Science people - lewelma - help me design preatty please!

[Seeker of Schole]

I need some help designing science for my daughter. She is 5, and I am looking at a plan to start in 1st grade. I would like all possibilities open to her - from doctor to research scientist to particle physicist. She currently enjoys any science type things that we do - reading books, simple demonstrations and experiments, etc. She also loves watching documentaries (Planet Earth, Nat Geo). We get outside almost everyday (weather permitting).

 

I need some sort of schedule to follow. I would love to say that I can just check books out from the library and do it that way, but I need some sort of schedule. I am also a curriculum changer, so no problems tweaking something. I would like to stick to a topic for a decent length of time, I cannot cope with texts or curricula that have a few weeks of Biology, then a few weeks of Geology, etc. I want enough time that we can really get into a topic and explore. I do have an awesome library system available to me, as well as some funding (although not unlimited). We live on five acres with woods and gardens, we also have an observatory. We have close access to ponds, a lake, marsh and prairie lands as well.

 

It seems to me that I'm leaning towards something like an encyclopedia as a core with lit selections, narrations, etc to support that; but that doesn't really give me a schedule - which is something I really need.

 

Ideas? Suggestions? Questions?

 

Thank you for any help!

[lewelma]

I am very happy to help.

 

First of all, IMHO there is NO requirement for science in first grade. NONE. So please do not feel any pressure that if you don't get a lot in, that some how your dd will be "behind" and less like to compete successfully to be a doctor, particle physicist etc. If she likes science, and you have time, then great. But there is NO pressure.

 

I will say that I personally have never seen a science curriculum written for a 6 year old that is better than good old fashioned books, bought or borrowed. You really don't need a curriculum for a 6 year old, and I personally think that a science curriculum would restrict a 6 year old's stereotypical passion for rabbit trails. A 6 year old is going to learn best when the material is tailored to her interests, and a curriculum cannot do that, because it is written to the generic child.

 

You need to think about your goals as this will inform your plans. Here are the ones that I use for first grade: To encourage:

1) Observation: ability to see what is actually there, not what you expect to see

2) Curiosity: "wanting to understand the world"(as Regentrude put it). Including the desire to find answers either through books, observation, or tinkering

3) Enthusiasm towards science

In 1st grade I have no output requirements (writing, drawing, etc) and no content requirements.

 

To me, it sounds like what you are doing right now is working. She is enjoying books, demos, experiments, docos, and field trips to the great outdoors. GREAT. Just do more of the same. I would be careful about scheduling her science learning. You can have a plan, but allow yourself to deviate from it. I have found that by having a loose plan and then putting aside 1 hour a few days a week, my children learned a LOT in 1st grade.

 

I am going to cross post something I wrote a few months back for you to read and think about. I think it will give you some ideas about how you can plan while still allowing a young child to follow her interests. Then we can talk some more and lay out something that will work. And if you are particularly interested in using a curriculum, then we can call in the reinforcements as I know that there are a lot of people on this board who have successfully used science curricula with young children.

 

Ruth in NZ

[lewelma]

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.

[Tanikit]

I am using BFSU with my DD(5) and she loves it. The advantages of the curriculum are that the books cover 3 grades so can work out fairly cheap, that you can cover the topics your child is interested in when they show interest just by reading up on that section but you can also work out a way to cover everything in an order that works - people have done this for you if you are struggling to do it yourself and the curriculum covers advanced concepts in a way that is easy to understand.

 

The main disadvantage that is given is that it is parent intensive and takes a lot of planning - it does take me more preparation than any other subject I am teaching her, but I try to include other subjects into it so that the preparation becomes more worth my time. What I do is read the section for the week and teach it as he suggests and then I extend the activity by looking for free activities on the internet that she can do so we do a lot of crafts and extra experiments and instead of just one week per topic it often takes two or three weeks.

 

If however you want something more open and go then I would probably suggest Evan Moor Daily Science which you can also expand on easily, but if you are having a time when you can't plan much then you can just give your children a worksheet.

[Seeker of Schole]

I read the science section of WTM again last night. I feel comfortable with Biology and first grade. It's after that when I get lost. Say year two - Earth and space science. What are the main topics? 13 weeks on Earth science and 13 weeks on Astronomy - ok, but what to cover during those 13 weeks? There is SO MUCH. I guess I'm afraid of gaps. I'm kind of a big picture planning person - I like to know that x topics will be covered at x time so that there are no major gaps, then I can drill down from that.

 

I have BFSU. I love the theory. I can't for the life of me seem to pull it together.

[Farrar]

Ruth's posts are always so good. How she describes it is similar to how we do things - including just planting the seeds of excitement. I think if my kids were less into everything and had specific passions in science they wanted to follow, I might have to do things differently, but as it is, every time we finish a topic, they're ready for a new one and they're usually psyched about whatever is slated next. We also take advantage of natural science learnings outside of whatever we're studying - like the kids read George's Secret Key while we were doing biology and took advantage of a class about snakes once when we were doing physics - but generally we seek out opportunities to do things in conjunction with what we're learning.

 

I did get myself the Usborne Science Encyclopedia. I haven't used it with the kids much - we look at the pictures and occasionally look something up. It has helped me to know in advance what topics to cover. Our first year, I did follow it somewhat closely - I found that it worked well for physics - but for chemistry and earth science, we broke away from it. I have found other books to be much more useful in reading aloud. In the earlier grades, I was especially fond of the Let's Read and Find Out books and now I'm fond of the Seymour Simon ones for middle to upper elementary. Also, the book I loved the most for biology so far was Biodiversity by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent, who also wrote my favorite book for earth Science, Shaping the Earth.

 

If I had known about BFSU when we first got started really doing much science in first grade, I might have followed that sequence. As it was, we had mostly done nature and biology topics in kindy, so I wanted to do something else. We ended up doing physics and it was excellent. I'm still surprised by how much my kids learned and retained that year. I think WTM doesn't quite get that science can be done in different orders or all mixed up the way BFSU does it and the idea of the connections with history is a bit silly to me. I like that it exposes kids to everything though. One of the reasons I think physics is good for early learners is that it's just completely hands on. There are a lot fewer good children's books for it, but there are many times more excellent demonstrations and explorations you can do with it. Now, in third grade, we're doing biology and the number of good books is overwhelming to me. But one nice thing is that now my kids can read the easier books independently and we can read aloud much tougher books.

[Walking-Iris]

I've started to follow the WTM science rotation after floundering trying to put together science on my own. I don't worry too much about gaps. I just try to stay within the ideas of the topic for the year. There's sooo much in science (history as well) that I just try to make sure my kids are learning basics and mostly learning to love learning about those two subjects. Dh and I believe that science and history are something that you are never done learning.

 

For my Kinder this year I have been using ScienceWorks and Mudpies activities. I didn't stay with one topic, but moved from Animals, to Our Body, to Weather, and we'll start Plants this spring and finish up with Our Earth. I feel that will give him a base to work from.

 

I've decided to go with RSO Life for 1st and I plan on reading lots of books throughout the year with him, doing nature study with OutdoorHour Challenges, watching docs, and I've been playing with the idea of the Creepy Crawlies book as supplement (since he loves insects and loves bringing them in the house).

 

WTM has a good idea for keeping a science notebook. He's already familiar with that from keeping his science notebook this year.

 

My 5th grader will be doing lif esciences as well. For him I've decided to use RS4K biology. It takes about ten weeks or so to finish one of those texts. And then we're focusing the rest of the year on environmental science. I'm going to use a regular ps text called Science Explorer. This will keep him in the rotation of life science, but will be more challenging than the WTM recommendation of the Creepy Crawlies book. (which will seem babyish to him)

 

So I think you can follow the science rotation plan any way you choose. You can narrow down the topic of life science to zoom in on a child's particular interest (bugs or the environment) and I feel that as long as children have opportunities to use all their senses/learning styles (reading, writing, hands on, arts, visual) and they are learning the basics of the science inquiry/processes method they are going to be fine.

 

I haven't done a full year of Earth science, but I have jumped into Chemistry/Physics to place my older ds into the rotation. We used RS4K chemistry and Janice VanCleaves Chemistry For Every Kid in bits for 3rd. Basically we did a lot of hands on "make a mess" experiments. He learned some chemistry, but mostly he learned how to observe something (a reaction) and to think about it and tell me in his own words what he thought. Foe Physics we have been playing with a Klutz book called Explorabook and reading from a school text called The Nature of Matter, and pulling experiments from an Usborne experiment book.

 

(I feel the need for a disclaimer here: I really like using public school texts, especially the ones that focus on one particular topic. Others can't stand them, but IMHO, they cover things in more depth and with more color and have more activity choice across the curriculum than made for homeschool books. They are typically cheaper as well.)

 

This is where the WTM rotation is breaking down for us. I feel that stretching Chem/Physics out to two years is overkill. We dropped things a lot and followed rabbit trails. I think Chem/Physics ought to be together and something else should be there in that 4th year...but I'm not sure what?

[pitterpatter]

This is what we've been doing this year...http://bluehouseschool.blogspot.com/search/label/Life%20Science. We are following the four-year cycle, so we're studying the human body, animals and plants this year.

[lewelma]

I read the science section of WTM again last night. I feel comfortable with Biology and first grade. It's after that when I get lost. Say year two - Earth and space science. What are the main topics? 13 weeks on Earth science and 13 weeks on Astronomy - ok, but what to cover during those 13 weeks? There is SO MUCH. I guess I'm afraid of gaps. I'm kind of a big picture planning person - I like to know that x topics will be covered at x time so that there are no major gaps, then I can drill down from that.

 

Don't be a afraid of gaps. Of course your child will have gaps. I have gaps. There is too much to know. I would suggest that you need to consider your personal thoughts on depth vs breadth as it will inform your plan and how you teach your child. There is a big thread worth reading that I'm sure someone can link to for you.

 

Here is a list of topics that could be covered in grades 1-4. As you like to dig in to a topic, you will need to pick some and leave some:

 

Biology: Botany, Zoology, Ecology, Human Health. Most other topics in biology are too complicated for a first grader (like genetics, biochemistry, etc)

 

Earth and Space Science:

Geology (Crystals, Rock types, soil, ground water, glaciers, earthquakes, volcanoes, geologic time)

Oceanography (waves, tides, beaches, erosion, ocean biomes (antarctic, coral reef, etc))

Meteorology (structure of the atmosphere, cloud formation, precipitation, air pressure, wind, air masses, fronts, hurricanes)

Astronomy (moon and cycles, sun and our seasons, planets in solar system, stars, galaxies, universe)

 

Chemistry

Structure of an atom, properties of elements, Periodic table trends, basic bonding and reactions, acids/bases, industry, history of chemistry,

 

Physics

motion, forces, energy, light, sound, electricity, magnetism, flight

 

As a previous poster suggested, you could collapse chemistry and Physics into 1 year, and stretch out biology, earth science, and astronomy if you want.

 

 

Like you, I do not like to just go to the library every week and get out a few books on a topic. This is NOT what I do when I use the library. Instead, I use the library to survey a bunch of materials, some of which I might buy and some of which I will borrow. Personally, until I started teaching my kids I had never paid much attention to kids books and what were the different approaches to non-fiction for kids. Over the years I have used the library to inform me. I go when most of the books have been returned (right before big breaks, or after a school term) so I can see most of what the library has. I go without my children and spend a few hours surveying lots of books. I look at what *I* would like to read, and what books my kids would learn from given their learning approaches. I am looking for good, complete books on a subject that will take me a month to read to my kids. I don't really like a spine that I then jump off from; I personally like 1 big beautiful book on astronomy or oceanography or mechanics. Then the material I cover is systematic, and I don't have to worry about "gaps." Typically, we renew the book over and over again. If there is only one copy and it is popular, I might buy it. After learning about the topic from my library study, I go online to Amazon and put in my favourite books that I found, and look at the "others who bought this book also bought these books." In this way, I can find more options if I need for topics that I don't think the library covers well (although this rarely happens in science, but more often in history at my library.) Also, I have found that all the beautiful coffee table books on rainforests or oceanography etc are in the Adult Large books section. A lot of these books are very systematic and I can paraphrase the material while my kids look at the pretty pictures. So don't forget to look there.

 

I do make a full year plan. I lay out the term topics and the possible subtopics. I also include observations that I want to do for each term (like observing the moon cycles when we are studying the moon, going to the science museum's geology section when we are studying rocks, etc). I then look at the library and things like netflix for doco options for the different subtopics.

 

I have found that I do better with a curriculum for chemistry. It is a scientific field that is not really easily separated into independent topics. So I use The Elements by McHenry which has a lot of fun games and activities, and then I read through The Elements by Gray and The History of the Periodic Table. I also do a few specific labs (like 4 for the year in 3rd grade). Point is, I am not wedded to library books, but use what works.

 

With all that in mind and all the other suggestions from others you have already gotten, I think you need to consider a few things.

 

1) What is currently working for you and your dd? What specifically do you or dd want to change?

2) Do you, as the teacher and organizer, want to use a curriculum or do you want to lay out your own annual plan?

3) What kind of materials does your dd learn best from? And what kind of materials do you enjoy teaching from?

4) Do you want to do 1 *year* each of bio, earth, chem, and physics, or do you want to do integrated science of 1 *term* each bio, earth, chem, and physics replicated over many years?

5) Do you want to integrate your language arts studies into your science studies (writing reports, doing oral presentations, etc) or do you want to keep science more fun with fewer set requirements?

 

Once you answer these questions, I'll ask you a few more.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Seeker of Schole]

Here is a list of topics that could be covered in grades 1-4. As you like to dig in to a topic, you will need to pick some and leave some:

 

 

 

Like you, I do not like to just go to the library every week and get out a few books on a topic. This is NOT what I do when I use the library. Instead, I use the library to survey a bunch of materials, some of which I might buy and some of which I will borrow.

 

1) What is currently working for you and your dd? What specifically do you or dd want to change?

2) Do you, as the teacher and organizer, want to use a curriculum or do you want to lay out your own annual plan?

3) What kind of materials does your dd learn best from? And what kind of materials do you enjoy teaching from?

4) Do you want to do 1 *year* each of bio, earth, chem, and physics, or do you want to do integrated science of 1 *term* each bio, earth, chem, and physics replicated over many years?

5) Do you want to integrate your language arts studies into your science studies (writing reports, doing oral presentations, etc) or do you want to keep science more fun with fewer set requirements?

 

Once you answer these questions, I'll ask you a few more.

 

Ruth in NZ

 

Again, thank you Ruth. The list you provided is a great jumping off point. Also, it sounds like we use the library similarly. Every few months I go to the library alone and spend hours perusing the book shelves choosing resources.

 

As for the questions:

1) What we are doing currently seems to be working. For example right now she is very into space, so we are learning about the solar system. I spent some time at the library and chose appropriate books. Now we spend time every week reading books, looking at pictures and creating a model solar system. This weekend we will be going to a planetarium for a show about the solar system. She really retains a lot doing it this way, and I am comfortable doing it this way as long as I can be confident in choosing topics.

2) I would prefer to make an annual plan myself, as long as I can feel confident that we are headed in the right direction. Right now I lack that confidence, as I just feel overwhelmed by the choices.

3) Materials - we use a mix of whatever we find. I do not like demonstrations that require a lot of materials. I don't mind the occasional demonstration, but would rather spend that time on real experiments. That said, I do not feel confident enough to work on a science fair project in the way that you do (I dream of one day doing that). Any encyclopedias are reference and not really read right now. Lets-read-and-find-out books are great. I use a broad range of books from the library, if the text is over her head I just paraphrase while she looks at the neat pictures.

4) Hm, that's a difficult question to answer. For first grade, I think a year of Biology, simply because of the resources we currently have available. After that, possibly a mix. I could easily see doing physics earlier, as I think she would have fun with that. Weather is also an interest of hers, so very possibly mixing it up after first grade.

5) Right now I would rather keep science more fun with fewer set requirements. As she gets older, that will change.

 

As far as breadth vs. depth I feel that the grammar years are a time for breadth. Exposure to many ideas and topics. Then, as she gets older and aptitudes and interests become more obvious and set, we can go for more depth in specific topics.

 

Your input has already helped so much, so again, I say thank you.

[lewelma]

So, please tell me if I have each one of these point right:

 

1) It seems that right now you are letting her choose the subject to study and then you are forming a 1 month plan.

 

2) This is working well, but you would prefer a long term plan to make sure to expose your dd to many different fields of science in a systematic way.

 

3) you would like to do some real experimentation rather than demonstrations. You have many different types of habitats near you but you are unsure of how to experiment.

 

If all those things are correct, then I think you have a couple of options.

 

1) You as the parent/teacher can choose 9 topics for the year from a variety of fields of science, and over the period of 4 years you can cover most of what I have listed in my previous post.

 

2) You can let your daughter pick a topic for the following month, you can plan for it, while implementing the current month's plan. You would keep a master list of all the topics you would like to cover in a 4 year time period, tick off what she has completed, and let her choose from what remains. Or instead, suggest 4 possible options to let her choose from, so she does not end up with her 4th grade year with all the topics she dislikes the most because she chose her favourites to study first.

 

3) you could instead link 3 monthly units together and have 3 sets of 3 subtopics each year. So *you* would pick the 3 main topics each year and *she* would choose the subtopics. So Geology would be the topic for a trimester and she could choose 3 topics from crystals, rocks, soil, weathering, volcanoes, earthquakes, etc.

 

Once you have chosen between these 3 options (or make up your own). Then we can start to lay out a 4 year overview, a 1 year plan, and what you need to specifically lay out for each 1 month unit. Also, think about how long you want each unit to last. We do 4 10-week terms, so do 4 big units each year. You might have trimesters so 3 12-week units, or want to do half trimesters so 6 6-week units. Think about it, because it will help us figure out how to distribute out the topics so you get a nice survey. In addition, I am thinking of grades 1-4, because that is the way I do it and the way SWB does it. But if you want your survey to last longer, then say so because it will affect how much time you have to cover the units.

 

Finally, You need to consider how you plan best. If you like to get all your planning out of the way in the summer, you would choose differently than if you like to plan throughout the year. There are pros and cons to each and different homeschoolers do it different ways. If you make an annual plan, you get it out of the way and you feel organized and confident. Then you tweak as needed. If you do monthly (or term) plans throughout the year you can better tailor the program to your changing child and then there is less tweaking to do. Give it some thought. Both work, so it really depends on you.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Seeker of Schole]

Yes, your first observations are correct.

 

I think choice three would work best for us, as it gives both of us some control over the subjects we are covering. As for how long each unit lasts - we have a flexible school schedule. We school year round, with time taken off for vacations, which fall at different times each year. January tends to be very cold, and August tends to be very hot and humid so those months need to be indoor type stuff. I also like to plan for our vacations. For example, in the fall we are going to South Dakota - the badlands and black hills so some geology would be appropriate to study before that.

 

For planning, let's say monthly. I go over the plan weekly to revise if necessary, but do a big planning day once a month.

[lewelma]

Ok, then the next step is to lay out a 4 year cycle through the core topics. I would suggest that chemistry and most of physics are saved for 3rd and 4th grade. And you will want to put astronomy in the winter so that you are not staying up all night looking at stars, and botany and ecology in the spring so you can plant a garden. Since you school year round, I will lay out 4 3-month topics, but do what you will (3 4-month topics. I would suggest you list chemistry generally, as it is hard to break up, and we will plan it out in a bit. I have also tried to put indoor topics in your summer and winter (like human body), and outdoor topics like oceanography or ecology in your spring and autumn. I have also put quite a lot of biology in because you like to do experiments and have great outdoor resources. If Spring is not the best time, switch it around. Or if you want more time on astronomy or chemistry, put it in another time slot, etc. THINK about what you and your dd like to do. Breadth, yes, but you also have lots of time for depth.

 

So here is an example. Please adapt it to your needs, post what you decide on, and then we can go to the next step.

 

1st

Sept - Nov Zoology

Dec - Feb Astronomy

Mar - May Botany

June- Aug Geology

 

2nd

Sept - Nov Light and Sound

Dec - Feb Human Body

Mar - May Ecology

June- Aug Geology (there is lots of this, so I listed it twice)

 

3rd

Sept - Nov Oceanography

Dec - Feb Chemistry

Mar - May Environmental Science (pollution, conservation biology etc)

June- Aug Forces

 

4th

Sept - Nov Meteorology (or whenever you get variable weather, so you can study it)

Dec - Feb Chemistry

Mar - May Ecology

June- Aug Magnetism

 

So, don't keep this list, but make it your own. After you post a list, we will lay out the subtopic options and what you actually need to plan each month.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Seeker of Schole]

We will be doing a lot with botany this summer - she will have her own garden - so my initial schedule would look like this.

 

First Grade:

Sept - Nov Human Body

Jan - May Zoology (I'm thinking birds in Jan, reptiles, amphibians and fish in Feb, then March thru May look at some of our habitats - Prairie grass, pond, deciduous forest and include some botany as well as zoology).

June - Aug Geology

 

Second Grade:

Sept - Nov Oceanography

Jan - Mar Light & Sound

Apr - June Meteorology

July - Sept Geology

 

Third Grade:

Oct - Nov Astronomy (we are covering some of this now)

Jan - Mar Chemistry

Apr - June Ecology

July - Sept Physics

 

Fourth Grade:

Split between chemistry and physics

[lewelma]

Great. The only thing I am wondering about is 3 months of sound and light for a 2nd grader. That was my idea, and I think it will be difficult. What might be more interesting is to do applied physics, which is engineering. I'm thinking about building bridges, skyscrapers, etc. There are lots of modern marvels for docos, and I know there are tons of books for kids. And then push light and sound into 3rd and 4th grade. Just an idea.

 

For the next step, lets start with the human body. You need to decide the following

 

Goals

Content

Hands on

Resources

Output

Assessment

Scheduling

 

As your dd gets older, your approach to these might change. So keep an open mind. So here are a few ideas to get you started on the human body

 

Goals:

1) To gain a broad overview of the human body and the details of 3 additional organs/systems

2) To learn about her personal body by doing a few experiments on herself

3) To be able to make an oral report and a labelled drawing.

4) To begin reading very basic non-fiction books either to you or to herself (obviously depends on her skill at age 6, but nonfiction reading needs to be an ongoing incremental goal)

 

Content: I would suggest that you can do a survey for a month, and then allow her to pick her favourite topics to focus on. Brain, heart, digestive system, respiratory system, skin, eyes, nervous system, muscular system, etc. Then you can study the details, medical advances, etc.

 

Hands on

You need to get to the library or on the internet and see what they have. Some of the standards are:

Lung capacity: breathing into a straw to push water out of a bottle

Eyesight: color blind tests, vision assessment

smell: how many different types of perfumes can she differentiate between and at what point does she stop smelling anything

Confuse the senses: make strawberry water blue, and lemon water purple, etc, can you identify the flavors?

Muscles: how many times can you squeeze your hand in a row? Is there a strength difference between the first and the last one?

Nerves: put one hand in warm water and one in cold, then put both in the same temperature and notice what you sense

etc

 

Resources

Get to the library. I would look for a survey book. I have seen some by the "brainwaves" with flip up sections. Also see what they have in medicine and human health. Look for books that you can read to her and books that she can read to herself.

What does netflix or your library have in docos?

Collect any items you will need for your experimentation so you are not running around on the day. So print out an eye chart, get a straw and bottle, and whatever else you find you need.

 

Output

1) Once a month or once a unit have her present something she has learned to you, her dad, a friend etc. To practice clear thinking and oral skills.

2) Have her draw and label a diagram. If her skills are not that good at age 6, then don't. But do it occasionally as she gets older.

3) She could also make a poster if she wants by cutting out magazine pictures, etc. As she gets older poster making can be very fun.

You can do as much or as little output as you want especially when she is young, but often kids like to show off their knowledge, so it can be a nice introduction into public speaking.

 

Assessment

At this age, it is about you noticing her questions, her answers, her interest, etc. You want to adapt to what you see. This is not formal assessment, it is just about you paying attention.

1) What kind of questions is she asking you? Are the relevant? Do they demonstrate understanding?

2) I'm not one for formal "narration" because my kids hate it, but if you ask her a question about what you read to her can she explain the concept?

3) When she reads her "independent" book, can she generally tell you about it? If she needs to she can flip through the pictures to remind herself what she read. This is fine all the way up to 4th grade and beyond.

 

Schedule

This really depends on you. How many days per week? How many minutes? Do you want to have one day set aside for experimentation? or do you want to do a little every day? Do you want to have 1 day a week be making a project/poster/oral presentation or just once per month? Do you want her to read independently every day? or just once per week for a longer period of time? Think about it, and then we can set a schedule.

 

So, tailor what I described above, post it again, and then we are ready for creating the final plan. You would go through this process every month.

[Farrar]

Great. The only thing I am wondering about is 3 months of sound and light for a 2nd grader. That was my idea, and I think it will be difficult.

 

We did a lot of time on sound, waves, and light when my kids were in first grade and it was actually great. For us, those topics included mirrors, rainbows, and shadows, all of which had some great hands-on discovery attached to it. This is the post I had from back then about what we did for mirrors - it was two years ago and it's still one of my favorite science topics we've done. We also did some cool stuff with shadows and shadow puppets and so forth.

 

The drawback is there are a lot less materials for those topics - very few books and videos for the kids to read and watch.

[lewelma]

We did a lot of time on sound, waves, and light when my kids were in first grade and it was actually great. For us, those topics included mirrors, rainbows, and shadows, all of which had some great hands-on discovery attached to it. This is the post I had from back then about what we did for mirrors - it was two years ago and it's still one of my favorite science topics we've done. We also did some cool stuff with shadows and shadow puppets and so forth.

 

The drawback is there are a lot less materials for those topics - very few books and videos for the kids to read and watch.

 

That is so cool! My library does not have much for the younger set on physics in general, so I realized that I might dig myself into a hole recommending it so early. Glad it was great for you!!

[Farrar]

That is so cool! My library does not have much for the younger set on physics in general, so I realized that I might dig myself into a hole recommending it so early. Glad it was great for you!!

 

Our library also has very little on physics for kids in general. But there were basic Let's Read and Find Out books about most topics as well as Bill Nye episodes and some Magic School Bus stuff. We eked through it. I really think younger kids and physics go together perfectly though because of the hands on aspects.

[mmpmelmack]

Thank you so much, this has really helped me define so much more about next year. I had my topics finalized, but was struggling with goals and output requirments. This discussion has been so very helpful in finalizing my plans! I have printed out your posts, Lewlma and put them in my planning binder. Thanks again!

[winoelle]

Great. The only thing I am wondering about is 3 months of sound and light for a 2nd grader. That was my idea, and I think it will be difficult. What might be more interesting is to do applied physics, which is engineering. I'm thinking about building bridges, skyscrapers, etc. There are lots of modern marvels for docos, and I know there are tons of books for kids. And then push light and sound into 3rd and 4th grade. Just an idea.

 

For the next step, lets start with the human body. You need to decide the following

 

Goals

Content

Hands on

Resources

Output

Assessment

Scheduling

 

As your dd gets older, your approach to these might change. So keep an open mind. So here are a few ideas to get you started on the human body

 

Goals:

1) To gain a broad overview of the human body and the details of 3 additional organs/systems

2) To learn about her personal body by doing a few experiments on herself

3) To be able to make an oral report and a labelled drawing.

4) To begin reading very basic non-fiction books either to you or to herself (obviously depends on her skill at age 6, but nonfiction reading needs to be an ongoing incremental goal)

 

Content: I would suggest that you can do a survey for a month, and then allow her to pick her favourite topics to focus on. Brain, heart, digestive system, respiratory system, skin, eyes, nervous system, muscular system, etc. Then you can study the details, medical advances, etc.

 

Hands on

You need to get to the library or on the internet and see what they have. Some of the standards are:

Lung capacity: breathing into a straw to push water out of a bottle

Eyesight: color blind tests, vision assessment

smell: how many different types of perfumes can she differentiate between and at what point does she stop smelling anything

Confuse the senses: make strawberry water blue, and lemon water purple, etc, can you identify the flavors?

Muscles: how many times can you squeeze your hand in a row? Is there a strength difference between the first and the last one?

Nerves: put one hand in warm water and one in cold, then put both in the same temperature and notice what you sense

etc

 

Resources

Get to the library. I would look for a survey book. I have seen some by the "brainwaves" with flip up sections. Also see what they have in medicine and human health. Look for books that you can read to her and books that she can read to herself.

What does netflix or your library have in docos?

Collect any items you will need for your experimentation so you are not running around on the day. So print out an eye chart, get a straw and bottle, and whatever else you find you need.

 

Output

1) Once a month or once a unit have her present something she has learned to you, her dad, a friend etc. To practice clear thinking and oral skills.

2) Have her draw and label a diagram. If her skills are not that good at age 6, then don't. But do it occasionally as she gets older.

3) She could also make a poster if she wants by cutting out magazine pictures, etc. As she gets older poster making can be very fun.

You can do as much or as little output as you want especially when she is young, but often kids like to show off their knowledge, so it can be a nice introduction into public speaking.

 

Assessment

At this age, it is about you noticing her questions, her answers, her interest, etc. You want to adapt to what you see. This is not formal assessment, it is just about you paying attention.

1) What kind of questions is she asking you? Are the relevant? Do they demonstrate understanding?

2) I'm not one for formal "narration" because my kids hate it, but if you ask her a question about what you read to her can she explain the concept?

3) When she reads her "independent" book, can she generally tell you about it? If she needs to she can flip through the pictures to remind herself what she read. This is fine all the way up to 4th grade and beyond.

 

Schedule

This really depends on you. How many days per week? How many minutes? Do you want to have one day set aside for experimentation? or do you want to do a little every day? Do you want to have 1 day a week be making a project/poster/oral presentation or just once per month? Do you want her to read independently every day? or just once per week for a longer period of time? Think about it, and then we can set a schedule.

 

So, tailor what I described above, post it again, and then we are ready for creating the final plan. You would go through this process every month.

 

This is amazing....I have been struggling to figure out a similar outline for middle school years as we are entering 6th grade next year and science is dd11s focus.

[lewelma]

Noelle, I have helped a number of people design curriculum for much older children. This is my first effort at a very young one. Because tags are currently not working as they did on the previous board, I have been keeping my own list; so here is a list of the other curriculum plans I have worked on. Most of them are for logic stage children.

 

Advanced science for a dyslexic child

Systematic unschooling for a student who dislikes most science programs

Designing a program using only resources you have and adapting for travel opportunities

Mixed ages for earth sci, chemistry, and physics. Reading focused

Learning physics and chemistry under the umbrella of astronomy: post 15

Studying biology and earth science by way of gorillas and snakes post 16

Creating high school 'Science in Society' courses for non-STEM kids: posts 37 and 38

 

Some of these include questions to ask yourself (and a lot of back and forth), others are just me designing a program.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Seeker of Schole]

Thank you for your help, again! It has been invaluable. I will be printing this out and spend some time working on it. Once I have the most recent questions figured out I will be back.

[lewelma]

Have fun! I love this part. If I don't see your next post, please PM me as I never look at page 2 on these boards!