How we're doing relaxed science without lesson plans

[Mystie]

I wrote Geography without lesson plans and History without lesson plans, both of which were so well received that I just did Science without lesson plans.

 

Here's just one section from my post: Low-Key Science, without lesson plans

 

 

 

This year I had four books in Apologia's Young Explorers series, and for the next school year I'll complete the set with the remaining two. These books are out with other books, and the boys read them on their own in bits and pieces here and there.

 

For their independent work, they have the assignment:

 

>Read one section out of any Apologia science book. Close the book when you are done and draw a picture to illustrate what you read about. Write a 2-3 (1-2 for the 7yo) sentence caption for your illustration.

 

They do open the book back up to get the spellings for words they want to use in their sentences, but I don't want them copying sentences this year straight from the book. However, last year that *was* their assignment.

 

>Read a section, copy 1-2 sentences from the section, and illustrate.

 

Doing it this way has several advantages:

 

1. It freed up my time with one fewer read-aloud during a year of pregnancy and newborn exhaustion.

2. It turned science (and history, since the assignment was similar) into doubling as our writing instruction for the year (I'd go over their sentences and have them make corrections).

3. It gave them some autonomy in choosing what they'd read and write and draw about, so their drawings and writings were generally better done because they were interest-led and not dictated from on high.

4. It meant their independent work assignment never had to be updated (except for the clarifications that had to be added along the way) and our plans were never "behind."

5. They often ended up reading more than one section, because they got interested. The assignment was there to make them open the book and get engaged, but it was set up in such a way to allow plenty of room for self-directed interest and delight.

[skeeterbug]

What about the experiments and other activities in the Apologia books?

 

I like reading the books with them because of the things I learn along with them. :) But we will be having a baby this year and I can see that having them do some of it independently would help. They're not going to let me skip the experiments, though!

[Mystie]

We don't do them. :) They tried to do a few on their own, but they didn't come off so well. My oldest is only 9, so we've not gotten into the experiments yet at all anyway, so I didn't have to cross the bridge of not doing them anymore. They just treat the book like any other book, because we've never done it any other way.

 

I think it's great if a family is into experimenty sorts of things and microscopes and all that. That can be part of living a full life, for sure. But I also think families who aren't into that don't have to feel bad or inferior. We're an ok sort, too. :)

 

We have to test (ITBS) every year for the state, and, interestingly, without any formal science at all, my 3rd grader last year (it was his first test) scored above average on the test anyway. For whatever that is worth; if that makes anyone feel better (I couldn't care less about testing).

[EMS83]

That was an encouraging post! Thanks for sharing it. I need more confidence; my lack of it prevents me from allowing our days to be like this even though I feel that they should be. I'm about to read the others.

[Holly]

Mystie, I love how you set up your HS! I'm hoping to incorporate more living science books next year and this gives me some ideas! We'll be using Considering God's Creation, but I'm hoping to add in some vintage nature books form Yesterday's Classics. I think some simple notebooking would be a perfect addition to the books!

 

What about the experiments and other activities in the Apologia books?

 

We currently use Apologia. I just skip the more difficult/time consuming ones...If I know there is a very involved experiment coming up, I'll keep putting off our science lesson. If I have "permission" to skip it, I've noticed we get much more science done! I'd say we do half of the experiments and maybe one notebooking assignment for each chapter. It's gotten easier since we don't have very small children...I'm not sure how much I would be skipping with a newborn or younger toddler!

[rebereid]

Interesting! I recently posted on my blog how we've been, essentially, "unschooling" science and just taking what we're interested in. My son is only 5.5 though, I guess we'll have to do more reading and reflecting when he gets a little older.

[stm4him]

Mystie,

 

Thanks for sharing! Your notebooking is very much like how we do our timeline notebooking in terms of what I expect from them. Next year for our history topics we will do the same thing (whereas this year they are just copying the history sentence we are memorizing and illustrate it). For science they also just copy the information on our science card on the front and the memory work question and answer but next year I want them to define the terms. They also draw the illustration on the science card. But I have really wanted to dig more into science and I am also not a hands on person very much and dread doing experiments. Thanks for relieving me of a guilt trip about that! I do have a box of most of the equipment for most of the experiments and hope they will be old enough to them by themselves at some point.

 

Did you know they have a physics and chemistry book out now? You'll have to buy 3 to complete the set :-)

 

This summer my plan is to read to them from God's Design and Christian Kids Explore while they do random notebooking pages, lapbooking templates, and worksheets of their choice to build a book using a file folder for the cover that is cut apart and held together with binder rings and cardstock to glue their booklets on instead of a regular lapbook style. I'm hoping the choice of how they make their books will be more motivating than when we tried to do the apologia notebook journals last summer with anatomy. Next year or next summer I am going to have my oldest read more in depth using apologia books, Tiner books (see memoria press), and Real Science 4 Kids. I may actually make her go straight through the books but I may keep our notebooking more simple like you are talking about (read a section, write about it and illustrate it). If my plan fails, I may just let it be interest led like you are doing. I can definitely say that most of the time doing notebooking very simply this way (as you described) has been a wonderful learning tool and the majority of the time they really do try to do a beautiful page with interesting information on it. As a bonus, using the pictures on the cards as they draw has really improved their drawing skills and that counts as picture study too!

 

I love that the plan is basically the same every day. This is what I try to accomplish in each subject in my house too so I don't really have to do any lesson plans. I don't correct my kid's notebooks for lack of time and because we do IEW so I spend my writing time there (plus copywork). I think I'd rather spend the time reading aloud than correcting because the correcting would make them dread it more (though it killed me not to correct their journal writing this week) and because when I read to them I get re-educated from a Christian worldview of science. I think apologia is coming out with audio books for the elementary series (I think the anatomy one is already out) so maybe we can just listen to them like SOTW instead of me having to read!

[Mommie_Jen]

So, my K'er is begging me to do more science, which equates to doing any science at all since I don't do it. Now that it's spring, we'll be outside a lot doing nature things, but I wonder if this would work for us this spring/summer before we officially start first grade. Just read a chapter or so, draw a picture, and dictate or copy a sentence. Interesting!

[Mystie]

Mystie,

 

[snip]

 

Did you know they have a physics and chemistry book out now? You'll have to buy 3 to complete the set :-)

 

[snip]

 

 

 

Gah! :)

 

 

Wow, audio versions would be so awesome!

 

Right now the notebooking is the only writing we're doing, but I could see next year when we do IEW-style writing that having to correct those pages could become too much.