Lindy's Homeschool: Science solutions and Knights

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Science solutions and Knights

Science is one of the most energy and thought encompassing things that I do as a teacher. The main reason for this is one word: PREPARATION. I don't have to prepare for reading, writing, math, devotionals, or piano (Maxwell started piano lessons this week). I prepare very little for history. But science! science needs supplies, and supplies, and supplies, and a bit of study.

For instance; This is what I needed this week:

sugar
alcohol
vegetable oil
vinegar
Italian salad dressing
corn starch
filter paper
cotton balls
funnel
nail polish
acetone
Whole cloves
Peppermint
Food colouring
little glass jar

Easy enough...right? But I also needed

iron fillings
copper sulfate
sulfur
test tubes
Iodine

Where the heck do I get copper sulfate?!? Well, I went begging the chemistry teacher in town, and he was very nice.

This week was no special week. I have a list as varied and odd as this practically every week.

And what is the result? Hands on multisensory learning that reaches child's brains at a better level then just book learning and me being a pretty cool teacher....I hope.

This week we learned about soluble vs insoluble and solutions. We tested different things to find out if they were soluble:

We also learned how if something was insoluble with water, it might be soluble with something else, like how nail polish is insoluble with water, but soluble with acetone. (I was not thinking and some acetone got on my TABLE! ugggg) Maxwell and a few of the boys were a little too excited to paint their nails :)

As for History, we seemed to only get one lesson in this week. We learned about knights and coat of arms (what specific colours mean and what animals and symbols mean) and made our own coat of arms.

Maxwell and his daddy did a bit of handy man work and made a chicken coop this week. Maxwell drew up the plans and was very into the whole thing.

As stated before, Maxwell started piano lessons...I'm not sure if he's ready, and I'm not sure if I really want something else for him to practice daily, but Maxwell's Daddy is sure ready for him to learn, so we started going to lessons....it's a good thing I like his teacher.

1 comment:

LynetteMay 1, 2012 at 8:50 AM
How do you plan your science activities? Do you and your sisters-in-law take a turn teaching each week? That does look like a lot of prep work and gathering of rather odd materials :) . I don't worry so much about the nitty gritties of science. I think it's all about exploring and learning to ask questions (like "Why is the sky blue?" or "Where does honey come from?") and then going out and answering them. But if you do science as a group each week, then I can see how it can get more involved than that...And really -- I am impressed with the experiments and activities you guys do! :)
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

The "awkward and unprepared" Myth

There are many misconceptions and biases against homeschooling, and many people really think that I've never heard them or considered them. Many people worry about the "inevitable social awkwardness" of homeschoolers or that they are "unprepared for the world." In my experience, I've found that homeschoolers tend to be as socially "normal" or "awkward" as their parents. As far as "unprepared for the world" is concerned, that depends on how they are taught, but I have seen many successes first hand. Basically, I know the ins and outs of the decision I've made, thanks.

Why I Homeschool

When I was first married, I fell in love with the kids of the Leavitts and Schafers (my sisters-in-law families.) They were...and still are...confident, leaders, innocent where they should be innocent, creative, and accepting. They were also homeschooled. I wanted my future kids to be like them, and if homeschooling was part of that equation, then I was willing to make the sacrifice. Now, after years of study, prayer, and experience, I want to homeschool for many reasons. I want my kids to be family oriented not peer oriented. I want to include the gospel in every aspect of what they are taught. I want them to think out side of the box. I don't want them to be obsessed with what is "cool." I want them to feel loved by those around them. I want them to know who they are and what they stand for before they are bombarded by outside influences. I know that many families can do this without homeschooling, but it seems a lot harder to me. Basically, I'm a control freak. I want to be in control of my children's learning and social life....homeschooling makes that easier.

Also, now that I've realized they are severely dyslexic, I think homeschool is the best place for dyslexics to learn.

And there's the statistics.

My Schedule

7:15

START OUR DAY

Daddy does scriptures

Breakfast

Devotional w/ videos

Come Follow Me

Goals/mindfulness/memorization

9:00

School Starts

Maxwell

School of Hope Online

Hyrum's 3 "R"s

IEW Grammar and Writing

Video Text Algebra

Spelling (Word Wasp)

Daniel's 3 "R"s

Writing Prompts

Rightstart Math level "G"

Spelling (Wasp)

William's 3 "R"s

All About Reading

Creative Writing

Rightstart level "D"

Abraham's 3 "R"s

Logic of English

Handwriting Without Tears

Rightstart level "B"

Activity in afternoon:

Social Studies

Science

Art

Chess

field trips

Literature Club

WAS classes

My Curriculum

For math, I do RightStart Mathematics, which is an abacus based math, Times Tales to memorize multiplication, Video Text for Algebra, and Mathantics or other supplements on youtube.

For Devotionals, I use Come Follow Me.

For Reading, I have used the Barton Reading and Spelling program, but right now I'm experimenting with All About Reading and Logic of English.

For Writing, I use Handwriting Without Tears, IEW Fix It! Grammar, and IEW Student Intensive Writing.

For History, and Science, I use The Four Year Plan (which I LOVE.) This year we are using the "Family Jubilee" book which covers Biology, Modern World History, and New Testament.