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~Rachel~
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| Posted: Nov 20 2006 at 9:42am | IP Logged
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HELP!
I am stuck on what to do science wise with my 7 y.o.
I have so many friends using the Apologia Astronomy... and so many of the things they do sound like fun! How do I make *our* science lessons fun?
I always seem to run out of steam as far as science is concerned... and my ideas are definitely lacking!
ETA: and HOW do you use the read alouds you select?
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~Rachel~
Wife to William
Mum to James 13, Lenore 8
Lighting a Fire
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: Nov 20 2006 at 10:10am | IP Logged
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Looking forward to others' responses. But, something that I think I'm going to do here is the Young Scientists Club.
It looks like it will be fun, hands-on, and easy for me to facilitate!
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Noreen
Wife to Ed
Mom to 4 great kids and 10 sweet ones in Our Lady's arms
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~Rachel~
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| Posted: Nov 27 2006 at 8:22am | IP Logged
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just bumping my thread... I'm still hoping for answers! 
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~Rachel~
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Lighting a Fire
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Nov 27 2006 at 8:44am | IP Logged
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Hi Rachel! Sorry I didn't respond to your first question earlier. Been swamped and out of town and all and I didn't want to give just a quickie answer.
First, I have a question, though.
What topics do you think you would like to cover?
If I have an idea of the topics I can be more helpful with ideas on how to cover them. What are your daughter's interests and what resources do you have nearby? You have quite a lovely garden blog so I am assuming you have that sort of thing covered, so do you want ideas for other things like astronomy, earth science, nature study, etc?
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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~Rachel~
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| Posted: Nov 27 2006 at 9:17am | IP Logged
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It's my son mainly, my daughter is 2 and really tries to join in  .
OUr resources are limited as I dont yet drive (maybe soon), but I can get trips to places locally if necessary 
Yes... I want ideas for astronomy, earth science, nature study, food science... the works. If it is on Macbeth's page... Gardening is not really a problem for us... recording what we do IS since all the fun is had outside we are usually tired when we get back INside!
I think I just need a 'boost' so to speak... ideas of WHAT to study, HOW you might do it using the books on say, Macbeth's site, then HOW you record it. I know you do wonderful lap and notebooks , Theresa (I just send a friend to your site for inspiration )... but how do you determine what to study and record in them?
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~Rachel~
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Angel
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| Posted: Nov 29 2006 at 8:15am | IP Logged
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I usually start the process of figuring out what to study by asking my kids what they want to learn about. If I plan a big unit and there's no interest there, it's usually a washout. If they don't have ideas (but they almost always do) I'll give them a few choices to pick from. This is process has worked pretty well for us.
I have a 10 yo and a 7 yo, and am starting to require a few more things from the 10 yo, but up until now our "recording" has been kind of, well, lax. I do try to provide hands-on projects, because I don't see how you can really do science without getting your hands into it, but as far as formal recording -- a journal, lapbooks, reports, etc. -- I guess we don't have *too* much to show in those terms. When my kids are interested in a topic, though, they usually produce some work spontaneously -- drawings for instance, which are easily collected into a notebook.
I can give you an example of how this process works for us. When my oldest was 7-turning-8, we were coming to the end of a study on ancient Egypt (also pretty much kid-initiated) and looking around for something else to study. I had noticed that both he and my 5 yo had been sort of mildly interested in dinosaurs lately, so after asking them what they might want to learn about, I said, "Well, we could study dinosaurs." I got a very excited response, so we went out to the library the next day and picked up some books on dinosaurs.
We ended up spending most of the year on dinosaurs. (I don't think this is typical, but my kids often tend to get *really* interested in certain topics for long periods of time. The beauty of homeschooling is that we can explore these topics from top to bottom without worrying about finishing a textbook by the end of the year.) We visited museums, read about a million picture books, drew pictures of dinosaurs, stitched dinosaurs out of felt, used some of the "I Dig Dinosaurs" kits, attempted to make a dinosaur sculpture (that didn't work out well because the wire I bought wasn't strong enough to make the armature), went on fossil hunting expeditions, watched videos about dinosaurs (Chased By Dinosaurs was a particular favorite), and the kids often used dinosaurs in their pretend play.
(You can see the beginnings of a new science unit for ushere)
I think that in the early years what you are really aiming for is to develop a child's sense of wonder at the abundance and intricacies of creation. So I don't think it really matters where you start, because you can get anywhere from anywhere, if that makes any sense. If your 7 yo is interested in astronomy, then it would make sense to start there. If he's interested in animals, then it would probably make sense to pick an animal to learn about first. I've had more luck with picture books and projects than with following a text, but sometimes a text or a science encyclopedia can give you a spine to follow if you're ever in need of ideas.
--Angela
Mom to 3+2 
Three Plus Two
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: Nov 29 2006 at 9:04am | IP Logged
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Dawn had posted a great astronomy unit on her blog recently and also worked out a whole earth science curriculum here on the boards. Perhaps she can lead you to the direct links.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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MacBeth
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| Posted: Nov 29 2006 at 11:21am | IP Logged
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~Rachel~ wrote:
| I think I just need a 'boost' so to speak... ideas of WHAT to study, HOW you might do it using the books on say, Macbeth's site, then HOW you record it. I know you do wonderful lap and notebooks , Theresa (I just send a friend to your site for inspiration )... but how do you determine what to study and record in them? |
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This is such a great question, and I can't wait to hear answers . I can tell you how we use the books, but I specifically do not post lesson plans, etc. because I know that every family is different, and I don't want anyone to think that if you don't use the books the "MacBeth" way that the list is not useful.
That said, I know people who take my book lists and go through them thoroughly, do lapbooks, notebooks, copywork, experiments, and more. I know others who strew the books about and see what takes. I must admit to be a member of the latter party most of the time, but that works very well for us, though we do keep very nice nature notebooks. Usually. 
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God Bless!
MacBeth in NY
Don's wife since '88; "Mom" to the Fab 4
Nature Study
MacBeth's Blog 
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Science Ideas for Elementary?
