Science for K, 2nd and 3rd

[brynndolyn]

This will be my first year with 3 kids. Last year I did teach my DD5 to read and write but this year we'll start on math and other things as well. She's sort of in first grade, bday is in October so she missed the official cut off last year but she'll be doing Saxon 1 and LLATL Red (the second grade book).

 

So. I struggle with science. I had been doing TWTM method, with just mostly using library books and not doing any experiments or anything. In the middle of the year last year I just gave up, the kids were bored, i was bored, it was pointless to continue. I started letting them pick books from the library on science-ish stuff, read on their own, then 2 days a week write 2 or 3 sentences about what they were learning or even just copy sentences out of the book and draw pictures if they wanted. They learned about different kinds of bugs, rain forests, habitats, flying, all kinds of things. They enjoyed it.

 

But I just don't know if this will give them the well rounded education I want for them. At the same time, I can't teach 3 different kids science, there's just not enough time. If I taught something to them they'd have to do it together.

 

I guess I'm looking for feedback or ideas on something that would work. I hate science, I really do. Do you think it would be ok to continue this method? Or start doing something a little more concrete, if so then what? Any suggestions are most appreciated.

[TKDmom]

At this age... It's fine. Science comes up on everyday life for us. I look for living books from CM lists like Ambleside, SCM, etc. I've also started asking my kids what they want to learn about and scanning the forums for living books on that topic. I just got done previewing tons of library books and put together a great book list for ds10 on astronomy, because that's what he wants to study.

 

I've also started trying to get kids to pick out library books on science topics (mostly nature-type things).

 

I love science, but I despise teaching elementary science curricula. I've finally realized that formal science can wait till high school. Do you honestly remember any science lessons from elementary school? I don't. But I do remember laying out in my front yard, identifying birds, counting starlings as they roosted on telephone wires, gazing at beautiful cloud formations for hours, watching the stars come out, and wishing I could find the constellations. I think elementary science needs to be less about lessons and more fostering joy and awe at the world around us.

[hands-on-mama]

Have you looked at Real Science Odyssey? We are using that this year and you can use one level for all three kids right now. It's straightforward and to the point. I think we will enjoy it and science will, at the very least, get done.

[Ellie]

This will be my first year with 3 kids. Last year I did teach my DD5 to read and write but this year we'll start on math and other things as well. She's sort of in first grade, bday is in October so she missed the official cut off last year but she'll be doing Saxon 1 and LLATL Red (the second grade book).

 

So. I struggle with science. I had been doing TWTM method, with just mostly using library books and not doing any experiments or anything. In the middle of the year last year I just gave up, the kids were bored, i was bored, it was pointless to continue. I started letting them pick books from the library on science-ish stuff, read on their own, then 2 days a week write 2 or 3 sentences about what they were learning or even just copy sentences out of the book and draw pictures if they wanted. They learned about different kinds of bugs, rain forests, habitats, flying, all kinds of things. They enjoyed it.

 

But I just don't know if this will give them the well rounded education I want for them. At the same time, I can't teach 3 different kids science, there's just not enough time. If I taught something to them they'd have to do it together.

 

I guess I'm looking for feedback or ideas on something that would work. I hate science, I really do. Do you think it would be ok to continue this method? Or start doing something a little more concrete, if so then what? Any suggestions are most appreciated.

 

The grade that your dc are "in" doesn't have anything to do with what they are learning. :-) If your 5yo would not be in the first grade class at your local public school this year, then she is still officially "in" kindergarten. :-)

 

So, you'll have a 6yo, a 7yo, and an 8yo this year. What you did last year sounds good to me, because they are still young. IMHO, the most important thing is that they learn to like science, because then they will want to learn more, and they'll remember more, and when they get to high school-level science where it really matters, they'll think, "Oh boy--science!" instead of "Ugh...science."

[SilverMoon]

They sound interested, engaged, and obviously learning something. If it's not broke, don't fix it. :001_smile: 

 

FWIW, experiments and elementary science or the complete lack thereof won't have much of any impact on high school science. Strong math skills have more of a determining factor, really. A decent familiarity with the world around you and how it works will be helpful, and you're already doing well on that front by the sounds of it.

 

I'll have a 3rd grader and a between K/1st boy next year too. His birthday literally is the deadline for this state, but for all intents and purposes we're calling it kindergarten this year. This has absolutely nothing to do with the number on his books though.

 

The 3rd grader really wanted life science, specifically lots of animals. I wasn't going to do anything but read picture books on life science with the little guy, but I'd like to keep him somewhat correlated with the 3rd grader so they can do videos and projects together. DD/3rd has been a stickler about having real curricula for science, so she I looked at some samples together and she likes the looks of Mr. Q's life science. I'd rather go heavier on the real books, but we'll probably use Mr. Q as a spine of sorts so I won't have to dig for activities. I have been doing this for umpteen years and there are lots of books in our personal library for them to choose from, and a couple Scholastic $1 download books of paper crafts if they're interested. The little guy may do no more than listen to read alouds and watch some correlated videos. The bigger one will have some self-directed freedom to explore the topics using the available resources. I'm looking forward to it.