My 10 year old LOVES science.. She wants to read and read about all things science. But after she's done reading she wants to do experiments and I have NO idea what to do. I want to help her in this quest of hers. I mean, if she's interested shouldn't I go with it? but I keep hitting walls. She's a very hands on kind of kid too, I can't afford an expensive science curriculum with all the bells and whistles, and I feel like I'm holding her back. Isn't this one of the perks of homeschooling, following your interests? How can I help her when what I know is very limited??
Her's a free life science program that crazymama introduced me to yesterday. It looks pretty cool. A reading and worksheets one day and 2 days of experiments for each week. http://www.eequalsmcq.com/ClassicScienceLife.htm
I'm in the same situation! I blogged about the issue a little while ago: http://eclectic-homeschool.com/home...en-you-dont-have-a-strong-science-background/ In short, I've found that in the early years delight-directed studies is a good way to go. As the child grows, I've found that I've needed to move to a textbook. I needed the organization and information that a formal textbook would give my child since I didn't have a strong science background. I also need to learn along with my son to a degree. Sometimes he explains things to me, lol. Sometimes I ask him questions, but I have a teacher's manual to help me assess his understanding.
If you do not mind the creationist approach Apologia is a very inexpensive textbook (you can usually find them used for under $20) and all the experiments are laid out for you. They also use common household items which helps too. If you just want experiments you can also look at the TOPs series. Those books run new about $18 but you can usually find them used too.
Yes, Apologia if you don't mind a Christian curriculum. The text is super kid friendly. She could easily read it to herself and do most of the experiments on her own. She will need an adult for some obviously. My Chemistry and Physics one is scheduled to be here Monday. Some of the reviews said it had more experiments than the others in the series. I'll find out soon. If you can't get used they are cheaper on Amazon and Christian Book and the like than the Apologia web site. The library may have some good experiment books also.
We are using Apologia right now and she has a really hard time grasping what's going on in the books. I read it to her and we do a lapbook piece every lesson. She does seem to like this book better than any of the previous ones we have tried. But then again, I think it's because she can relate to the book more. With husbands bone issues and then my older daughter breaking her arm this year, it's been woven into our lives. It seems more relevant I guess. We still aren't thrilled with it and Mr Q looks like a great fit for her right now. Short and too the point and activities that might concrete what has been read better than the lapbook has.
Is this the Anatomy book? Just wondering the Zoo2 and Botany have been pretty student friendly but I have been putting off the Anatomy until 6th grade because I just assumed it would be tougher subject. If you are using Anatomy do you think my will be 2nd grader would get anything out of doing it will the will be 6th grader? I've wondered if I will need find something else for her that year. (Totally not suggesting you keep going will Apologia if it is not working for you just wondering about my situation.) Thanks.
I really don't know, It might just be me.. I'm NOT into science so teaching it is hard for me. It's not required in Texas, so I'm a little lazy when it comes to keeping at it. If I stay committed to it she might do really well. We've done much better with doing science and history than we have in the past when I had the other kids home and that may make a difference too. It's really not written differently than the other books it's just the content is different and she is a bit more interested in it than with the other books. I think a lot of our problems with the books is that it's one subject in the book and she gets bored easily. The Astronomy one was torture for her. Lyndsey is struggling a bit with reading so I read it to her. We go over things as I read it and she has definitely gotten more out of this book than any of the others. It might be a good fit for yours if they have done well with them in the past. We probably won't purchase another Apologia book after we are finished with this one. Although the Chemistry and Physics book is peaking my curiosity. Mostly because I know that Lyndsey will be going back to school and in 9th grade they are required to take an introductory to Chemistry and Physics class. When I mentioned it to hubby he said that it might be a good thing to do with my 13 year old who is in public school just to get her ready for the class since both of my boys struggled with it.
We did SO MUCH science! LOVED all things science with a passion. There are so many fun things you can do! Go to the library and turn her loose in the 500's and 600's in the kid's nonfiction books. All those books will be natural science and technology based stuff...some GREAT books written for kids about all sorts of cool science topics and your library will have a million of them. Just reading a few of them every week and integrating them into English...write a research paper, answer some questions, collect data, form a hypothesis! Great stuff! Even free reading, reading aloud...you'll both learn something. (God knows I did). Kid's library will also have dozens of books on science experiments for kids with household items. Also! check out the library's MASSIVE shelves of science DVDs...Nova, National Geo...documentaries on EVERYTHING from how tornadoes work to walking with the dinosaurs to following the path of blood through the circulatory system. Don't worry if it seems too technical or the vocabulary is daunting....kids will watch this stuff because it's fascinating, especially to a science lover. Let them hear the language and absorb it. I swear my daughter got a 34 on the science section of her ACT through passive absorption of hundreds of these videos before she ever understood the whole picture. It's a great language to be exposed to young! I'm convinced it really helps later. Look for community science for kids. Take her to the experts who LOVE to talk to kids about science. Libraries, kids museum's, children's gardens, zoos, will very often have hands on science stuff for kids and knowledgeable staff to help teach. Go on a field trip! Visit a nature conservatory, a biological station, a bird sanctuary, a fish hatchery, a wildlife rehab, a working experimental forest, a zoo. If you have a good relationship with your veterinarian, sometimes they'll allow a curious child to watch surgery or look at parasites through the microscope, or see how instruments are sterilized. My daughter asked the vet so many questions he told her she could come in once a week if she wrote out her list of questions, and understood that he couldn't take too much time away from his patients. And she DID! She even learned the concept of professional courtesy and valuing his time. She would be very careful about her questions, and try to make them very clear and brief. Same bargain might be struck with a family practitioner, dentist, or other public personality with a science career. (Incidentally, the same vet gave her some kennel work this summer...great professional reference for college) Get involved in a butterfly count, or a frog survey, or visit a DNR officer. Colleges often have outreach programs for kids. MSU has a "bug house" put on by the entomology department where kids can hold and see all sorts of insects and learn about them. Our local bird sanctuary has a "Discovery Day-Camp" in the summer that has tons of biology and games...and gives mom an 8 hour break for 5 days. My daughter loved this camp so much as a kid, she now works it as an assistant. She's got a reputation for being able to identify nearly any indigenous bug species and tell you something about it. Get some field guides to the areas where you live, and find a park or woods to visit. Look for birds, plants, bugs...read about what you find, take some pictures, put together a picture log of data and observations. Take a picnic, go wading, get dirty, bring the dog. Use day to day relevance. My dad had a heart attack when my daughter was about ten. She insisted on learning absolutely everything about the circulatory system. We tagged along to one of his cardiology appointments and she picked up the human heart model and told the doctor the names of all the chambers and how the blood flowed through. (To be fair, we'd MADE a heart model at home out of clay and worked on this) He was SO impressed. He asked her where the coronary arteries were, and she said...they're the little one on the surface, and that's why they get blocked, because they're so small. Why doesn't the heart have a better blood supply than that? It doesn't make sense. Shouldn't they be bigger? Can you make Grandpa's bigger so they don't get clogged again? Dad's cardiologist just roared. He was so delighted with her interest...and her level of innate comprehension! Never underestimate kids. They're naturally brilliant and can understand SUCH complex stuff. Science kids suck stuff up like little sponges. Just need to give them plenty of books/DVDs/experiences with other science people. Let them find some "science experiments you can do at home" type books....and let them follow the instructions on their own. They can tell you what they need. Let them lead...and they'll be twice as proud of what they learn.
I would highly recommend getting involved in FIRST Robotics. FIRST is an acronym for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” It was founded by Dean Kamen, a prominent inventor and businessman, and has grown to reach an international level. Its main goal is to foster students' interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields and encompasses many areas besides building robots. If your daughter is 10, she would be at the FIRST Lego League (FLL) level. Younger students are introduced to real-world engineering problems and build robots using LEGO MINDSTORM kits to compete on themed fields. They use math and science concepts, and learn teamwork, critical thinking and presentation skills. Students are guided by mentors, many of whom have backgrounds in science and engineering. This is an amazing program and has even been endorsed by stars such as will.i.am and Morgan Freeman. I am a member of an FRC team that competes at a high school level and is sponsored Electronic Arts, Lockheed Martin, and other large corporations. There is also over $19 million in scholarships available exclusively to FIRST students, and that number rises every year. At world championships one year, the dean of admissions at MIT was in attendance, and said that he gets "a warm fuzzy feeling" whenever he sees an applicant with FIRST Robotics on their application. I cannot recommend this program enough. If you are interested, you can find more info on their website. If you search FIRST Robotics, their website is the first to come up. Under the "Programs" menu, you can find more information on FIRST LEGO League and the other levels.
