Science Unit Study plan...What do you think?

[stm4him]

So I've been trying to make myself get more specific with my summer science plans. I decided to just go with resources I mostly already own as well as some cheap downloads to do three unit studies this summer on zoology, botany, and geology/earth science rather than a big expensive curriculum. Here is my plan:

 

The untis will consist of 4 components: read aloud, reading assignments, writing/notebooking/lapbooking, and experiments. I will set out a table of supplies at the beginning of the hour such as glue, colored pencils, scissors, cardstock, etc. I am collecting a variety of lapbooking templates, coloring books, worksheets, notebooking pages, etc. on the topics we will study. For each unit I will set out the possible pages or booklets they can make and they will choose several that they want to work on that day and we will make copies. Then, while they work on those pages or booklets I will read to them from God's Design for Science or Christian Kids Explore or Homeschool Curriculum Co. units or the information from A Journey Through Learning Lapbooks for the rest of the hour. We may also listen to some Lyrical Science songs if I have to go do something or get tired of reading, etc. We will collect their pages in a file folder and have a baggie for each child to preserve their booklets in. When we are done with all the reading for the unit we will do some Janice Van Cleave experiments or any of the ones that my kids showed interest in from CKE or GDS. We can take pictures or write up lab reports for these as well. During the day they will have a reading time and they will read from various living books and Real Science 4 Kids (in the upper grades I may add in Apologia and/or Tiner books as well).

 

At the end of our unit they will take all the booklets they made and glue them on cardstock. Then they will punch holes in all the pages and cardstock. They will cut the file folder in half down the fold line and punch holes in it and decorate the cover. We may laminate the folder as well. Then we will put all the pages on binder rings and make a book with it. I may even have them tie it closed with ribbon or string by punching a hole on the open side.

 

Finally, they will do a presentation for Daddy about what they made and what they learned about that topic! I think that allowing them to choose the pages and booklets they make will make it much more enjoyable for them and they will be proud of what they made.....

 

What do you think?

[stm4him]

Bump....

[kiwik]

Providing they enjoy crafts and don't need much help with them it should work fine.

[freeindeed]

I think it sounds like a great idea. I'd love to see the finished products.

[Hunter]

Sounds good. Do you know about the free MatchCard Science unit studies?

[stm4him]

Thanks for the link, Hunter.

 

The reason this seems like a good idea to me is that last summer when we did Apologia Anatomy we learned a lot but some days it was torturous because they didn't want to do the journaling pages in order as written or I didn't want to do the experiments. Being forced to know certain material or do certain pages or certain experiments took a lot of the wonder and fun out of it. We focus solely on our CC memory work and content during the year and that is all we have time for so we do more exploratory science (or in depth learning) in the summer. I realized that there is a limited amount of things that I need to REQUIRE them to know and the rest should be a way of encouraging wonder and love of learning about the world around them and their Creator. Our science studies during the year lend itself well to this most of the time, but I want to go more in depth in the summers. So I realized that the best way to do this is to allow THEM to have control over what pages they make and allow THEM to choose experiments they really want to do while just discussing other possible ones. I am going to require specific reading, but it will not be for the purpose of testing them or requiring them to remember all that they read. It will be more for the practice of reading non-fiction/textbook material and being able to discuss it or use it to help them create their pages and booklets based on what they WANT to remember.

 

I kind of already do this with timeline during the year and it works really well. I read the back of the cards to them and they only have to copy the title and dates. Then they narrate what they want to remember and draw the picture on the card. They are required to sing the timeline in order and eventually I may require them to learn the date on the front, but without me testing them or requiring them to know more they have learned a ton of history and for the most part LOVE history (though my daughter gets tired of men and war at times....lol.)

 

The hardest part will be not being interrupted 500 times to help them with what they are making, but hopefully it won't be that much of a problem. There are always coloring pages :-)