~*~Michelle~*~ Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Do you think these are absolutely necessary in early elementary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cajun.classical Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Do you think these are absolutely necessary in early elementary? Well... since you phrased it as "absolutely necessary," I answered NO. What is crucially important in the elementary years is Reading, Writing, Math, Grammar (preferably Latin). Mastering those skill areas is the most important thing. Other subjects like science and history can be studied more informally. And as my oldest enters junior high, I am struck by the fact that I spent far too much time and energy on History. We all love it, so it was fun, but I did not need to stress myself out over it. He has learned tons on his own, just following his interests. I did not have to make it as formal and time consuming as I did. Check out the Latin-Centered Curriculum for more thoughts on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 no. However, I still think they are a great way to engage children in learning. They are places where kids can think, learn how to learn, and practice those reading, and writing and math skills that are necessary. In early elementary they should be fun, full of exploration and providing an opportunity to develop a love of learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ann@thebeach Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I think science is important. Not so much to learn certain facts but to learn to observe and problem solve and process the information. I use the term "science" loosely though because we are not doing lots of experiments or a text. But we do talk about weather, changes in the seasons, observations in nature, animals we encounter, etc. I ask them questions and encourage them to brainstorm different answers even if they don't know the right answer. Social studies (I assume you're including history here?) is not as important until later years IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Do you think these are absolutely necessary in early elementary? Yes and no. I don't have the time right now to look up the study, but a while back I read about it. It basically compared children who were only taught to read and do math with child who covered a wide variety of subjects. It found that the kids who only read and did math progressed at a slower pace than the other group. It was inferred that was because the other group was more curious, motivated to learn because they had been introduced to a bigger world. Absolutely necessary? No. Beneficial? Yes. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melabella Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 :iagree:with Heather. It is absolutely important to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtmcm Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Yes, I believe Social Studies and Science are very important for the same reasons mentioned above by siloam. Science is especially helpful to have a foundation on which to build - just like Math. Kids knowledge and understanding grows a little each year and having a solid introduction means there isn't so much science information to cram in all at once in older grades. However (ducking for cover here).....I personally believe geography, American History (for U.S. children) and Bible History are more appropriate in early Elementary. I love reading SOTW myself, but my younger DD is not interested. However, she is interested in the recent election, why everyone has to pay taxes and other civics related topics because that's relevant to her world right now. I believe it was Ruth Beechick who said there's never been a History Protege (like in Math, Science, Music, etc...). So with this in mind, I will be holding off on formal history until middle school for my younger DD. We will be studying Geography extensively with a bit of American History (Native Americans, Explorers, State History, other unit studies). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 No, but I think it would make for a very dull education if all kids got was language arts and math. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I don't think formal science is necessary if the parent/teacher is comfortable talking about the natural world and the child is allowed lots of hands on experiences as part of their everyday experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy in TN Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I voted other. While I do believe that the 3r's are foundational and not to be shirked in favor of science and history just because there is some really neat new program that I just have to have, lack of exposure to science and history through the course of k-8 sure can make high school course work more difficult than necessary. OTOH- If I were have a period in my life where I needed to minimize the amount of time and effort put into our homeschool day, I would drop science and history for my little man and reduce to just the 3r's without a second thought. HTH- Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bella_gitana Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I don't think formal science is necessary if the parent/teacher is comfortable talking about the natural world and the child is allowed lots of hands on experiences as part of their everyday experience. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I think social studies is a lot of honk, but the subjects SS should cover are important to me. Stories are good for children, yes? To me, history and science provide some of the greatest stories the world has to offer us. :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Science, yes... Social studies, no I never really understood the point of social studies, it just seemed like soft history to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Not absolutely necessary, but I cannot imagine teaching my children all through their young years without including science, or at least some type of informal nature study. Social studies is another story. Instead of social studies, I like history as stories in the young years, but formal teaching can wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 I don't think it is necessary to teach these in an extremely formal, structured manner -- but I think they are very important subjects that can be handled as teachable moments arise. I choose to teach them in a more structured way, and I still depend on finding teachable moments to make them more relevant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I wanted to add that I think my kids would miss a lot of things that happen around them if we didn't study science and history (I agree that social studies is a bunch of hooey). Whenever my kids hear something in the news or in conversation or in a book about something we have learned in science or history, they get very excited, and it makes the world that much more real to them. I really can't think of any reason to exclude these subjects. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I voted yes, but I don't think younger kids need to learn these things as a subject where they read a chapter and fill out the worksheet. They NEED to learn about the world around them - and in a way the 3R's are just a means to that end (which is what makes them vital). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Whenever my kids hear something in the news or in conversation or in a book about something we have learned in science or history, they get very excited, and it makes the world that much more real to them. Tara Kiddo is so dang proud to recognize something, or know the continent a country is on, etc. It makes school "worth it" to him at this point, and they are the treat he gets after the three R's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugs Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Their early years would have been a lot more boring (probably more to me, LOL!). I did not do SS, just history and geography (big diff IMO). And I thought it was good to expose my kids to scientific terms so they're familiar with them. I am not a "nature study" type (but we did do that) but I am a physics/chemistry watch action/reaction type. This I think was fun for the kiddos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Well... since you phrased it as "absolutely necessary," I answered NO. What is crucially important in the elementary years is Reading, Writing, Math, Grammar (preferably Latin). Mastering those skill areas is the most important thing. Other subjects like science and history can be studied more informally. And as my oldest enters junior high, I am struck by the fact that I spent far too much time and energy on History. We all love it, so it was fun, but I did not need to stress myself out over it. He has learned tons on his own, just following his interests. I did not have to make it as formal and time consuming as I did. I completely concur! As my oldest edged into high school, I realized that solid basics were fundamental to all higher learning. I remember blending 3 - 4different history programs along with living books at each level introduced at just the right time (don't dare let them read ahead!). My boys are voracious readers and I found they were learning more history through their own reading than our formal studies. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I don't know anyone would go about only teaching reading and math. (I'm referring to the study a previous poster mentioned.) How would that work? What are they reading? You'd have to hide all the science and history related books! :001_huh: I voted other as well. I don't teach either formally to my 5.5 yo, but he sure has these topics pretty covered through gr 2--on his own (using World Book's scope and sequence as a guideline). He *adores* the globe, maps etc and brings me Let's Read and Find Out science books for bedtime stories. He's more ambitious about learning than I am about teaching him. I have three older kids, and he's in K for heaven's sake! :tongue_smilie: Oh, and he's discovered lapbooking. There goes my printer ink budget... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pongo Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Do you think these are absolutely necessary in early elementary? Yes! We do Science in my home like most WTM'ers do History. I think my kids would just die if we didn't do it. We just finished an in-depth Human Body study, being a nurse I was soooo excited to teach it. I think it's more fundamental than history...no tomatoes please. History you will get in College, I did not remember a lick of History in HS but got A's in college for history. Science has it's own language like math, the more exposure the more you understand it. I was so happy I did well in Science in HS, I needed that foundation for my major. I am not saying History is not important, for us, Science is more important.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 They loved the history and science. We combined these subjects with all the language arts studies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 I really think the elementary years are the chance to make science and SS fun and interesting, to "grab them" if you will. I don't follow WTM in some respects - we don't memorize lists of pharaohs or inventions or what not. I don't coordinate the eras of science and history. But we do make chicken mummies, dress like ancient Greeks, recreate ancient Chinese science, make crystals, hang planet models, make shields and swords to do jousts, and read lots and lots of stories about people of old. My boys love science and SS, and I think that enthusiasm will carry them into the middle and upper years when they need to organize the logic behind it all. IMHO, if you wait until the later years, these subjects can seem rather dreary, because with all there is to learn there isn't time for the fun stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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