You can pull a science lesson from just about anything, no matter what grade your kids are in...
"It’s raining today, where does rain come from? Clouds, ok well there are several different types of clouds… let’s paint some… How does the water get into the clouds? The water cycle has something to do with that, let's simulate it by building a terrarium. Clouds occur in the Earth’s atmosphere…did you know there are many layers of the atmosphere? Let’s make a 3-D diagram! Did you know there are many layers to the Earth itself? Let’s make a model out of modeling clay or cake! The Earth is only one of the planets in our solar system… Let’s build a diorama of the solar system! Did you know the planets in a solar system revolve around a star? Yes, that’s right our Sun is a star… what is a star made of?"
You see where I am going with this? A science lesson doesn't have to come straight out of a book or in any particular order, especially in the younger years where most areas of science are just introduced or touched upon. It's all about exploration and discovery. It's ok to go off on tangents that interest your kiddos, the more interested they are the better they understand.
There are so many different ways to go about teaching kids science. For some, a more traditional approach like purchasing a ready-to-go curriculum with a teacher’s guide works best. For others, just looking up the state standards and following the list of topics that are required with their own hodge-podge of lessons is what works for them. If you fall somewhere in the middle and have some idea of what you want to cover, but need help with the how-to, there are so many websites out there that offer advice, mini lessons on specific topics, or even full units on a particular topic, sometimes for free. A basic Google search will bring up tons of ideas. I personally have done all of the above and if I didn’t find what I was looking for, I created it. I'll be posting some templates, lesson plans and printable over in my shop soon, so stay tuned!
Regardless of which approach you use, you can always enhance their learning experience and understanding of a concept by adding a little extra… with experiments, observations or even step-by-step "how-to" videos.
Here is what works for my family…
In the early years I covered Life, Earth, Astronomy, Anatomy, Biology, Chemistry, and even Physics by introducing topics to my kids as they came up in our life. For example, my oldest was enthralled with how things worked very early on, so we did lots of physics, not the formulas and crazy ridiculous topics covered in HS and beyond, but the basics like force and motion, simple machines and simple circuits to name a few. I taught him the basic principles of how pushing and pulling something creates a force that moves it. How a lever helps to lift things that are heavy, or how the wheel and axle on his toy car help the car move more easily across the floor. We did really simple activities or experiments that helped to reinforce these topics. Fast forward to high school physics, by this time he had all the basic concepts mastered so it was easier for him to dive deeper into the why and do the formulas and calculations needed for a higher level of learning.
For my middle child, he is more interested in creating and building things. He loves to help with baking and cooking. He's become quite the little chef! He especially likes mixing up different substances while he plays. So one area we’ve focused on is chemistry, in particular, kitchen chemistry. We use all different kinds of pantry items to make concoctions to see what happened. Sometimes he'll even dress up as a wizard and pretend he is making a potion. ;)
We've done lots of acid/base reactions for sure. (Baking soda/vinegar eruptions.) We've also covered states of matter, solids to liquids to gasses. We've boiled ice cubes and watched a lit candle melt for this lesson. His other obsession that started when he was very young was to “fix” things around the house, but would often get frustrated when it didn’t work with his play tools. So what did I do? I got him real tools, child-sized ones, of course. Anytime we had a project that required hammering or screwing something he was right there helping out. He mastered using a drill by the time he was 4!
I'm still figuring things out with my little one, she’s only 4, but she is definitely hands-on like her older siblings. She loves to get messy, she's just not as focused. However, I have noticed that she retains lots of info when she hears it in a song. So we’ve done lots of kids science shows that incorporate songs. Shows like Sid the Science Kid, Ready Jet Go, Ada Twist Scientist, and Blaze and the Monster Machines are some of her favorites! While these shows don’t give lessons with songs, she also loves The Magic School Bus, Wild Kratts and Emily's Wonder Lab! I try to pair a hands-on activity to help explain what she learned from the song on the show, so she’s not just repeating it, but actually understanding the information. If it’s messy, she’s 100% game, so we do lots of sensory activities. For example, we watched a show on germs and did an activity with chunky glitter to show how the germs stick to our hands and how they get washed away with soap and water. (Check out my Sensory Play or Hands On Activities posts for some neat ideas!)
We’ve become more structured and streamlined for the high school level science in order to earn credits towards his diploma. Well, a little more, we stick to one area, for the most part… Anyways, my point is that it really matters now. How much time he spends on his work and what we need to cover is definitely more detailed than it was before. We are now using a science textbook as the base (or spine) of our curriculum. I also incorporate YouTube videos from channels such as CrashCourse and SciShow. We still do hands-on activities for every single topic we cover and our experiments/labs follow the format and flow of the text we are using. I do still take a little extra time on the topics that most interest him so he can explore them further. Since Physics is his absolute favorite, we actually started with that, then moved onto Chemistry and will finish off with Biology. That’s the plan anyways…
Now if your kiddos aren’t really into science, I don't know what to say... Just kidding, I always have lots to say, maybe not the best stuff, but stuff to say nonetheless. Maybe having them take an in-person or even a virtual class would work. Sometimes working with peers in a fun, engaging and non-competitive environment motivates them to participate. This could be a homeschool enrichment program online at a zoo or library, a science center or even a local co-op. Even though my kids love science, I have tried all of these different options just to see which formats they like best. For us, the in-person, hands-on classes are the gold standard!
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