Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 then read Wild Days; Creating Discovery Journals by Karen Skidmore Rackliffe. It is a fast read but loaded with doable suggestions. Has suggestions for nature journal and other journals, how to add in science, history, math, language/writing, and geography into your journals. http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Days-Creating-Discovery-Journals/dp/1576360733/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358611120&sr=1-1&keywords=wild+days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 I forgot to add it also gives actual suggestions for supplies. Several of the journaling books I have mention a good pen but not any specifics, or a good notebook and you are left asking "but what IS a good notebook". (I really hate that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 You are inspiring me to read the book (which, I am embarrassed to say, has been sitting on my shelf for years). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 You are inspiring me to read the book (which, I am embarrassed to say, has been sitting on my shelf for years). Many times I have books on my shelf for years and never read them, get rid of them, then read good stuff about the books here, only to find myself repurchasing the books and reading them(finally). Usually I very glad I read them and begin kicking myself for waiting so long. It is a quick read which always helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 You know this is putting me in mind of things we could do in a non-traditional high school biology class... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 You know this is putting me in mind of things we could do in a non-traditional high school biology class... please share when you get it all squared away. I am looking into non traditional science for my ds in high school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 You know this is putting me in mind of things we could do in a non-traditional high school biology class... Don't get me started....how could you bring this up? It sounds like such a great idea, but also another thing to do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 please share when you get it all squared away. I am looking into non traditional science for my ds in high school. Well seems like you're ahead of me enough, I should be looking at what YOU'RE doing! :) Don't get me started....how could you bring this up? It sounds like such a great idea, but also another thing to do! Oh, I'm still in the thinking stages. I was assuming we'd do the BJU Earth Science, and due to dd's lack of enthusiasm, I've given up on it. So now I'm thinking through ways to do biology. Then I read threw Lewelma's thread on doing science. Not that I have any intention of pursuing that, but I realized there were whole categories of interaction with science that I hadn't thought through adequately for her. So now I'm thinking in terms of *categories* we can hit with *resources* which is a step up from "how to torture her for 180 hours and call it a credit"... But you know me, hehe, I aim to overcomplicate. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Oh, I'm still in the thinking stages. I was assuming we'd do the BJU Earth Science, and due to dd's lack of enthusiasm, I've given up on it. So now I'm thinking through ways to do biology. Then I read threw Lewelma's thread on doing science. Not that I have any intention of pursuing that, but I realized there were whole categories of interaction with science that I hadn't thought through adequately for her. So now I'm thinking in terms of *categories* we can hit with *resources* which is a step up from "how to torture her for 180 hours and call it a credit"... But you know me, hehe, I aim to overcomplicate. :D You mean there's another thread I should read AND that it might change more of my ideas? So, maybe now you are out of the how to tourture Dd for 180 hours and into how mom can torture herself for 180 hours planning out of the box courses? JK Honestly, I am kidding b/c, you know I've taken Wild Days off of my shelf and I'm thinking I'll even take a look at Ds' Biology text to see what I might change....and there was a thread I can vaguely remember that discussed biology plans that were atypical. Hmmm...where was that...... Whaaa! Just when I thought I'd have a nice lie down on the couch followed by an early bedtime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I know, I'm yawning here (something I never do) and thought I could just tone it down and go to bed... I have an antique BJU Biology text, maybe even the lab book. I have the Illustrated Home Guide pdf. Thought I'd get the Bio 101 dvds for more of the history take (since she liked the Chem 101 dvds, which actually we should finish this semester, hmmm). Thought I'd throw in some books people mentioned or pursue the creation science angle with some readings. Lewelma's thread really strikes me in the realm of how people who really like a subject teach the subject when they can. I've always imagined the same thing could work for history, reading and engaging together. Cool beans. But I know my kid and my needs, and we get more accomplished with structure. So I'm going to pick the most boring structure I know we can get done, compile it into a notebook by week of expectations, and call it done. On the nature study, what I'm thinking is to pursue some really kicked up collections. So you have scientific literacy, observation, and application. Literacy is the readings, observation the labs, and application would be to collections. Or I guess literacy and application overlap sometimes. Havne't figured that out, lol. Anyways, the collection pages and pockets are something that should be easy to quantify, make pages for, and set up in a notebook. Again, idiot-proof structure is what I need, and I need it done in a reasonable amount of time. What I think I *might* do is try to knock out the collections during the summer. We love doing nature walks and observation, so it's a logical thing to kick it up to heights unknown. If we do collections to hit the biology categories I want to cover, then I consider us to have knocked out say 2 out of 5 hours a week for the year. So then in the fall she can do 1 hour of reading/response and 2 hours of formal labs and she's done. I guess she could alternate readings and videos. Don't know. Guess I got farther in that planning than I even realized, lol. I just know we don't have 5+ hours a week to give to science during the school year. So to take it up to where I can honestly assign high school units for it, I need to cash in on some summer hours. Should be fine though. Nothing more glorious than tromping outdoors in the summer... Think I might head to the hs board and see if there are any old posts on collections. I found a couple, which is what got me started down that path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 OhElizabeth, that sounds great. We are halfway through Biology with ds and he is ready to poke toothpicks in his eyes just to get out of reading the text. He keeps asking why does this have to be so complicated and I agree. Why does it have to be? Learn the basic terminology (mitosis, DNA/RNA, and all) is important for testing and just because, but why the in depth chemical part and why 3 modules on it? Animal Kingdom is coming up and this is a perfect time to take the study out of the textbook and into nature. Observe, read, research, and journal. Make charts and come up with hypothesis about a species based on observation. Thinking stage now (as well as for chemistry next year)...but you are right, why torture them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 OhElizabeth, that sounds great. We are halfway through Biology with ds and he is ready to poke toothpicks in his eyes just to get out of reading the text. He keeps asking why does this have to be so complicated and I agree. Why does it have to be? Learn the basic terminology (mitosis, DNA/RNA, and all) is important for testing and just because, but why the in depth chemical part and why 3 modules on it? Animal Kingdom is coming up and this is a perfect time to take the study out of the textbook and into nature. Observe, read, research, and journal. Make charts and come up with hypothesis about a species based on observation. Thinking stage now (as well as for chemistry next year)...but you are right, why torture them. I so agree with this. Ds is using BJU Biology, and there's some interesting stuff in there, but all the itty bitty details are driving us crazy. I don't remember biology being that grueling in high school. I remember reading somewhere that biology courses have been redesigned to include a lot of chemistry. I think that's what is making it so much harder than I remember. And, I can't see having him memorize all that just so he can forget it by next year. I've been thinking like you--take the learning out of the text a bit. I've been thinking too about great naturalists of the past. There's no way they bothered with all the minutia in a text. They did what you describe--observe, read, research, journal. And they delighted in their subject. They would have gotten involved in the details pertinent to their area of interest, but they would not have memorized all the details included in a modern biology text (of course some of it wasn't know yet). Ds absolutely adores all things related to nature study. He even asked me to keep his math/science in high school elevated enough that he could pursue some sort of science major, if he decided on it. After half a year with the Biology text he told me he doesn't think he wants anything to do with a science major. I'm not sure if I should be happy b/c he's narrowed his choices, or upset b/c I've killed his love of a subject area (through the use of difficult materials). Which brings me to my next thought---I wonder how many of the well known names of the past may not make the cut today's colleges and universities require just to get into their field of study? I remember reading James Herriot's biography and finding out that he stunk at math and had a very hard time with his math courses. But, they were desperate for veterinarians in his area at that time. Well, what I've posted is a whole 'nother can of worms. Sorry for derailing the thread. Maybe I'll take this over to the high school board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I don't know. I'm kind of all for the term-slog in the new biology books. For the right student it's actually really engaging. The biology I had in high school (ps) was weak and a total repeat of what we did in the BJU 7 Life Science I had take a few years earlier in a cs. BJU has since bumped up their Life Science. If a student hasn't done the BJU Life Science, well they've missed the preparation that would have kept the BJU Biology sane, kwim? Well not sane (because it's really never going to fit some people well), but at least more doable. We did a chunk (I can't say all) of the BJU Life Science, and it became pretty obvious it's not gonna be my dd's forte. What I'm trying to do is figure out what angle I can come at to get her intersecting. With physical science it's at least hands-on. Biology is a mixture though. Sometimes you're doing slides or demos and not really connecting with the reality of it. You might read about a planarian and never go FIND one or realize they're near you, kwim? So I'm just now finding resources mentioned on the boards here (nothing original to me) that I think can help her connect. I've got Tiner's History of Medicine coming. Last night I ordered Microbe Hunters and Cats are Not Peas. For a simpler spine, someone just wrote me suggesting Homework Helper: Biology. I ordered it on amazon. Right now they're doing a $5 mp3 rebate with all textbook purchases through the end of the month. A lot of what we use qualifies as textbooks with them, so you might head over there and see what deals you can find. That Homework Helper book is $11 and then you get a $5 mp3 rebate, making it a pretty good deal, or at least good enough I was willing to try. Shannon, you said he adores nature study? It's really sort of separate from the vocab slog of biology, oy. I guess that's what I was going back to though. In dd's case I don't feel like it's so essential for her to learn those terms. That's just not her. But what IS her is to appreciate trees and things she can see and touch, to know the trees and birds and why it's amazing, what the stories are behind things. I've even thought about getting the David Attenborrough dvds, something I NEVER thought I'd do, lol. We watched them in that (poor) high school biology class, and they definitely were not what I needed. But I'm a useless information, memorize a list of words because they exist, kind of person. Dd isn't, and DA might be more her style. Maybe it was more that teacher's style, so that's why he showed them? Like literally, it's what we did for most of bio class, watch DA. :lol: So I'm just going to play with it, look at the labs, see how real I can get it. She has watched a chunk of the Chem 101 (from a year ago when we were just throwing spaghetti at the wall, trying to find something that would stick for her), and she liked it. He sort of takes that history back door to science. I think it's perfectly valid to enjoy science FROM ANOTHER ANGLE. I don't think science has to all be enjoyed from the same angle. My step-father is a curator in a museum, lectures on history, etc. etc. He's an AVID science reader. But the way he reads science isn't the same as the way a biology majors reads science. He's interested in the narrative, the story behind it, the human drama. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted January 22, 2013 Author Share Posted January 22, 2013 Well, what I've posted is a whole 'nother can of worms. Sorry for derailing the thread. Maybe I'll take this over to the high school board. No, dont appologize, I am hanging on every word. My youngest and oldest dss loved science until High School. I saw how it killed my oldest''s love of the subject and hated it, but I am repeating the process and I want it to stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Wild Days is a great book. It was the first book that made me feel like I could really do nature study with the kids. Although young, my kids have had a ball putting together their own field guides. They made one when we lived in TX and they are working on a new one for our new desert home. I am excited at the thought of moving to the Pacific NW next year and discovering a whole new range of wildlife. We will have access to the ocean too! I imagine older kids could do an incredible job with a project like this, easily learning a great deal in the process. And having lots of fun! Elizabeth, DS9 made a section for microscopic life in our TX field guide. It included planarian, which he read about in A World in a Drop of Water. We did the Delta Science in a Nutshell pond life kit around that time and he had lots of fun with his first microscope. ETA: These books might be too young for high schoolers, but I am going to mention them here anyway because they are really good and mostly revolve around life science. The Scientists in the Field Series is incredibly well done and interesting (even to me! :tongue_smilie:). These books work really well for putting the why back in science. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Scientists+in+the+field Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Rabbit Hole, I'm with you that science done the traditional cram way (which really works for some kids) would just totally KILL it for my dd. Alta Veste, I've been trying to figure out if that Wild Days book actually holds anything for older kids. I'm imaginative and get the concept. With a budding 9th grader, I'm looking for it stepped up and with enough structure and meaningful depth to be worthwhile for biology. We did a collection when I was in biology, but it wasn't worthwhile. Dd has more brains than that. Of course if I make it too hard or complex, maybe I'm killing it? LOL I haven't yet done a google search on it. Usually when I search things, I can find websites for high school classes showing what their requirements or parameters were. Then I can get some ideas. There are some crazy creative teachers out there! I have this vague sense in my mind of what the collection(s) ought to end up doing for her, but I'd like to leach the structure from someone else. I'll go do some searches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Rabbit Hole, I'm with you that science done the traditional cram way (which really works for some kids) would just totally KILL it for my dd. Alta Veste, I've been trying to figure out if that Wild Days book actually holds anything for older kids. I'm imaginative and get the concept. With a budding 9th grader, I'm looking for it stepped up and with enough structure and meaningful depth to be worthwhile for biology. We did a collection when I was in biology, but it wasn't worthwhile. Dd has more brains than that. Of course if I make it too hard or complex, maybe I'm killing it? LOL I haven't yet done a google search on it. Usually when I search things, I can find websites for high school classes showing what their requirements or parameters were. Then I can get some ideas. There are some crazy creative teachers out there! I have this vague sense in my mind of what the collection(s) ought to end up doing for her, but I'd like to leach the structure from someone else. I'll go do some searches. Honestly, it has been a while since I read through it so I couldn't say. I should dig it out to reread it. Since your DD loves history so much, I wonder if spinning it into science and nature study would be fun for her, kind of looking at it as what used to be believed/known but how, incrementally, we have learned this, that, and the other. Comparing styles of nature journals and field guides, then and now, might be fun...or big picture ecology compared and contrasted with microscopic environments and life. I think ecology actually blends quite well with political geography and sociology, which would be a fascinating approach too. One of my big goals as we move forward is to get the kids to truly understand that no subject is an island. I am out of my league with high school. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 OhElizabeth, did you see this link http://www.motherofdivinegrace.org/curriculum/syllabus/36 I was clued into it on my thread in the High School forum and it looks promising. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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