Science for cranky dc who say "science is boring"

[CactusPair]

My ds is in 3rd grade. He's 9 and sometimes not fun to be around.:glare:

 

He loves math and bible studies, history, and is enjoying conversational French. He's tolerating language arts. He likes poetry even.

 

But he hates science, except animal books, and has since Kindergarten. he complains when we read anything science related. I feel science is very important and don't want to skip out on it anymore.

 

My dd is in 1st and she likes science a lot! She shows a wonderful interest in it and asks great questions.

 

Ds is already starting to ruin it for us, but I feel I have to include him since he's "getting on in age" and doesn't know much outside of animals. I don't want his attitude to discourage my dd, who looks up to him and follows his lead often.

 

 

I've handled it so far and kept him in line, but I want him to get something out of science, too, and maybe even like it.

 

Do you have a science program you use for kids who just don't like the subject. I appreciate all suggestions.

 

Creationist or secular perspectives are all okay as long as the dc like the curriculum and get something out of it.

 

Thanks for any input and the opportunity to vent a little:001_smile:

[Alana in Canada]

Blow things up!

 

No, seriously, what has been the approach you've taken so far?

[Jen500]

Does he enjoy hands-on kind of activities in science, rather than just reading? My boys are enjoying the experiments in RS4K Chemistry. We've also done some activities from http://www.aimsedu.org that were fun. They have a lot of activities that use math and science together. We've also tried one of the ScienceWiz kits.

[mom31257]

My dd didn't care for science either until we tried Switched on Schoolhouse from Alpha Omega. Someone gave us the 5th grade curriculum. I figured free was worth a try. She has seemed to enjoy science much more. We had just done unit studies for 3rd and 4th. The same person gave us 6th grade, so we're continuing to use it.

 

It does have text to read, or you can have it read to you. There are video clips throughout. There are review games included. The student actually quizzes and tests on the computer, also. There are experiments, but the best thing is that if you can't get all the items needed, they have video of the actual experiment to watch. We don't have a good microscope, but still got to see protozoa moving around.

 

It starts with 3rd grade and goes all the way to high school. At this point, I'm not sure how long we will use it, but probably at least through middle school. A nice thing is that it gives me one less subject to have to teach.

[Heather in VA]

if you think the problem might be lack of stuff to touch and see, then I highly recommend Exploration Education. We just finished building an electric racer that we'll now use for experiments.

 

Heather

[Nestof3]

Blow things up!

 

 

That is the first thing that popped in my head! Then I thought, film canisters, vinegar and baking soda. Or 2-liter bottle cyclones. Hee hee

 

Honestly, I have tons of experiment and fun books to use, but right now we're just studying animals, and the boys are enjoying it.

 

Oh, you can get Smithsonian volcano kits at Michaels with a 40% off coupon -- that could be fun too. I've heard great things about Snap Circuits as well.

[Ellie]

What about Considering God's Creation?

[Michele B]

More hands on experiments would great.

 

You could try a Charlotte Mason approach to nature studies. That would not replace a science curriculum, but it might spark his interest. Here is a great blog about nature walks http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/ .

 

Maybe you could take his favorite animals and study their environments and make a notebook or diarama. That could include study of all 5 kingdoms working together, some chemistry, earth science, some physics etc. Have you seen the One Small Square series? They focus on an environment, for example swamp, desert, tundra, pond etc, and look at different branches of science interacting there. They include some experiments as well.

 

Good luck!

 

Michele

[Trivium Academy]

I would get some science catalogs- hometrainingtools.com, carolina.com, rock solid science, ETA science and let him 'shop'. I would involve him in the decision process, explaining the different ways science can be taught: experiment based, spine based, etc.

[8filltheheart]

Well, my reaction is different than everyone else's. I say let him enjoy studying animals. :) He is only 9 yrs old!! I can't remember exactly now, but I think it was at age 9 that my now 12 yr old went through this ant and bee phase. He read 15 different books on bees. I don't know how many on ants. He was fascinated by them.

 

I wouldn't use any textbooks. I would go to the library. Find the science sections. Let him pick books and let him read. Sit and discuss the books with him.

 

There is absolutely no reason to worry about other branches of science at 9. If you nurture his natural love for animals, maybe that alone will nurture his love for science.

 

FWIW.....my ds is now fascinated with geology.

[Trivium Academy]

I agree with this too. :)

[Heather in VA]

Well, my reaction is different than everyone else's. I say let him enjoy studying animals. :) He is only 9 yrs old!! I can't remember exactly now, but I think it was at age 9 that my now 12 yr old went through this ant and bee phase. He read 15 different books on bees. I don't know how many on ants. He was fascinated by them.

 

I wouldn't use any textbooks. I would go to the library. Find the science sections. Let him pick books and let him read. Sit and discuss the books with him.

 

There is absolutely no reason to worry about other branches of science at 9. If you nurture his natural love for animals, maybe that alone will nurture his love for science.

 

FWIW.....my ds is now fascinated with geology.

 

Well I understand the leaning toward this but what I'm hearing from the OP is a child who not only claims to have no interest but is being ornery and disruptive when asked to give some attention to something he doesn't already think he likes. You don't want to nurture that. He'll never know if he likes something else if he is allowed to continue proclaiming his hatred for all non-animal studies. I think it makes sense to require him to try other things and to require a good attitude. The study doesn't have to be deep or time-consuming or even super academic. Maybe a several one experiment kits on a variety of concepts to help him see the bounty that is science. He doesn't have to stop learning about animals. He doesn't even need to fall madly in love with science but he does need to try new things. After all - it's education. If you never learn what you think you don't like, how will you really know if you like it or not.

 

Heather

[Michele B]

I think Heather, makes an interesting point.

 

Science just may be his battleground of choice. I have a good dd7. She seems to channel all her disobedience into a few areas.

 

Maybe the child is not yet interested in science or maybe he is using his unpleasant behaviour to control the OP and her daughter. If so, that attitude needs to be addressed. But I don't think it should necessarily be addressed in the science studies. That might backfire and cause more hatred for the subject. Maybe the OP could assess causes (other than just being a 9-year old boy ;)) of resentment and address them separately and firmly while continuing to show the study of science as a pleasurable and interesting pursuit. He is still in the grammar stage, where the purpose is to awaken and encourage interest in the sciences.

 

Just some thoughts. I don't have a 9-year old boy, so...

[8filltheheart]

I have a one very conflict-oriented child and 2 more that are extremely strong willed. But, looking back over the yrs, education has rarely been a source of behavioral problems. The times that there have been melt-downs over academics have usually been b/c I have had expectations beyond true capabilities.

 

Especially when kids are younger, subjects outside of phonics, math, and handwriting, are meant to spur interest and appreciation for learning. If that desire is squelched when they are little, it is going to be extremely difficult to nurture when school work requires diligence beyond self-interest (which is more typical of middle school and high school, not elementary age)

 

I see discipline as a whole child issue and I would not use school as a battleground. I think that ultimately academics is going to be the loser in that scenerio. That doesn't mean I don't make my kids do their work when they don't want to.......which happens a lot.....it is simply that my response is to their behavior, not to the assignment. However, like I stated earlier, if it isn't simply a bad mood day, I do often have to re-evaluate what it is they are complaining about b/c more often than not, it isn't an attitude. It is being overwhelmed or confused b/c they aren't adequately equipped for the assignment. Or in the case of little kids, the interest isn't there.

[Debbie in OR]

Well, my reaction is different than everyone else's. I say let him enjoy studying animals. :) He is only 9 yrs old!!

I wouldn't use any textbooks. I would go to the library. Find the science sections. Let him pick books and let him read. Sit and discuss the books with him.

 

There is absolutely no reason to worry about other branches of science at 9. If you nurture his natural love for animals, maybe that alone will nurture his love for science.

 

:iagree: I have read a few places that it is better not to get too technical with science at this age before they've actually gotten a handle on higher level math and reasoning.

 

We use Beautiful Feet's History of Science literature guide for my ds9 and dd7. It's a great introduction to the development of science, plus there are a few experiments thrown in (and we blow things up as well!). Just read, read, read would be my best encouragement...you can add in the other technical stuff as they get older and are developmentally more prepared.

[sweetbaby]

Well, my reaction is different than everyone else's. I say let him enjoy studying animals. :) He is only 9 yrs old!!

I wouldn't use any textbooks. I would go to the library. Find the science sections. Let him pick books and let him read. Sit and discuss the books with him.

 

There is absolutely no reason to worry about other branches of science at 9. If you nurture his natural love for animals, maybe that alone will nurture his love for science.

 

FWIW.....my ds is now fascinated with geology.

 

:iagree:

[Sunshine State Sue]

if you think the problem might be lack of stuff to touch and see, then I highly recommend Exploration Education. We just finished building an electric racer that we'll now use for experiments.

 

Heather

 

:iagree: Ds12 is enjoying this and science is not a strong interest here.

[EKS]

We love K12 science here! It is a wonderful balance between reading and activities. And in general the activities are really things that are easy to do at home.

[Susan in TN]

My kids are generally ho-hum about science, but they tend to be more interested when they can make sketches and drawings about their science studies. And they are not particularly artistic in general. They really enjoyed Apologia Botany, I think partially because they got to go outside and collect "stuff" to draw - like sticks, leaves, petals, etc.

 

I suppose you could use this in other areas of science - drawings of simple machines for physics, cells and other "microscopic" organisms for biology, planets, earth formations (mountains, oceans), weather, etc. Might be worth a try.

 

Other than that, I like Jessica's suggestion of giving him a catalog to find something interesting.

[bettyandbob]

I am certain that without lab work dd, would think science was awful. It would be dry and abstract.

 

Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see what science you are using. What ever curriculum I use, I add experiments. I do this even if the curriculum comes with lab work. So, this year dd10 and a friend are doing Rainbow together. For the first semester I have Janice Vancleve's Physics for Everykid. I've matched 2-3 of those activities to each Rainbow physics lab. In the spring, I have Adventures with Atoms and Molecules vol. I-VI. Again, I've matched 2-3 of those activities to each Rainbow chemistry lab. I happened upon some In a Nutshell kits for $10 at a yardsale. We'll be doing those too. Lab work or hands on activities make science much more understandable and interesting.

 

I would recommend acquire some of these activity books that match the topic you are teaching. Janice Vancleve has one for just about every area of science. I'd go through the books and make a list of the "everyday household supplies" you need for the activities. Then I'd put together a bag of the "everyday household supplies" to have ready when you want to do a lab activity. Having the materials at the ready is the biggest battle for lab work. I would take the time to go through the chapters of your science curriculum and match some of the activities to the chapters.

 

You could do a few labs spread through the week or have a block of "lab time". I have a block because dd is working with a friend. We do the Rainbow lab followed by the extra activities I've found that compliment the topics in the text for the week.

 

I have a background in Chemistry, but this is not hard to do. It just takes a little extra time and planning. I did most of the planning in one big block, looking at the text and the activity books and jotting down which activities match each section of the text. I think for me, if I had to find the activities and the material each week, the amount of extra activities that got done would be low.

 

These activity books are written for anyone to use. Physics for Everykid and Adventures with Atoms and Molecules both lay out what you are supposed to do and have an explanation why what you observed happened.

[Rosie_0801]

Would it work if you continued with the animals, but introduced those very small animals we usually call "bacteria?" Learning what nasty diseases they can cause could lead from animals into humans and plants. Plants may not look very interesting to begin with, but they get diseases and attacked by insects. Other plants can be used to cure the problem. That's kind of cool. I always thought bilharzia was a pretty interesting disease. There are some interesting looking anatomy colouring books on Amazon. Pancreases aren't terribly interesting until you start investigating what happens when it won't work. A bout of gestational diabetes really made me appreciate mine ;) Then there's that Weird Al song...

:)

Rosie

 

P.S. Just found this colouring book: http://www.amazon.com/Horse-Anatomy-Dover-Pictorial-Archive/dp/0486448134/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221448790&sr=8-2 Doesn't look at all like biology, does it?

[CactusPair]

You are all so smart and savvy! Your ideas are all so good and helpful.

I'm going to see how things go this week and then decide which direction I might need to go in.

 

Thank you for giving me so many ideas, so much to think about!

 

It's great to have a support team here.:001_smile:

[Marty]

I like the library book idea. A no cost option for now. There are also books about experiments. Just get a book about that and don't tell him it's from a book, just do an experiment. If he likes it, show him how the book told you what to do. He may want to look through the book himself. Maybe he'll even pick another one he wants to do! Just be sure to choose a book with stuff you feel you are able to do, lol. :D

 

We use SOS and try do do all the experiments if possible. The curriculum comes with a list of what is needed for the year. However, there are other science curr that have experiments, as well. But we do enjoy the benefit of the video clips for the ones we aren't able to do.

Oh, and you can buy the DVD's of just the experiments separately, for about $20.

Edited September 29, 2008 by Marty

[love2read]

A few of our children were drawn in to science through The Magic Schoolbus and Bill Nye shows. Both are on youtube.

[AngieW in Texas]

It's pretty light, but I'm using Scholastic Study Jams for science for my 5th grader. Homeschool Buyer's Co-op has a group buy going for a family subscription. I only have one kid in the right age range, so I bought a single subscription directly from Scholastic.

 

You choose a topic, watch a short video clip about the topic, and then take a short online quiz. It takes just 10-15 minutes each day. I would love to do more for my youngest for science, but she hates it and I need something she can do on her own and still get something from it.

 

Next year she'll do Prentice Hall Science Explorer. My middle dd started it in 5th grade, but she loves science and is a strong reader. My current 5th grader hates science and is dyslexic, so I'm not going to start SE with her until 6th grade.