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Sarah
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| Posted: June 02 2006 at 10:39am | IP Logged
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I really want my kids to learn more science, but I don't even know where to begin.
I was planning on devoting the summer to science--reading, experimenting, enjoying. . .but, I got overwhelmed. There was too much for them to know and my brain overloaded. Then add doing everything with a 20lb baby in your arms, and a potty-training 2yo and its just NOT HAPPENING! The summer is going to get away from us!
Can anyone help me put this back into check. My oldest is 10 this summer and all we've ever done is garden and read about bugs and animals. I think its time to explore some other aspects of science. But what? How? Textbooks? Little tidbits here and there? Units? Just give him books to read? What? For some reason this is really bothering me. His mind is very scientific. He loves numbers, facts, experiments (he's been trying ones out of his Webelos book on his own).
Other ds7 loves building, collecting rocks, etc. All of this they have done on their own without ANY input from me. I'd like to be able to sneak in scientific facts, tidbits of info, but I'm a science dunce. 
I feel VERY deficient in this area.
Anyone?
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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abcmommy
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| Posted: June 02 2006 at 11:20am | IP Logged
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http://www.wildgoosescience.com/home.htm
These kits are not enough for a whole curriculum but they are simple fun and easy for the kids to do alone. concepts are explained well. If you wanted to beef it up you could easily do so by adding library trips and making the child do a lab notebook detailing experiments results and such.
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 02 2006 at 12:14pm | IP Logged
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I was going to recommend getting some fun kits, too. The wild goose ones (recommended above) are great!
Also there are many other little fun kits out there from alot of companies. School supply stores usually carry many of them. We've gotten them on bridge building (teaches about forces, etc) human anatomy (skeleton kit, heart kit, and visible woman), sea monkeys, crystals, chemistry, DNA models, molecule models, and many others.
Most of these come with pretty clear instructions that a 10yo could do independantly and a 7 with a little help.
Also, kids learn so much from fun videos like Bill Nye and Eyewitness.
Don't sweat it. You could just go to a park, plunk down on a blanket and draw what you see. Then look it up later when you get home and the littles are napping. Have the olders start a leaf collection. Collect leaves, making note of where found. Press them and then later put them into a photo album and identify them. I find sticking to only tree leaves (as opposed to bushes, grasses, etc) makes it alot simpler for younger kids to identify.
Go to the website Backyard nature for some kid-friendly info on commonly found plants, animals, etc
Hope this helps!
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: June 02 2006 at 12:21pm | IP Logged
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Getting a good quality Rock tumbler(not the toystore variety) has also been a great asset in our homeschool. Along with a rock and mineral book and sticker book (we used the Usborne one, but there are others), and assembling a rock collection,it makes a very interesting unit.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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ladybugs
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| Posted: June 02 2006 at 8:12pm | IP Logged
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how stuff works
is a cool website...
Usborne books has some cool books with experiments...
Check out Insectlore
Acorn Naturalists
Sometimes if you just order a catalog, your creative juices will start flowing...
Hope this helps...
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Love and God Bless,
Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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Karen E.
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| Posted: June 02 2006 at 9:04pm | IP Logged
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Sarah wrote:
I was planning on devoting the summer to science--reading, experimenting, enjoying. . .but, I got overwhelmed. There was too much for them to know and my brain overloaded. Then add doing everything with a 20lb baby in your arms, and a potty-training 2yo and its just NOT HAPPENING! The summer is going to get away from us! |
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Oh, Sarah, my dear ... it's only June 2nd! It's okay! Summer has only just begun.
Great suggestions so far from everyone. And what about Magic School Bus? We've done book or video marathons -- my kids love MSB. Then, from there, run with a few themes that really grab your kids. Hit the library's nonfiction section, load up on books about the topic(s) they choose, and go from there.
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God bless,
Karen E.
mom to three on earth, and several souls in God's care
Visit my blog, with its shockingly clever title, "Karen Edmisten."
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andibc
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| Posted: June 02 2006 at 9:06pm | IP Logged
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I just realized "For the Beauty of the Earth" is back in print. We have used this on and off for years.
http://www.stpaulspub.com/ (quote from site below)
"For the Beauty of the Earth will add the missing ingredients to make your science curriculum (grades one through six) sound.
* The 140 page illustrated student anthology contains all the literature for the units (well over 100 poems, psalms, and excerpts).
* The text is divided into lessons suitable for grades 1 & 2, 3 & 4, and 5 & 6.
* Each lesson begins with a text or reading and includes four kinds of questions (textual questions about the reading, observational questions about the thing being studied, questions of admiration designed to instill wonder, and questions of religious analogy).
* The 57 page teacher’s manual contains the lesson plans, questions, answers, and choices of activities designed to lead the student deeper into each subject of study."
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Sarah
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| Posted: June 03 2006 at 9:55am | IP Logged
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Karen E. wrote:
Oh, Sarah, my dear ... it's only June 2nd! It's okay! Summer has only just begun. |
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Okay, you're right, I was totally overracting  . I did sound a little nuts.
I guess I was just seeing that this whole week got away and I didn't do ANYTHING, nor did I know where to begin.
Thanks for the above suggestions! I'm feeling a little more grounded, now.
Keep the ideas coming! I knew I count count on you all. 
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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ladybugs
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| Posted: June 03 2006 at 10:05am | IP Logged
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film cannister rockets...alka seltzer, film cannister and vinegar...
Lemon Batteries
Jason Project
Sarah, does your ds like to cook? Garden?
We just raised caterpillars from insectlore.com and now we're doing tadpoles that my friend found in the creek near her house....
What about a paper mache project? goop?
I'm just throwing out ideas...thanks for letting me brainstorm on your thread. 
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Love and God Bless,
Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Stress over Science
