Help Fitting in Science (3rd through 5th grade)

[chellesnead]

I am overall pleased with how this school year is going, but I am really struggling to fit in any science.  My time is spent between 2 third graders, a 4th grader, and a 5th grader, plus a 2 year old.  We are doing well fitting in the basics of reading, writing, math, and living in China, also Chinese.  I have a great curriculum on the shelf that I was excited about, but the truth is, I just can't find the time in my schedule between teaching the basics to fit it in.  I'd love any suggestions for how to outsource science to the kids through reading, videos, journaling, etc.  I want to make sure they are getting at least some science content, and feel like this is the area I have really failed them this year.  I really want to make sure we fit this in over these next 4 months.  Thanks for any and all input!

[SparklyUnicorn]

I liked NOEO for those ages.  It always got done.  It was very open and go, including the hands on stuff. 

 

Another idea is to just read lots of different books on various science topics. 

[hhm]

For your age dc, you might want to check out Mystery Science. The videos are very engaging and the instructions for the coordinating activities are very clear. There are some supplies to be gathered but MS makes it very simple by providing links to purchase the items that can't easily be found around the house.

[Vintage81]

Have you looked into Mystery Science? The lessons are online and not much prep is required. Most of the experiments/demonstrations use materials from around the house. It's for grades K-5 and there are lots of different topics covered.

 

https://mysteryscience.com

[2_girls_mommy]

What about doing science only during your school  breaks? So if you usually take june and july off from school, do science a couple mornings a week the days that you are home? 

[Mrs Twain]

MYSTERY SCIENCE. Easy to implement and a great program.

[chellesnead]

I'm definitely going to try out Mystery Science.  Thank you for the suggestion!

 

Any other ideas?

[Sk8ermaiden]

I was going to also mention Mystery Science for those ages. We do it at a co op of 2nd-5th graders and it's a big hit.

[EthylPie]

I use the Acts and facts Science cards that Classical Conversations produces.  It seems overly simple but my DS 9 memorizes a card a week. Later when he can do more independent reading of a textbook, he will already have some facts tucked away in his brain and be familiar with the concepts.  ck12.org has some short articles on science topics with short youtube videos that are excellent. You could combine the ACts and Facts Science cards with the ck12 articles with not too much labor on your part.

 

I use the ck12 pages to help teach my highschool co-op biology class.

 

I also have a K, PreK and 2 yrold......so anything my 3rd grader can do on his own the better. Later when I don't have so many interruptions, I'll do more experiments. Janice Van Cleave (?)has some great books.