Anyone put together their own science curriculum?

[mykidsrmyjoy]

Have any of you taken bits and pieces of various books, science kits, projects, videos, etc. and combined them into a cohesive science curriculum that gets done? I've been on a search for the perfect science since my DD started 1st grade and I don't think I've found it yet, lol.

 

What I really want to do is take a subject per month, maybe, and flesh it out with various resources that I can pull together. What I'm afraid will happen though, is that I'll have a pile of things to use and no plan on how to implement them, and then end up shoving it all aside. I tend to be an over-planner and a perfectionist, so if it isn't working out well, I throw up my hands in exasperation and forget about it all.

 

So, can anyone recommend any ideas for basically putting together my own curriculum for science? Btw, grades are K, 1, and 4.

[Um_2_4]

I did last year with Chemistry and then this year with Botany/Zoology. Chem went better than this year for one simple reason: I planned EVERYTHING ahead. This year I had a general outline and planned the specific 1st 12 weeks, but that did not work for me. (I was not feeling well during our last break before school and I read several people on here commenting that they plan as they go, but that's just not me.) I like open and go or do the next thing curriculums once the year gets rolling and we have 4H and other stuff going on.

 

I made an excel sheet and had a column for each day. In those I put :read alouds, assigned extra reading for oldest 2, experiments that week, any videos (I made an youtube playlist) etc. All my kids LOVED our chem year, even my youngest 2 who were K at the time, they still recall TONS. (Also, DS13 is now thinking about pharmacist as a field of interest.)

 

I really think for me the key is planning out what and when, not just Feb = Mammals and Birds. But you know your style, how many read alouds a week, which experiments, etc.

 

You could look at TOPS science units, tons of "units" and science read alouds to go along on pinterest. We are doing physical Sci next year and I am looking at some of the "Fairy tale" stem lesson plans for my 2nd and 5th grader next year.

 

I think your ages would be perfect for it. Read alouds, narration, some fun hands on stuff = Done.

[nixpix5]

We did this with Geology. I used RS4K textbook along with an activity guide called Geology Rocks! We did each section over 2 to 3 weeks. When we studied Earthquakes for example, we read the chapter, did a graham cracker activity, made a seismigraph, went to our museum to do more hands on activities, checked out a few books from our library on earthquakes and then finished it off with The Magic Tree House that pertained to earthquakes. We followed this general formula for each topic. For archeology we even read some out of SOTW1, dug up a plaster dinosaur, excavated chocolate chips, read Bernstein Bears etc. Pretty much anyway to immerse ourselves in the topic from all potential avenues. We watched a few documentaries as well. So much fun! The kids have learned more than I have ever seen previously. My favorite part was when my 6 year old went and grabbed our world Montessori puzzle and traced and laminated the continents and then discovered all on his own that they fit together. Nothing like a 6 year old discovering the theory of pangaea :)

[8filltheheart]

I always do for non-high school science. I have even done it for a high school ecology class.

[SilverMoon]

Yes, I have. The important part for making it successful in my homeschool is planning the whole thing out in advance, with a clear schedule, and prepping any papers or books as I make those plans/schedules. This makes it open and go. For my older kids I do this over the summer and prep the whole school year. For younger kids I'd probably plan it in 6-9 week blocks.

 

You might consider reading Homeschooling at the Helm. It's aimed at older kids but there's plenty you can glean from it.

[Miss Tick]

I didn't, but looking at your description I guess I kind of did that using the series Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding as a spine. I went through all of the lessons (roughly a semester at a time) and decided how I wanted each lesson to be fleshed out (or not). That is the intent of the book. The author gives all the talking points and implementation suggestions and then you can do with it as you please. It was helpful for me to have an interconnected list of topics to cover and it includes topics i would have avoided for a variety of reasons but which are valuable and of interest to my dc.

[nixpix5]

I didn't, but looking at your description I guess I kind of did that using the series Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding as a spine. I went through all of the lessons (roughly a semester at a time) and decided how I wanted each lesson to be fleshed out (or not). That is the intent of the book. The author gives all the talking points and implementation suggestions and then you can do with it as you please. It was helpful for me to have an interconnected list of topics to cover and it includes topics i would have avoided for a variety of reasons but which are valuable and of interest to my dc.

How much time would you say it took you to flesh out the topics? I have had this book on my shelf all year. In theory I LOVE the idea of this book as my husband and I are both scientists but it felt verbose and I decided to go easy this year. However, I keep eyeing it and thinking I need to incorporate it because it is brilliant and covers theory and interconnectedness the way I believe it should be taught.

[mykidsrmyjoy]

Thank you for the detailed replies! I think this will help me know how to proceed in planning.

[dirty ethel rackham]

For elementary and middle school science, we did.  I created a spine of topics following the cycle outlined in TWTM.  I didn't have every resource in place at the beginning of the year - usually a couple of cool overview science books. I had a general view of what we wanted to do and had a pretty good idea of what experiements I wanted to do when.  I did more detailed planning a month at a time.  For later elementary toward middle school we used the Usborne Science Encyclopedia as a spine and added other materials in to flesh things out.  We did plan a bit further ahead of time to get materials since our experiments used more than just household items.  From first grade to 8th grade, we were usually part of a science club that I helped organize.  We met every other week to do the hands-on stuff and did the reading and other investigations at home.  We took turns leading the hands-on activities but had all the topics and goals needed for the reading outlined at the beginning of the year. 

 

I think we used NOEO science a couple of times when we all were overwhelmed with some other things.  It wasn't as good as our home-grown stuff, but it did the job. 

[regentrude]

For middle school science, I did. But I did not construct a "program". We did interest led learning with lots of library books and documentaries, field trips to science museums and nature centers. I was not concerned with systematic or comprehensive coverage, but with exposure and keeping curiosity alive.