I hated science in school. I even told my husband that if we were going to homeschool, he'd have to be responsible for the science part because I disliked it so much. He, on the other hand, thought I was crazy and was more than happy to take over what he thought was the "fun part" of the schooling process. You know what? He was right. (He usually is... grrr...=) ). I've since discovered that science doesn't need to be all dry facts and memorization. The boys LOVE science, and we are having so much fun doing it together. Of course, my husband finds his way to stay involved too which makes my heart happy!
I love Charlotte Mason's approach to Nature Study. With our late summer here in Seattle, we've been trying so hard to get outside as much as possible. Sadly, we still spend too much time indoors for my liking. Because of this, we try to make a point of going on at least two nature walks a week rain or shine. Some of our favorite places to go are Ravenna Park and Carkeek but sometimes we get out our Seattle Nature Walks book and find a place a little further away.
Some of the things we like to do on our nature walks is find birds, go on nature scavenger hunts, wade around in shallow streams and look at slugs. Boots are always a must since we usually find water somewhere!
One of my absolute favorite "toys" right now is Toysmith's Optic Wonder. The boys got this for their birthday in August, and we use it all the time on our nature walks. This one little plastic toy is a compass, magnifying glass, signal mirror and binoculars all in one. It's perfect for whatever we want to do while we are out and even fits in the boys' pockets.
Other resources we have for our nature study include the Handbook of Nature Study, Little Hands Nature Book, and numerous nature craft books. I'm also completely addicted to Pinterest, and have found lots of good activities for my kids there. Eventually, I want to start doing a nature journal with my kids as well.
Other Science
We also like to incorporate other science into our curriculum as well. Daddy likes to be a part of this too so that is quite fun. For this school year, we purchased the Mix and Measure Set from Timberdoodle. The boys have found all the measuring cups and activities quite fun. We do one "experiment" with this a week.
Buddy also has an infatuation with the Magic School Bus. Ever since we discovered that we can watch almost all of the episodes for free on YouTube, he's been enjoying learning whatever topic they are covering. This mostly just happens during free time since it's not actually part of my planned curriculum, but he loves it and it brings up lots of conversation about all sorts of things. We also get the books from the library.
A couple of years ago, I got Phil Snap Circuits Jr. for Father's Day. He's been pulling it out to do with the boys, and they love learning about electricity and how circuits work. Buddy has started asking to do this everyday, and hopes that we can do it on the weekends because that's when daddy isn't at work.
Other resources we have are Planet Earth, Everything Kid's Science Experiments Book, and again lots of ideas on Pinterest.
Wow! Science actually can be fun!
Our Pre-K science consists of actually two different parts. We love doing science experiments, and we also try to follow the Charlotte Mason approach to Nature Study. Both of these have found their way into our curriculum.
Nature Study
Let them once get touch with Nature, and a habit is formed which will be a source of delight through life. We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree, and it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plant and animal life and to care for none of these things.
(Charlotte Mason, Vol 1, II, Out-Of-Door Life For The Children, p.61)
Never be within doors when you can rightly be without. (Charlotte Mason, Vol. 1, II, Out-Of-Door-Life For The Children, p. 42)
I love Charlotte Mason's approach to Nature Study. With our late summer here in Seattle, we've been trying so hard to get outside as much as possible. Sadly, we still spend too much time indoors for my liking. Because of this, we try to make a point of going on at least two nature walks a week rain or shine. Some of our favorite places to go are Ravenna Park and Carkeek but sometimes we get out our Seattle Nature Walks book and find a place a little further away.
Some of the things we like to do on our nature walks is find birds, go on nature scavenger hunts, wade around in shallow streams and look at slugs. Boots are always a must since we usually find water somewhere!
One of my absolute favorite "toys" right now is Toysmith's Optic Wonder. The boys got this for their birthday in August, and we use it all the time on our nature walks. This one little plastic toy is a compass, magnifying glass, signal mirror and binoculars all in one. It's perfect for whatever we want to do while we are out and even fits in the boys' pockets.
Other resources we have for our nature study include the Handbook of Nature Study, Little Hands Nature Book, and numerous nature craft books. I'm also completely addicted to Pinterest, and have found lots of good activities for my kids there. Eventually, I want to start doing a nature journal with my kids as well.
Other Science
We also like to incorporate other science into our curriculum as well. Daddy likes to be a part of this too so that is quite fun. For this school year, we purchased the Mix and Measure Set from Timberdoodle. The boys have found all the measuring cups and activities quite fun. We do one "experiment" with this a week.
Buddy also has an infatuation with the Magic School Bus. Ever since we discovered that we can watch almost all of the episodes for free on YouTube, he's been enjoying learning whatever topic they are covering. This mostly just happens during free time since it's not actually part of my planned curriculum, but he loves it and it brings up lots of conversation about all sorts of things. We also get the books from the library.
A couple of years ago, I got Phil Snap Circuits Jr. for Father's Day. He's been pulling it out to do with the boys, and they love learning about electricity and how circuits work. Buddy has started asking to do this everyday, and hopes that we can do it on the weekends because that's when daddy isn't at work.
Other resources we have are Planet Earth, Everything Kid's Science Experiments Book, and again lots of ideas on Pinterest.
Wow! Science actually can be fun!
Other Posts in this Series:
Comments
Post a Comment