Beginning a New School Year
As a new school year approaches we need to think of our science curriculum.
Our family does not use textbooks, rather we use the unit study approach. Throughout the summer I ponder what the kids and I will explore in our up coming year. It has been several years since we did anatomy and it's about time we reviewed this subject. Other subjects are constant units in our life. We all love bird watching and plant identification so we do these units on a continuous basis. Astronomy is another topic we keep current on.
All of these subjects are well worth the our efforts, but there are so many others to explore. Last year we dabbled in physics and I am sure we will continue this unit this coming school year. Physics, chemistry, botany and electricity are just a few subjects that many folks fear. This fear comes from a lack of understanding. The best approach is for Mom (or Dad) to research the topic first. We should go into the topic with an open mind and push away any fear of the subject. We need to learn as much as we can from books and the net so we are prepared to answer any questions.
Many times folks will resort to text books for their science curriculum. For some it works, for others it does not. I personally find that a text book touches just the surface of a subject and then moves onto another. Granted, using a text book will expose a child to a greater number of subjects in any given year, but will they have the same depth of understanding as a child who only studied 4 topics that year?
Of course, this is just my personal opinion, so please don't misunderstand. Many children have thrived from a textbook education and I am sure there are many good text books out there. I just don't prefer them for my family.
I challenge the text book folks out there to explore the unit study approach and discern the results themself. A through, hands on unit just might be more memorable than the read the chapter and answer the questions below technique. It might just be more fun too.
Please check out the complete units in this homeschooling science section. Each unit includes many fun hands on experiments for the kids to try. Most require common household items. Some folks may find the preparation too much. Others may find the experiments too messy, but many will find them fun, fulfilling and educational.
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