nature girl Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 I've been looking for nature-based curricula for my DD, and came across this program...It sounds fascinating, and so different from anything I've seen before, using a jeweler's loupe to magnify natural objects, drawing and writing about them, developing analogies between the objects and man-made structures, and learning about the beauty of things we take for granted. The website doesn't give much info, so I'm wondering if I could get by just buying the loupe and finding opportunities to use it, or whether the IG gives more creative suggestions than I'd be able to come up with on my own. Has anyone used this program? What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 YES!!!! Get the book!! It's sort of rambly and repetitive. It has an odd layout for sure, BUT it is one of my all time favorite curricula finds. I don't use it exclusively, but as a resource to dip into. The ideas in there could take you from pre K to adulthood. Even my DH and I have fun with it!!! And the ideas in there have taught me how to talk to my kids about science and what they observe! It's easy to find used on Amazon cheap. Loupes can be found on Amazon as well. My kiddos tend to lose them so I stock up on the inexpensive kind. You want at least three to start with--a 5, 10, and 15 mag. Just search jeweler's loupes on Amazon. My oldest ds once wrote a freewrite about a man stranded on a cliff by the sea and how he moved into a cave for shelter. H ehad been looking at a piece of bark!!! I looked at it ..and yes, I could *see* the cliffs and sand and caves!!!! It's brilliant for so so much more than nature study or science!!!! <aphids are fun to look at btw>> I don't ever schedule it. I just made a conscious effort at first to make those ideas become a habit...it's just a thing we do now. And then at times I can dip in there for ideas about looking at different objects. ETA: just read it cover to cover at first...regardless of the rambling and repetitions. Just read it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share Posted June 21, 2014 Thanks! Just found it used for $5, including shipping. You've made me ten times more excited about this now. Yay! I love the intermix of science and creativity, it seems like it'll do so much to foster curiosity and love of nature! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 I just got my copy this week. I am very excited to start using it, but I can tell that I will have to spend a fair amount of time reading through it. The pages are very busy-looking, which makes it hard for me to want to read it, but when I focus on a page (or just a section of a page) at a time I can see some excellent information. It is not a nicely mapped-out curriculum; it is more a jumble of ideas. But some of those ideas are amazing. It would take years to do all the projects in this book! (My favourite idea so far is to magnify your fingerprint and use it to make a maze. So neat!) It has a section on collecting things which talks about how to preserve bugs, how to store and display collections, and even suggests planting specific interesting plants in your garden so you can study them. Thanks for asking about the book today. When it arrived I was completely overwhelmed by it and put it aside. I am glad your post got me to bring it out for a closer look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Thanks! Just found it used for $5, including shipping. You've made me ten times more excited about this now. Yay! I love the intermix of science and creativity, it seems like it'll do so much to foster curiosity and love of nature! I'm warning you...the layout is odd. It's not a program or curriculum that you can just open and go. Really try to read through it cover to cover. (with sticky tabs and highlighter even if that works for you).The first thing you'll do is learn how to use the loupe. Outside works best and it helps to have a light source behind you and to tilt your head down. It took my younger ones some time to learn how to look through it. Your d dis 4, right? She may need some help at first. Sometimes with my dd I have to help hold an object or hold the loupe. It takes them some coordination at first. And then you'll spend some time just talking. Using the book as a guide for how to talk. I love that part, because usually a kid (or adult) may just look and say "oh cool"...but the book gives you ideas how to guide the conversation to really get them observing and describing. It takes more practice in coordination to begin drawing what they see. I wouldn't worry about a 4 year old being accurate in the drawings. And then you'll find in the last parts of the book a list and a ton of various "lesson plan" ideas spanning all grade levels. When you get it and your loupes I would just spend time reading it and then work with your dd this summer exploring...everything...anything. It doesn't have to be nature or science. Food, fabric, toys, etc. She may be too young to write, but maybe you can do a bit of jot it down narration and write down her analogies, stories, observations for her? If she takes to it like my kids did she'll have her own ideas about what to look at as well. You have to hold objects real close to your face (or lean in close) to get the effect. So make sure insects are either behind glass in a bug catcher or dead. That sounds gross, but my kids are more willing to get that close to a deceased beetle than a live one. Insects are crazy to look at at the highest mag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 If you've used this, what kind of loupes did you buy? Just the ones from the website or something else from Amazon or?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nature girl Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share Posted June 21, 2014 SUCH great tips, Iris. Thank you! I have no patience for reading material before I start using it, but I'll take your advice, and read at least till it starts making me twitch...My DD is really a poet at heart, she's come up with some pretty unique analogies of her own, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how that develops. (She writes her own stories till she gets tired of writing, usually after a sentence, lol, and then I transcribe.) She's not really into drawing, but I'm thinking of working with her on that, maybe creating joint projects. She's also a budding entomologist (who finds ways to include the words thorax and mandible in everyday conversation) and we do use a creature peeper she loves, I'm hoping the magnifiers will be a bit better quality though. I'm not sure how she'll feel about killing the bugs, she routinely saves bugs from the tub or driveway, and brings them to the grass so they can be reunited with their moms and dads. :lol: But luckily she believes me at this point when I tell her bugs are just sleeping, so I may just have to make them sleep myself before we study them. Again, I'm so excited! Thank you! The more you say and the more I read about it, the more this sounds tailor-made for my daughter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Thanks for the tips! I bought Private Eye years ago, and just recently brought it out again. I think it fits well with our "Circe-type" approach to school. I just needed more encouragement and suggestions on how to get started with it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 If you've used this, what kind of loupes did you buy? Just the ones from the website or something else from Amazon or?? I don't use the Private Eye loupes. A loupe is just a loupe regardless of the companies name stamped on it. Amazon is where I get them. There's all kinds. I usually look for watchmaker loupes or gemstone loupes. They have all kinds. I usually get a set of the inexpensive plastic ones at various times because the kids will lose them. What makes them different than a regular magnifying glass is the eyepiece. I've noticed a magnifying glass just makes it look big, but a loupe puts you in a different "world" so to speak, because your peripheral is cut off. I try to get the kind with the "cup" for your eye, rather than one without. They get lost. I just consider them a part of school supplies now. SUCH great tips, Iris. Thank you! I have no patience for reading material before I start using it, but I'll take your advice, and read at least till it starts making me twitch... My DD is really a poet at heart, she's come up with some pretty unique analogies of her own, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how that develops. (She writes her own stories till she gets tired of writing, usually after a sentence, lol, and then I transcribe.) She's not really into drawing, but I'm thinking of working with her on that, maybe creating joint projects. She's also a budding entomologist (who finds ways to include the words thorax and mandible in everyday conversation) and we do use a creature peeper she loves, I'm hoping the magnifiers will be a bit better quality though. I'm not sure how she'll feel about killing the bugs, she routinely saves bugs from the tub or driveway, and brings them to the grass so they can be reunited with their moms and dads. :lol: But luckily she believes me at this point when I tell her bugs are just sleeping, so I may just have to make them sleep myself before we study them. Again, I'm so excited! Thank you! The more you say and the more I read about it, the more this sounds tailor-made for my daughter. Yeah...I usually have no problem reading through things, but this one made me twitch. It was worth it though, because like a pp said, it can be easily written off as not useful until you really start paying attention to what the text is saying. Drawing With Children is another book I absolutely love. It's another one that needs to be read closely though and implemented. Not open and go at all. You don't have to kill the bugs. We'll happily look at what is found outside. If she doesn't mind getting close, don't worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Regardless of where you get the loupes, I recommend buying the loupe lanyards. We keep a couple loupes-on-lanyards hanging over the doorknob of the back door and DD will grab one on her way outside sometimes and we always know where to quickly find one. I did buy the book but don't really use it at this point and could have started without it. DD just started kindy and we focus our loupe time on developing observational skills. I'll probably pull the book back out in a couple years when she is ready for something more than a basic look-analogy/describe-draw routine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Now I want it. Will add it to my shopping list. Not too terrible from Abe Books though the shipping is more than the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyClassical Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I really don't need to be buying anything else, but gee - I'm intrigued! And I pre-read everything anyway... Heading off to Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 http://www.the-private-eye.com/html/materials/MATmenu.html Here's the website. There are activity sheets available at the online store. I do have the 3rd grade and up activity sheets, but I've never used them. <<going to have to work on that....hmmm> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trudence1 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Does this work well with older as well as younger kids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 To those who have used it. I can only find 10x, 20x and 30x loupes here. Would that matter terribly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Does this work well with older as well as younger kids? This is for ages 1-100!!!! Seriously! To those who have used it. I can only find 10x, 20x and 30x loupes here. Would that matter terribly. No it doesn't matter!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trudence1 Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 Thank you. I think I am going to look at this one. My daughter would like it, and it won't hurt my olders either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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