Great Scientists in Action: Early Life, Discoveries, and Experiments

 Hands On, Science, Unit study resources  1 Response »
Dec 292009
 

currchoicereviewscientistsIn my years of homeschooling, one of the most asked questions is, “Which science curriculum should I use?”  I know I have asked that same question many times.  Then one day I asked that question to a physicist friend of mine.  I was very curious what a homeschooling physicist thought was important to teach his children about science and what curriculum he used.  His answer was surprisingly simple.  

He suggested to start out teaching science on the foundation of history.  The explanation was that children will learn equations and the periodic table for many years and still may not have developed an appreciation for science.   The curiosity a child needs to enhance his learning experience comes from people and connections and not from diagrams and equations.  Science is about sparking imagination and exploring the world around you.

In my quest to find a curriculum to fit this concept I discovered, Great Scientists in Action: Early Life, Discoveries, and Experiments.  This is a fun book that you can easily download from CurrClick for under $10.  It’s perfect for one term or semester of school.  The book is divided into chapters that center on different scientists and their discoveries from the past.  At the end of every chapter there are simple experiments to reinforce what was learned.  Your student will learn about Aristotle to Benjamin Franklin to George Washington Carver.  There are currchoicereviewscientists1additional chapters on Nobel Prize Winners, Women Scientists, Young Scientists, and a research project. 

My children finished this book in one term that lasts 12 weeks.  You can easily tailor this to your needs.  You add this into your normal science curriculum by just bringing out a relevant chapter as needed.  You can focus on one scientista month and use the chapter as a spring board to more in depth assignments.  We used this book twice a week as a crash course into the history of science.  My kids loved this book and looked forward to the assignments.  I felt it inspired a sense of curiosity and enhanced their current studies in history and science.  My daughter is 11, and she used this book as an independent study. 

currchoicereviewscientists2However you decide to teach science this book can enhance your study of both science and history.  It was very interesting for my kids to learn how scientists questioned the world around them to come up with amazing theories and beliefs.  The book challenged them to look closer at the world and with an eye to see beyond the surface and a mind to ask “why?”.  This is a fairly short book  of 64 pages and easily written for elementary students.  Yet, it does help the student visualize the person behind the discoveries which in turn humanizes science for them.  This set the road for an interest that may not have been there otherwise.  This simple and unassuming workbook is a great addition to your regular history and science curriculum or as a stand alone if used for only a term.  If you want to extend the lessons you will need supplementation and use this book as an outline rather than your main course of study.

Noeo Science Curriculum Review

 Charlotte Mason, Science  2 Responses »
May 122009
 

Levers Notebooking pageNoeo Science is a rare jewel for Charlotte Mason homeschoolers. Miss Mason felt that nature study was adequate science instruction for elementary children. But for eclectic homeschoolers who desire a more structured science curriculum in addition to nature study, Noeo fits the bill.

Noeo is not a textbook but a literature based curriculum with options for grades K-6.  You can choose from one of three areas–chemistry, physics, or biology.  Your set includes an instructor’s guide, living science books, biographies of scientists, and experiment kits.  The spiral bound, three –hole punched instructor’s guide has readings laid out for 4 days for each of the 36 weeks.  The schedule is light and thus meets Miss Mason’s recommendation for short lessons.

building leverThe instructor’s guide is really more of a schedule than a teaching guide. As Miss Mason would have it, the books are meant to speak directly to the child, so there is no need for lengthy teaching notes. There is absolutely no busy work in this program. There are only reading, experiments, and narrating.  Generally, the only notes in the instructor’s guide are “read the assigned pages and describe and/or sketch what you learned in your science notebook.”  This type of activity is narration, exactly what Charlotte Mason recommended.  Sometimes the instructor’s guide points out key vocabulary words to define, and when experiments are scheduled, there is a supply list.

The experiments are from Young Scientist Club Kits and from Ein’O Kits. The supplies are all included, and the directions are very clear. I found that each experiment really worked well to give us a concrete illustration of what we’d been reading about. Noeo supplies a blank experiment template to document each project.

physics of flightNoeo Science also has a Yahoo group where you can get help at any time. Once I could not understand one of our physics experiments, so I posted a question on the group. Randy Pritchard, the creator of Noeo science, responded to my question with a clear explanation. And after that, we were able to successfully complete the experiment.

How does Noeo compare to Sonlight science? Although they both use living books and experiments, Noeo’s experiments are always related to the readings. And whereas Sonlight’s packages offer a broad view of many facets of science, Noeo focuses on just one area each year.  Noeo offers some blank notebooking templates, and Sonlight has activity sheets. Both use narration as a learning tool.

light and color lapbook and main bookWe have completed our study of Physics 1 (recommended for ages 5-8, grades 1-3). I found it a wonderful curriculum and am totally satisfied with the purchase. The books are colorful and engaging, the type that you don’t want to sell once the study is over. There is a definite structure, but it’s not so stifling that you can’t go off on tangents of your own.  The standard assignment after each reading is really just to narrate. You can do this orally, through a science notebook, through lapbooking, or whatever other method you prefer.

Written by Jimmie, Charlotte Mason flavored mom of one.