanted to study for science this year. Her eyes got real big and she said, (with a cute little "evil" sort of tone to her voice) "EXPLOSIONS!". Nice. She wants to blow things up. I'm moving toward using an already laid out curriculum. I just can't even fathom planning yet another subject. But, any other ideas are welcome. Thanks!

 

LOL, of course! Have you done the Mento's experiment with her? She might enjoy that in the absence of having some C-4 laying around!

[lewelma]

If you do interest led science, how do you do it? Do you plan out your year, wing it, combo of both, lol?

 

This is a x-post that I thought might help explain what I do.

 

I thought I might expand a bit on how to get the kids on board and excited about "what is next." Science in my house is both interest driven and organized/systematic. Yes it can be done.:001_smile:

 

I start before summer, mentioning in passing about how "I can't wait until next year because we will be doing earth science." I drop little hints, "did you know that earth science has 4 major fields: astronomy, geology, meteorology, and oceanography." Every couple of week for months, I say something else quite purposefully, dropping seeds of interest. "I know so little about crystals, I can't wait until geology." Eventually, the kids start asking "what are we studying next year again?" or "Do we get to study sand next year?" And "oh, I can't wait until we get to astronomy!"

 

Then, once we are in the earth science year, I drop hints during the first unit on Astronomy, "did you know that geology is next?" A few weeks later, I might mention " wow, I had no idea that geology was such a huge field - rocks, crystals, soil, ground water, plate tectonics, earthquakes, and volcanoes. I just don't think we will be able to do it all. What should we skip?" Then, it goes something like, "ah, mom, we can't skip any of it. I love geology." etc. I think you get the idea. These are breadcrumbs, leading the way to path I want them to follow. It works shockingly well!!! Just today, as I was talking excitedly about finding some good chemistry books in the library for next year, ds(8) asked "what is chemistry?" "Well, it is all about atoms and reactions, like when you put vinegar and baking soda together." "oh, I love chemistry," he says. The first little breadcrumb in place...

 

As the kids get older, I start to ask for input. My ds when he was 10 was quite adamant that he wanted to study microbiology, and I wanted him to study genetics and evolution, so there you go 3 units for 3 terms. The 4th term being for the science fair project. The younger one (1st grade at the time) could obviously not do those topics, so I chose easier things: botany, zoology, and ecology. But it is nicer when both kids are studying the same big topic, which happened this year. Kind of depends on the field.

 

So how do I get the topics for the different sciences? Well, you do some research. Find out the big divisions within the subject for the year. Then, I check the library for good books. I check them out while I am planning for the following year and look over them and make sure there is enough of the good stuff at an appropriate level. If there is not, I have to buy some, but this has been pretty infrequent in 6 years. Then, I make a bit of a schedule. Each year has a subject (earth and space science), and each term has a topic (geology) and subtopics (crystals, volcanoes, ground water, erosion). The term topic is pretty well set in stone, but the subtopics can be very fluid. We often can't get to all of them, because we are following rabbit trails, which is just fine. Too much time spent on crystals and soil, leaves too little time on volcanoes and earthquakes. Oh well. There is always more to learn. But at the beginning of the next term, we start the new topic (switching from geology to oceanography which are all a part of the year's subject of earth science).

 

I do agree with SWB that systematic study of any field is the hallmark of a classical education. I also like using a spine and then getting more books out, but the spines I use are MUCH more detailed than the ones she suggests. So I get a spine for geology, and a different spine for oceanography. Rather than a spine for earth science, which will be more vague and general because there is more to cover.

 

I disagree with SWB that kids need to summarize, list facts, draw pictures each week to review/document their studies. I have found that this KILLS the love of science learning in my kids. Who wants to read about astronomy if you know you are then going to have to sit at the table and write a summary? yuck:tongue_smilie:. My kids sometimes choose to write about science for their fortnightly reports during writing time. We use IEW, so they spend 1 or 2 weeks with crafting their words/sentences/paragraphs, and then editing and copying over. Much more satisfying than just the repetition of weekly note booking. But each to his own.

 

During each topic, we do some easy hands on stuff as a family. For example, for astronomy, we follow the moon, identify the constellations, and watch NASA launches; for geology, we grow a crystal, look at road cuts, watch the news for earthquakes (ug, think Christchurch); for oceanography we notice jetties, look at sea creatures, and watch the waves; and for meteorology we identify cloud types, study weather maps, and make measurement equipment. All of this is just observing the world-- making what we are learning come to life. It has no scientific method component, and there is no reason to write it up as a lab report. It is just fun and educational.

 

 

Then, after 3 terms of reading, we do 1 term on a large-scale investigation. This year's investigations are: ds(11)-- how does the wind speed and direction affect longshore transport of sand? And ds(8)-- How does land slope and vegetation affect the depth of the topsoil? This is where the kids will write up their project in a scientific report, including hypothesis, method, results, and discussion. They make a poster and then present at the science fair.

 

And one more X-post

 

We follow rabbit trails, but they are rabbit trails within the topic. I don't discourage the kids learning other topics within science when we are studying astronomy, for example, but the whole family is focused on astronomy. We are all noticing the moon cycle and finding stars in the sky. We are reading books and watching docos. And my dh comes home with news on NASA's new launch, and we watch it over breakfast on a streaming NASA TV. It is exciting. If they want to grow a crystal or read a Magic School Bus book on rain forests, fine, but the whole family is focused on astronomy.

 

This systematic focus helps the kids explore topics they never would have thought or on their own (oceanography for example) and helps to direct the rabbit trails within the topics. DS(11) was particularly interested in soil when we studied geology for 9 weeks and spent extra time on that subtopic. For geology, he studied rocks, crystals, plate tectonics, and soil/erosion (but ran out of time for ground water and volcanoes, when the term was up we moved on to oceanography). I don't think that either of us would have ever thought to study soil. How boring.... until you learn a lot about it. So IMHO, elementary school is about exposure in addition to the excitement that everyone always talks about.

 

HTH,

 

Ruth in NZ

[Sue G in PA]

Ruth, I have truly enjoyed all your posts about science. It gets ME excited! I just don't know that I have it in me to do it this way, lol! :lol: Trying to break out of the "curriculum" mold is tough. I like having it all laid out for me. Do this, do that, then do this. ;) I'm trying though. Your posts help. I've at least narrowed our study down to life science. I'm borrowing a friend's Apologia Flying Creatures book, purchasing Botany and will take a look at Mr. Qs free life science lesson plans. We're incorporating nature study so life science fits this very well. I love the Apologia books, but I'm just not sure I can stomach an entire year of ONE subject. Flying Creatures might be the exception since there is such a wide variety..birds, insects, bats, etc. Botany? Plants and trees. That's a lot of plants. LOL. Thanks for all the tips!

[TKDmom]

I am just figuring out for myself how to move into more interest-led science with my kids. So here are my random thoughts on the subject.

 

I have started buying picture-heavy college-level reference books about various subjects that my kids have an interest in, and I leave them laying around where they can peruse them in their free time. I'm sure they don't understand everything they read, but they will sit, looking at pictures and reading for hours when they get obsessed about a particular subject. Then they'll come up to me at random times and say, "Hey did you know...?" I remember doing the same thing with my parents' encyclopedia when I was a kid. I learned more from the encyclopedia than I ever did at school, and I retained it, because it was interesting to me.

 

I'm still doing a formal science program with my 6th grader. We didn't even get halfway through our biology curriculum last year, and she needs to finish it. But I sat down with her and discussed what she would like to study. Right now it's rocks and geology. So I told her I'd find her books to read about geology during her free reading time. I'll probably buy some science in a nutshell kits once we get done with biology and then try to move into other earth science topics.

 

I am in the process of figuring out what to do with my younger two. I have never been good at following a science curriculum, so I think I will just collect books on whichever science topic we are studying. Even though I've never managed to complete an elementary science program, the kids are always asking me scientific questions. I've realized that we spend half our time in the car discussing random science facts that the kids are interested in. This requires me to be familiar with a wide variety of scientific topics. Sometimes I say, "I don't know" and then I try to look up answers with them later.

 

I think my problem with elementary curricula is that all the writing and analyzing suck the joy out of learning. I signed up to teach a "fun science experiments" class for our co-op this semester, and spent several days on Pinterest looking up ideas. I had my kids next to me at the computer watching you tube videos and we were all fascinated with the cool things people did--"Whoa! How did it do that??" Then we had to go look up the science behind each demonstration. It was so much more fun and interesting than the typical lesson where you tell your kids about the science and then do a demonstration or coloring page or model or whatever.

 

Also I just got a used copy of Kathryn Stout's Science Scope. The book isn't really all that impressive (I would be annoyed if I had paid $20 for it new). But if you are designing your own study, you can refer to it to make sure you aren't leaving out any major topics in each field of study.

Edited August 10, 2012 by bonniebeth4

[lewelma]

Sue, I am a bit confused and would love to help. You say you want to do interest led, but want a plan - this makes sense to me. But then you say you don't want to be tied down to a curriculum but you have bought apologia and MrQs lesson plans. You seem to think "my" way is tough, but all I do is go to the library and get out books on a topic and read them (we are not talking Science Fair here). I am not trying to make you do it my way, but would kindly suggest that you need to think about your expectations of interest led. True interest-led (without a plan) is much tougher IMHO because you have to find resources on the fly. And for me at least, I need to "have my head in the game" and need some time to switch gears to facilitate a new topic.

 

I'm a bit nervous about "winging it". I need some type of plan to keep me on track.

 

Dig a bit into these conflicting thought and tell me what you think you really want to do. What do YOU mean when you say "interest led," what kind of curriculum or plan fits into YOUR definition?" Why exactly are you trying to go interest-led? What do you hope to achieve that you couldn't with a curriculum? What are you willing to give up from your idealistic goals (yes, we all have them) to make it actually something you can implement? I have been privately helping quite a few people tailor a program for their dc, and sometimes they really need to stop and think about what it is they are after. Remember, it must work both for the student and the parent, if it doesn't, it won't get done. So don't discount your own needs.

 

Ruth in NZ

Edited August 10, 2012 by lewelma

[Sue G in PA]

I am a mess, aren't I, Ruth? :lol: Seriously, I don't make a lot of sense. I know. Some background: We have always used a specific program for Science...and I typically would get "bored" with it. So would the kids. I have an entire bookshelf of books on different science topics that we never use b/c it isn't in the curriculum. Make sense? I get too bogged down with "following the plan" that it's tough to stray. So, I thought that this year we would just pick and choose different topics, read some books, do some experiments (kids like those), etc. Then, the thought of having to "plan" another subject was just overwhelming me. Yes, here is the dilemma. I don't want to have to plan, but don't like being tied to a curriculum either. :glare: What is my goal? I honestly don't know. We are NOT a "sciency" sort of family. None of my kids really "love" science. But we need to do it. As for Apologia...I just love the books. Even if we don't use them all year...we do like the books. It's just another reference, if you will. Mr. Q...I haven't downloaded the lessons plans, but did look at them. It is a possibility. I think I have narrowed our focus to Life Science this year. Chemistry next. So...there it is, lol. There is also a part of me that doesn't think I can "do" it, kwim? Like I'm afraid to think outside the "box". Make sense? I can't see me leading my kids in choosing a science fair project of their own to research, conduct and present. Copying experiment's that have already been done has always been more my speed. Anyway, I would love for science to be more "fun". For it to be a subject that we look forward to instead of one that we just have to do. I also want to have the freedom to go off on little bunny trails w/in a certain topic and just sort of "camp" there for however long it holds our interest. I never felt I could do that with a curriculum b/c we would get off schedule! Hope I've made "some" sense!

[happypamama]

I'd consider us to be somewhere between "interest led" and "mama controlled" for science, and I'm more interested in getting them to go "oh, wow, cool" than memorizing specifics. I try to round out a topic with some projects, some videos if applicable, and some good books, plus a few worksheets. We watched bird videos and read the Burgess Bird Book when we studied birds. We take our Peterson's First Guides along on walks and hikes; DD knows a lot about identifying plants because she found them interesting. We made jello cells (gross but cool) and did a few worksheets and watched videos of how the circulatory system works when we learned about the human body last year. We are raising ladybugs this year and keeping a log of their development; DD really likes drawing them at different stages and colors. We'll do a few insect reports and read some books about insects, plus maybe a field trip to see some bees, and we'll do a few worksheets to cement things (and prove that we did them). If they don't remember every detail, that's okay. I think of science in the early grades as just getting to know things -- they might not remember exactly what mitochondria do, but the next time they encounter it, they won't be starting from complete scratch.

 

When we're interested in a topic, we check out a bunch of books, and I look for projects that are doable. We want to try some of the activities from the book Physics Lab in a Housewares Store, for instance, and I'll probably pull out some factual books to go along with those. But also, they will find their own little rabbit trails, and we'll support those -- this week, for instance, DH got DS1 a bunch of books about WWII fighter planes, because he was interested in those (after a trip to Eisenhower's Farm in Gettysburg), and DD was so interested in how genetics works in forensics that she checked out a bunch of books about forensics, DNA, etc. herself. I could see doing more projects related to those topics if she wanted to.

 

We aim to do science once a week, so that we don't feel pressured to hit a certain amount of stuff, and so that I have more energy to set up projects without having to get through all the other subjects that day. We'll see how that goes this year.

[Ritsumei]

I consider our studies interest led, but momma controlled :D

 

I have lots of chats with my kids about what they would like to study over the coming year, and then I get to control how and when we work through those subjects. /QUOTE]

 

:iagree:

This is a lot how we do things. I keep one eye on TWTM recommendations for the grade I'm looking at, but within that, he's got pretty free reign. When we did the animal study he wanted to learn about birds of prey, and there's plenty of those, so that was more than 1/2 of what we did, and most of what he remembers is from the birds.

 

We were supposed to be working on the human body after that, but I got a cool astronomy app about that time, and he *loved* it, so we put off the body and did a bunch of astronomy. Now he's seeing some of the neglected models we started, and saying that he's ready to go back to the body... but still asking for astronomy stuff for bedtime stories. :D

 

As far as spines, I usually keep one eye on TWTM recommendations for that too, but if I see something cool I don't hesitate to pick it up. I'd really like to find something awesome for Mars, since the Curiosity is big news right now. Which reminds me: I need to see if we can see the Perseid from our city yard. Someday we'll own property in the country!!

[PeterPan]

Sue, for those ages I would go to Hobby Lobby with your 50% off coupons and buy science kits from their kits and models section. They have awesome, awesome stuff, at least at ours, and it will all be very interesting for those ages. Add in a few library books if you wish, and boom you're there. That's all you need.

[Mystie]

My plan is simple and mom-hands-off as I am in my third trimester right now and don't really think formal science is essential in the young elementary ages anyway. My goal is to keep them interested in the world.

 

We own 4 different Apologia books, and one task on my 2nd & 4th grader's independent work checklist is "Complete a notebook page w/ at least one illustration and 4/2 (4 for the 4th grader, 2 for the 2nd grader) sentences about one section from a science book."

 

So, they get to pick the book and the section and I don't care if it's in order at all.

 

Plus, if they tell me they are interested in something, we get on the computer and search for library books and put a few on hold. They read them, but it's "free reading."

[lewelma]

I am a mess, aren't I, Ruth? :lol:

 

This I find very funny since the approach you are contemplating, as I see it, is very similar to the one I use.

 

For the first 2 years I homeschooled, I had the exact same problems:

1) I typically would get "bored" with a specific science program

2) So would the kids.

3) I have an entire bookshelf of books on different science topics that we never use b/c it wasn't in the curriculum.

4) I got too bogged down with "following the plan" that it was tough to stray.

 

Sound familar? So, I started thinking about what it was I really wanted to do.

 

For any subject you need 1) goals, 2) a plan, 3) resources, 4) a time to do it, 5) assessment if you met your goals. So here you go:

 

YOUR GOALS:

 

First of all, you need goals. You do. They will help to guide you so that you don't constantly feel like a failure. If you don't have any, I will give you some to think about.

 

Elementary age:

1) They need exposure to lots of different areas of science

2) They need to not fear science, and actually find it somewhat interesting.

 

Middle school (7th and 8th grade):

1 and 2) from above and

3) They should be able to read and understand difficult text and diagrams/charts/graphs

4) They should be able to write clear, concise short answers to a variety of questions types

5) They should understand and have experience with the scientific method

 

The 2 elementary-age goals will help prepare them better than most things for middle school science. Notice they are very easy to achieve (imagine assessing your kids to see if they have met your goals:001_smile:). So, you will be able to say that your laid-back method is working to achieve your goals. So for your elementary-aged kids, here is how I see it:

 

YOUR PLAN:

 

I know you don't want to plan, but you need to do a little bit. Really, just a little. You have already started.

 

This year:

Life Science. subtopics so far include Ornithology, Botany, Ecology, Human body, and Cell Biology

 

Next year

Chemistry

 

RESOURCES

 

Ornithology: Apologia

Botany: Apologia

Ecology: Mr Q

Human Body: Mr Q

Cell Biology: Mr Q

 

For the bunny trails: go to the library or play on the internet.

 

As for the experimenting part: go pick some kits that you know you can do. Be realistic. Really realistic. I would suggest that you do some gardening for your Botany unit.

 

TIMING

 

This is where I think you are stumped. Here are your options:

1) Do you want to "strewn" and just lay resources around?

2) Do you want to have a set time for 30 minutes 2 times per week?

3) Do you want to achieve a certain number of pages each week.

4) Do you want to just "get around to it."

 

Think about YOU as the teacher/facilitator and your students' needs and pick an option that will work for you. From what you have said, option #3 would NOT be for you.

 

ASSESSMENT

 

Well, it depends on your goals. I have stated my goals for elementary and middle school science education. So to assess elementary, I make a list of the topics they have covered, including the rabbit trails, the movies, the field trips. I am always surprised at the end of the year just how many topics we have coverd. I include everything, even conversations at the dinner table. Then, I evaluate how much personal interest they have. Are they excited when science comes up? When they have a question, do they find the answer on the internet? Do they actively engage in dinner conversations about science? In our house, there are no tests or write-ups, because memorizing scientific facts is not a goal of mine in elementary school.

 

*******

 

It seems to me that you kind of went about things in a backwards manner. You found resources, even though you did not want to follow a curriculum. But what you really needed to do first was make goals and plans, and THEN find resources to make them happen. When you just follow a curriculum, you really assume that the person writing the curriculum has included the important goals and plans so you don't have to think about it. (This is how I approach Logic, I just pick a curriculum and do it). But when you choose to do your own thing, you really need to think about those things since you are no longer outsourcing that thinking to a curriculum writer. Don't be afraid of a bit of planning. I am talking about an hour for a whole year. It is worth your time. Without a plan, you always feel like you are not doing enough. This leads to that sense of worry that we, as homeschoolers, can constantly feel if we are not careful.

 

Hope this helps to organize you thinking.

 

Ruth in NZ

Edited August 11, 2012 by lewelma

[Sue G in PA]

That is extremely helpful, Ruth. I have saved your posts to a file so I can look back at my leisure. I'm feeling a little better about this.

[laughing lioness]

Interest led science in our house is interests that dh has! He is an astronomy/weather geek so he and the kids spend time togeher looking at sites and discussing science news- i.e. Curiosity spurred many discussions, web-site views and checking out magazines at B & N. Dh's passion for science is shared with the kids almost daily.

 

love Ruth's strewing suggestion- we have BAR, science News, Nat'l Geo, all over, MSB books and videos, Moody science dVD, Bio and Chem DVD's (advertised as high school but my youngers LOVE that series!). The science DVD's are actually things I have my kids watch intentionally during long boring winter afternoons, they love them! We also have invested in tons of books - usborne, msb, DK, fact info books on science.

 

NOAA, NASA web-sites are homepages- tons of info on there. Nat'l Geo has a kids section but it's mainly games.

[happyWImom]

I second going on Pinterest for ideas, in fact, I just found out about the Yahoo Group, Living Science, and it looks like a great place for more ideas.

[Gentlemommy]

We are doing equine science this year...hanging out at the barn a lot. :D We've also learned quite a bit about life cycles (caterpillars, praying mantis, and chickens) raising different breeds of animals, veterinary care, stable up keep, gardening, ect. We also love to read the Magic School Bus books, and that often leads to more discussion, looking things up, further exploration. My kids are naturally drawn to animals and nature, so I'm going with that for now. We spend a lot of time outside, by the lake, at the farm, up in trees.

[MissKNG]

Big girl tells me what she wants to learn about and I find resources to use. That's about it.

[sunnylady303]

I have a 1st grader and 3rd grader and have decided that we need to be focussing this year on the basics. But my girls love science and already know so much about their favorite science subjects.

 

So after a lot of thinking and advice from here, I asked the girls what they would like to learn more about science wise (although I predicted it exactly). So in the afternoon we have what they call "fun learning time" and it looks like this:

 

Monday: DD8 science topics - astronomy, botany, herbs I have planned different things for those days. We have planned once a month astronomy nights, plus in depth learning about the solar system and black holes. I have some experiments from Apologia Botany planned and we are going to make some herbal remedies.

 

Tuesday: Art Using Mark Kistler's 30 Days to Better Drawing or something like that.

 

Wednesday: Nature Study I have the Nature Connection as a guide. Mostly I am having them write observations about different things using some of the things in there.

 

Thursday: DD6 science topics - mechanics, engineering I've planned activities using K'nex simple machines. Still looking for more things to do but those will hold us for a while.

 

This works for us. I let them choose the topics and I do the plans. We will likely change that in the next year or two. But right now I want to feed their love of science. I feel like we may be lacking in systematic study but I landed in the place that says there is time for that later. And they have a lot of systematic studying at the moment.

[dovrar]

This I find very funny since the approach you are contemplating, as I see it, is very similar to the one I use.

 

For the first 2 years I homeschooled, I had the exact same problems:

1) I typically would get "bored" with a specific science program

2) So would the kids.

3) I have an entire bookshelf of books on different science topics that we never use b/c it wasn't in the curriculum.

4) I got too bogged down with "following the plan" that it was tough to stray.

 

Sound familar? So, I started thinking about what it was I really wanted to do.

 

For any subject you need 1) goals, 2) a plan, 3) resources, 4) a time to do it, 5) assessment if you met your goals. So here you go:

 

YOUR GOALS:

 

First of all, you need goals. You do. They will help to guide you so that you don't constantly feel like a failure. If you don't have any, I will give you some to think about.

 

Elementary age:

1) They need exposure to lots of different areas of science

2) They need to not fear science, and actually find it somewhat interesting.

 

Middle school (7th and 8th grade):

1 and 2) from above and

3) They should be able to read and understand difficult text and diagrams/charts/graphs

4) They should be able to write clear, concise short answers to a variety of questions types

5) They should understand and have experience with the scientific method

 

The 2 elementary-age goals will help prepare them better than most things for middle school science. Notice they are very easy to achieve (imagine assessing your kids to see if they have met your goals:001_smile:). So, you will be able to say that your laid-back method is working to achieve your goals. So for your elementary-aged kids, here is how I see it:

 

YOUR PLAN:

 

I know you don't want to plan, but you need to do a little bit. Really, just a little. You have already started.

 

This year:

Life Science. subtopics so far include Ornithology, Botany, Ecology, Human body, and Cell Biology

 

Next year

Chemistry

 

RESOURCES

 

Ornithology: Apologia

Botany: Apologia

Ecology: Mr Q

Human Body: Mr Q

Cell Biology: Mr Q

 

For the bunny trails: go to the library or play on the internet.

 

As for the experimenting part: go pick some kits that you know you can do. Be realistic. Really realistic. I would suggest that you do some gardening for your Botany unit.

 

TIMING

 

This is where I think you are stumped. Here are your options:

1) Do you want to "strewn" and just lay resources around?

2) Do you want to have a set time for 30 minutes 2 times per week?

3) Do you want to achieve a certain number of pages each week.

4) Do you want to just "get around to it."

 

Think about YOU as the teacher/facilitator and your students' needs and pick an option that will work for you. From what you have said, option #3 would NOT be for you.

 

ASSESSMENT

 

Well, it depends on your goals. I have stated my goals for elementary and middle school science education. So to assess elementary, I make a list of the topics they have covered, including the rabbit trails, the movies, the field trips. I am always surprised at the end of the year just how many topics we have coverd. I include everything, even conversations at the dinner table. Then, I evaluate how much personal interest they have. Are they excited when science comes up? When they have a question, do they find the answer on the internet? Do they actively engage in dinner conversations about science? In our house, there are no tests or write-ups, because memorizing scientific facts is not a goal of mine in elementary school.

 

*******

 

It seems to me that you kind of went about things in a backwards manner. You found resources, even though you did not want to follow a curriculum. But what you really needed to do first was make goals and plans, and THEN find resources to make them happen. When you just follow a curriculum, you really assume that the person writing the curriculum has included the important goals and plans so you don't have to think about it. (This is how I approach Logic, I just pick a curriculum and do it). But when you choose to do your own thing, you really need to think about those things since you are no longer outsourcing that thinking to a curriculum writer. Don't be afraid of a bit of planning. I am talking about an hour for a whole year. It is worth your time. Without a plan, you always feel like you are not doing enough. This leads to that sense of worry that we, as homeschoolers, can constantly feel if we are not careful.

 

Hope this helps to organize you thinking.

 

Ruth in NZ

 

 

Okay, so I know you're helping me with a specific science plan, but whenever you have some spare time I would love a general GOALS list for highschool to tuck away for future use.

[vonfirmath]

Thanks everyone. I asked dd6 what she wanted to study for science this year. Her eyes got real big and she said, (with a cute little "evil" sort of tone to her voice) "EXPLOSIONS!". Nice. She wants to blow things up. I'm moving toward using an already laid out curriculum. I just can't even fathom planning yet another subject. But, any other ideas are welcome. Thanks!

 

 

You might find some Mythbusters appropriate...