mommylawyer Posted December 27, 2012 Share Posted December 27, 2012 I love homeschooling, but find science to be a challenge - if only because I despise doing the prep work for experiments. Fortunately, I don't have any rhetoric stage/high school age kids. My oldest is 10 (5th grade). I'm looking for for sciences that are heavier on reading and learning concepts rather than doing a lot of experiments - at least for now. I'm also looking for something that will work well for my 10 year old as well as my 8 and 6 year olds. I think we are good for Biology/Human Anatomy this year, but would like your advice for Astronomy/Earth Science next year and Chemistry and Physics the two years after. My 10 year old daughter loves to read, so I don't mind having something a bit lighter for my younger two - my 10 year old can always read more challenging material on the same subject matter. Either that, or I could just use something geared more to the logic stage of my 10 year old and read it aloud to all the kids. That would be my second choice though. When we do experiments, my husband usually does it or helps a great deal - for example, he will be the one dissecting various creatures with the children over the next couple of months. I've always been more of the reading/talk about it teacher. Thank you in advance for your insight. I've enjoyed reading your thoughts in the forums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubamama Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I'm all ears - anyone able to chime in ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 I despise doing the prep work for experiments. I completely agree with you. We are a very sciency family, but you will not see a whole lot of weekly experiments here. If you have not yet read my posts on evaluating the usefulness of demonstrations/experiments, read posts 2-4 on this thread http://forums.welltr...-of-activities/ . Just writing them really clarified my own thinking. I'm looking for for sciences that are heavier on reading and learning concepts rather than doing a lot of experiments - at least for now. I'm also looking for something that will work well for my 10 year old as well as my 8 and 6 year olds. I think we are good for Biology/Human Anatomy this year, but would like your advice for Astronomy/Earth Science next year and Chemistry and Physics the two years after. Just to make sure I understand, is this your plan? 2013-14 11 (6th ), 9, 7 Astronomy/Earth Science 2014-15 12 (7th) , 10, 8 Chemistry 2015-16 13 (8th) , 11, 9 Physics My 10 year old daughter loves to read, so I don't mind having something a bit lighter for my younger two - my 10 year old can always read more challenging material on the same subject matter. Either that, or I could just use something geared more to the logic stage of my 10 year old and read it aloud to all the kids. That would be my second choice though. Sounds like you are interested in resources. I can tell you the ones we used. But if you are interested in developing a full plan, you need to consider things like goals, skills to develop, assessment etc. Here are a few thread you can read and consider 4, 13,14,18, 23 - 27 http://forums.welltr...e/#entry4513402; all posts in: http://forums.welltr.../#entry4436605; all posts in http://forums.welltr...h/#entry4431909 (for some reason all three of these threads reverting to the last post, just go to post #1) . If you want to talk about a full plan, I would need to ask a bunch of questions and you would really need to think about the details. Sometimes, it is a bit too much to think about 3 years for 3 children at a time in detail. So generally, I just have a general idea for 3 years out and then do detailed research and a plan for a single year. Read the previous threads and think about how much you want to plan now and then let me know Resources: Earth Science Texts (you can use the following with all your kids) Earth Science: Eyewitness Earth http://www.amazon.co....0729126&sr=1-1 Astronomy: The Way the Universe Works http://www.amazon.co....0729156&sr=1-1 Oceanography: Ocean http://www.amazon.co....0729099&sr=8-1 (This is a very very detailed book, you could easily do just 20% with your youngers, and have the older read the rest) Meteorology: I never found a book I loved, but just used what was in the library I would suggest that you go to the library for your older and have her read everything she can find on the different topics. My son in 6th grade was really into Earth Science, so he read his way through half of Tarbuck's Earth Science. This is a high school text, so it depends on your dd's interest, motivation, and reading skills. My ds loved reading it and learned so much. I did not do any testing, so he did not feel a lot of pressure using an advanced text. Docos: BBC's Planet Earth, plus a lot of others, but the search feature is currently down, so I can't find them, will get back to you (If I don't, remind me, as I did a full post on them a few months back) Observation of the world: I don't like experiments or demos much, but I do like to observe nature. This is what we did the year of earth and space science: observed the night sky observed the moon cycles, mapped the position of the sun over the seasons studied weather maps, observed fronts, identified clouds, joined local geology club, collected and categorized rocks, and went on field trips to see road cuts. Have your older map the moon cycles and also the height/location of the sun over the seasons. Chemistry I definitely think you can use Ellen McHenry's The Elements for all 3 of your children in 2014. Plus they will really enjoy the games when done as a group. Your older can advance into the sequel, Carbon Chemistry, after finishing The Elements. Your second might also be interested. My kids also really liked The Elements by Gray for read alouds and The Mystery of the Periodic Table for the history of chemistry. If you older gets really excited about chemistry, the Cartoon Guide to Chemistry is really good, but it does get into advanced topics about 1/3 of the way through, so it would depend on her interest and reading skills. Docos: periodic table videos: http://www.periodicvideos.com/ Plus there are a lot of Modern Marvels on Chemistry topics like adhesives, carbon, etc. Hands on: I think that you could get away with just 2 hands on labs that each take 2 days. Especially if you spend the time to document each. 1. Make litmus paper with purple cabbage. And then the next day go around the house and test everything to see if it is an acid or base. 2. Make Silly putty. All you need is borax, corn starch, and different kinds of glue. Ask the questions: what mixture of ingredients makes the most pliable and bounceable silly putty? Have your kids make different kinds and change the ratios of the different ingredients. Have your older keep careful records and graph the effect of the different quantities of borax and good the putty is. I can give you more details of this investigation if you are interested. Physics Mechanics: The Way Things Work http://www.amazon.co.../dp/0395938473. This is a wonderful book and will take you a year to get through. There are videos to match that we were able to get from the library. Your older could read it, and you could read it to your youngers (your second might be able to read it independently by 2015). If you can get through this book and the corresponding videos, your children will understand mechanics better than most adults! Electricity, Light, Magnetism, Flight: I just went to the library and my kids read everything that was there. If you want your 8th grader to use a textbook for preparation for high school, you could consider conceptual physics or cartoon guide to physics. Both are excellent, but it really depends on your student's reading skills and interest, and your goals for science at that point. Personally, I am also considering Life of Fred, Physics, as I hear it is very mathematical, but I have not seen it personally. Docos: The Way Things Work, Numerous Modern Marvels on Physics/Engineering topics Hands on: I bought an electronics kit and a mechanical kit off Amazon and my kids just tinkered with it on their own time. Well, that is my resource list. If you have trouble finding something, let me know and I can get the links. Let me know if you want to talk about skill development, assessment, etc. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Just in case you did not see it, I thought I would link to the plan I just made for a boy who wants to study Chemistry and Physics under an umbrella of Astronomy (post 14 in http://forums.welltr...astronomy-help/ ). Kind of an interesting idea for a kid with a specific passion. Probably not applicable, but might get you thinking out of the box. I also just wrote a post about how to train a student to identify pseudoscience using bigfoot "documentaries" (post 21 http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/445902-so-if-i-were-getting-panicky-about-logic-stage-science-and/ ) This might be a lot of fun to do will all your kids. Ruth in NZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodland Mist Academy Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 Observation of the world: I don't like experiments or demos much, but I do like to observe nature. This is what we did the year of earth and space science: observed the night sky observed the moon cycles, mapped the position of the sun over the seasons studied weather maps, observed fronts, identified clouds, joined local geology club, collected and categorized rocks, and went on field trips to see road cuts. Have your older map the moon cycles and also the height/location of the sun over the seasons. I hope it's OK to jump in for a minute. Thanks for this, Ruth! I have been skipping all sorts of experiments and demos lately for various reasons. I sometimes start to question myself, so reading this is reassuring. Thanks, also, for the list. We are doing earth and space science this year, so I found it particularly helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommylawyer Posted December 28, 2012 Author Share Posted December 28, 2012 Thank you so VERY much! This is a fabulous start. I'll start researching all the links and books you've posted and if I need more goal-oriented detail I'll let you know. I'm so excited - and relieved - by the information you've shared. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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