Gentlemommy Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 We've been doing the free lessons from the PBS show Design Squad. Basically, they present a challenge, give you materials you can use, and it's your job to create an invention/solve a problem, ect. There is some teachers pages with information pertinent to the mission. For example, today the challenge was-Build a boat that can hold 25 pennies for 10 seconds without sinking. The materials you were allowed to use were 10 straws, plastic wrap, and duct tape. It suggested having the kids first try pushing a small empty water bottle under water, then trying with a gallon jug. Ask them which was harder, and why they thought so. Talk about the water being displaced. They include pictures, links to videos, ect. Then set the kids loose in teams with the material. There is a troubleshooting guide to consult if you can't get it to work. Today I had the neighbor kids here (school was out again) and I asked if they wanted to do science. After a few hesitant looks and oooookkkkkaaayyy, they tried it. They all had a blast and asked to do more! We ended up doing another one, where they had to use balloons, rubber bands, and craft sticks to make an air bag for an egg. We watched a soft landing on the moon video first. They couldn't get enough of these! They completed the challenge (have the egg survive a 3-foot drop) and kept going until they were able to drop it 12 feet! THIS is how I want to do science. I have looked at several curriculums, and either they are boring, or too complicated, or have experiment 'kits' that either don't work, or are predictable and lame. This was really different. It got them really THINKING, and they were USING the information to complete the challenges. A few of their attempts didn't work, and it was great being able to talk those through and rework the invention. They were able to see science in action, and how the knowledge they had was able to be applied to real life scenarios. Does this type of curriculum exist? It felt like we were doing our own version of MythBusters lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerdybird Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Real Science 4 Kids is what I use. We did Chemistry last year and are about halfway through biology. The experiments are pretty straightforward and mostly use materials that you are likely to have on hand. We have also done some k'nex and lego build projects for science. There are some resources out there if you are into that kind of stuff. The Lego Ideas and Lego Play Books are good places to start. Science Olympiad may be a good place to start if your kids are a bit older too. I did that in middle school and liked it. We did stuff like building rube goldberg devices, trebuckets, and balloon racers. My kids also enjoy messing around with stomp rockets and making their own bath bombs. While I'm on the topic of alternative science, I would try surfing around on instructables. We've tried the bath bombs I linked to and we've also tried a few others, such as: Unicorn Poop cookies (not really science, but very fun) Magnetic Putty Slime (recipes are all over the net) Vacuum Cleaner Bazooka DH usually does big projects on the weekends, i do smaller stuff during the week. I try to keep science fun and informative, but it's a bit of a gamble with my kiddos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I have searched high and low for what you are describing. I started looking when my 5th grader was a 1st grader. Never found anything remotely similar. If you are attracted to this type of learning, I highly recommend my two favorite science teacher books, Nurturing Inquiry and Organizing Wonder. http://www.amazon.com/Nurturing-Inquiry-Science-Elementary-Classroom/dp/0325001359/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391227128&sr=8-1&keywords=Nurturing+inquiry http://www.amazon.com/Organizing-Wonder-Inquiry-Science-Elementary/dp/032500045X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391227183&sr=1-2 Below is a link to a very old thread where I posted about how we do science here. Of course, you cannot learn everything through "reinventing the wheel" (or boat or airbag), but it is a magical, engaging way to learn and to maintain a sense of wonder. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/203059-ideas-for-science-without-a-curriculum/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I find science quite difficult to teach. From what I've seen, there tend to be two broad methods of doing it. EITHER you get an elementary science curriculum which boring (the kids takes one look and says "Duh, of course the salt will dissolve in water and the pepper won't! Don't these folks ever cook? Can't we make an explosion instead?", OR you 'do science experiments' which means you burn the boric acid, and the kid says "Wow! Look! A green flame!" but he has no idea of how this works and I don't know either (or I kind of know but can't explain it adequately for kiddo to learn anything). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbabe Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 We've been doing the free lessons from the PBS show Design Squad. Basically, they present a challenge, give you materials you can use, and it's your job to create an invention/solve a problem, ect. There is some teachers pages with information pertinent to the mission. For example, today the challenge was-Build a boat that can hold 25 pennies for 10 seconds without sinking. The materials you were allowed to use were 10 straws, plastic wrap, and duct tape. It suggested having the kids first try pushing a small empty water bottle under water, then trying with a gallon jug. Ask them which was harder, and why they thought so. Talk about the water being displaced. They include pictures, links to videos, ect. Then set the kids loose in teams with the material. There is a troubleshooting guide to consult if you can't get it to work. Today I had the neighbor kids here (school was out again) and I asked if they wanted to do science. After a few hesitant looks and oooookkkkkaaayyy, they tried it. They all had a blast and asked to do more! We ended up doing another one, where they had to use balloons, rubber bands, and craft sticks to make an air bag for an egg. We watched a soft landing on the moon video first. They couldn't get enough of these! They completed the challenge (have the egg survive a 3-foot drop) and kept going until they were able to drop it 12 feet! THIS is how I want to do science. I have looked at several curriculums, and either they are boring, or too complicated, or have experiment 'kits' that either don't work, or are predictable and lame. This was really different. It got them really THINKING, and they were USING the information to complete the challenges. A few of their attempts didn't work, and it was great being able to talk those through and rework the invention. They were able to see science in action, and how the knowledge they had was able to be applied to real life scenarios. Does this type of curriculum exist? It felt like we were doing our own version of MythBusters lol. Can you give us a link to the free lesson plans? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 This looks very cool! I tried linking the web site but for some reason my c/p isn't working and now I have NO clue why these numbers are here and they won't go away! But thanks for sharing this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I have searched high and low for what you are describing. I started looking when my 5th grader was a 1st grader. Never found anything remotely similar. If you are attracted to this type of learning, I highly recommend my two favorite science teacher books, Nurturing Inquiry and Organizing Wonder. http://www.amazon.com/Nurturing-Inquiry-Science-Elementary-Classroom/dp/0325001359/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391227128&sr=8-1&keywords=Nurturing+inquiry http://www.amazon.com/Organizing-Wonder-Inquiry-Science-Elementary/dp/032500045X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391227183&sr=1-2 Below is a link to a very old thread where I posted about how we do science here. Of course, you cannot learn everything through "reinventing the wheel" (or boat or airbag), but it is a magical, engaging way to learn and to maintain a sense of wonder. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/203059-ideas-for-science-without-a-curriculum/ Hey! I am watching you, Alte Veste! OK, not really. I just happened on this theead, but what do I see? Your recommendation of more books! Imagine me doing that thing with two fingers, pointed at my eyes and then towards you. Caughtchya! Lol. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Great question - my kids have been watching Design Squad and I want to turn our house into such a place, except the kids on the show already know a fair amount about science, it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gentlemommy Posted February 1, 2014 Author Share Posted February 1, 2014 Let me know if this link works. Should take to you a page with several PDF files of guides. If you google pbs kids design squad, you'll get a page with a bunch of the episodes and clips. http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/guides/index.html Alte Veste-yes, I've read your thread and I definitely love that method of teaching/learning science. I'll look into the books you recommended! Thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Let me know if this link works. Should take to you a page with several PDF files of guides. If you google pbs kids design squad, you'll get a page with a bunch of the episodes and clips. http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/guides/index.html Ooh, great! We've watched seasons two and three, and a bunch of the clips with kids building stuff, so this is great -- I hadn't found it at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbabe Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Let me know if this link works. Should take to you a page with several PDF files of guides. If you google pbs kids design squad, you'll get a page with a bunch of the episodes and clips. [url=http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/guides/index.html]http://pbskids.org/designsquad/parentseducators/guides/index. Alte Veste-yes, I've read your thread and I definitely love that method of teaching/learning science. I'll look into the books you recommended! Thank you!!! Works here! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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