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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Scientific musings...

With yesterday's post still fresh in mind, I started thinking about science, and various routes we could take. I have history figured out, and math, language arts (I think), etc., but a decision for science eludes me. I have come up with three paths, and cannot, for the life of me, decide which to follow! Though I can say we'll definitely continue with nature studies.

Path 1:
Elementary Science Education (second volume of BFSU), supplemented with living books, videos, and hands-on.
Pros: I own the book already, and have the sequence I would follow all mapped out. For supplemental books, there is my own collection of books, and the library, while for videos we have Netflix and again the library. This book, like the first volume, covers the 4 threads of science - life, earth, physical, and chemistry, intertwining them and allowing kids to make connections between them.
Cons: Practical application can be tricky, and switching between threads sometimes goes against continuing interests. I have to be organized to make this work!

Path 2:
Using The Story of Science series and Milestones in Science to compliment our history studies. I could easily add in extra literature, biographies, and videos/documentaries.
Pros: Again, I already own the first volume of the Story of Science (along with the student Quest Guide)! So that would get us through the first year... and I have access to tons of supplemental stuff.
Cons: How science-y is this? Would it be enough actual science, or is it too heavy on history? And I would have to buy the science kit mentioned above.

Path 3:
Using David Macaulay's books - and a few others - as the basis for a series of unit studies on different scientific topics: The Way We Work (anatomy); The Way Things Work (physics); The Way Life Works (NOT a Macaulay book , but still good - life science); and then books for chemistry, earth science, and astronomy... have to research those.
Pros: I own some of these books already, and a ton of extra resources to compliment them. We'd be able to explore each topic in depth, and I would allow the kids to choose which topics we study.
Cons: Finding some good resources (earth, chemistry, etc.) might not always be easy. There might be some areas we miss out on by doing a unit study approach. And yes, I would have to be fairly organized to make this work, plus there's always the chance that the kids will get bored with a topic before we finish it.

So obviously I have some more thinking to do!

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous1:52 AM

    You have so many options. I kind of suck at exploring options. Probably because I like everything laid out in front of me, so I can just say, "This one" and not thing about it. LOL

    Good luck choosing the best science curriculum for you guys!

    ReplyDelete

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Emerson

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