Random thoughts on a Sunday
That dog was a pretty darn good dog. 2. I'm planning our schedule for the spring. The girl-kids dance competitively, so I'm getting ready to say goodbye to my Saturdays. I homeschool my kids, and am looking for curriculum. Do kids really need science? Can I "Waterboy" this one? They want to do Chemistry. After the Biology failures, I want to do a clean science. One that doesn't leave me with weird stains or cannibalistic frogs... 3. I'm filling out the forms for the dog-girls to go to obedience. The form has a little comment section of what you really want your dog to learn. Can I just write, "everything!"? Also, The Man said he's going to take Opal, and go in his own vehicle if I insist on putting the corker bows in Amy's topknot. He's suggesting that he won't acknowledge Amy and me. So I'm thinking about making bows that coordinate with my clothes just to embarrass him.  4. Two things you don't know about me: The Man and I have been married for 20 years in June. I wear my hair in a multicolored fauxhawk. Have a sweet rest of the weekend. |
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| Random thought. Yes, kids need to learn science, at least biology (apparently an epic fail) and chemistry (but don't blow anything up). I took physics in high school and while I can still remember the formula for kinetic energy, I have never used one bit of physics since I graduated in 1975. And F=u little N but I have no idea what that formula is for. |
| I broke Physics when we did that too. Every experiment went wrong. I followed the "foolproof" directions and every single one went wrong. Biology was either a disaster or a great success. We did caterpillars, the company messed up the order, so instead of 3-5 we had 20. Butterflies are actually gross. We ordered frog spawn, hoping for 1 survivor, we had 12. You can't release them into the wild or they will contaminate the local frog populations, so I ended up with a giant aquarium and buying live crickets to feed the frogs. Plant 3 seeds each, hope for 1 to grow in each cup? We ended up with all the beans growing so fast that the kids couldn't answer the questions. At this point, I'm terrified to teach Chemistry. Perhaps we'll look at Earth Science. DH is a geologist, so I was avoiding this as a topic, but unless we decide to visit an active volcano, we should be ok.... |
| Science is SO important nowadays. And probably physics and chemistry moreso than the other disciplines. America is falling behind in math & science. Anything you can do help your kids excel in math & science, you should do. And steer them to a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) career. |
| In our area, some of the home schooler families team up for special classes. You might see if it that is available in your area. My husband puts the hair holders in the girl's hair. |
| Out of the three kids, only one doesn't seem to have a disposition to pursue Science. She's very language oriented and artistic. I did find a curriculum for the spring. We'll be studying Ornithology. Its the first time I've picked such a narrow topic to pursue, but we'll have a lot of opportunities to apply lessons this spring. I'm hoping for trips to the wildlife management area and finding a reason to consider my project canoe as educational. I love that your husband puts the hair holders in! |
| YES: kids NEED science. As a biologist, I strongly advocate for biology, which can be taught quite well without cannibalistic frogs, etc. Biology gives good foundations for understanding how our bodies work--useful for those doctor's visits and vet visits, and how the world works: plants, animals, fungi: and how they work together. Chemistry and physics are also necessary. If your kids are still elementary age, you're looking at much more basic science. And as others have mentioned, home school communities often share curricula and responsibility for teaching subjects. Your local school district should be able to point you to some good resources for science education. Please check out local science museums, your state parks and department of wildlife, etc. for help. For young kids, The National Wildlife Federation magazine: Ranger Rick is really good. In fact, the National Wildlife Federation is a great starting point for biology. Also, Discover Magazine is a wonderful resource for kids upper elementary age and up into adulthood. Can extend science curriculum and provide more information on specific topics. Please do not handicap your kids by avoiding science education! |
The kids are all still elementary by studies. Although the oldest will be middle school soon. I rotate Science on a 4 topic basis: Earth/Astronomy, Physics/Physical Science, Biology, Chemistry. Except that the Chemistry is being postponed until late summer/fall, and we'll study birds for the next couple of months (continuation of Biology, plus a lot of good memorization to tackle). I'm actually not avoiding the tasks, aside from in my own thoughts.  Although I'd laugh to be able to tell the kids that "the alligator's so mean cuz he has all them teeth and no toothbrush." or that "Thomas Edison's the devil!"I don't participate in Science co-ops. I was taken to task when we first started homeschooling for teaching my children "false and unproven theories" about the age of the planet.  I think I mentioned my husband is a geologist. I'm not going to tell people that they are wrong in what they believe about new earth/old earth, but I will not put up with people telling my children that I am wrong to teach them what I do. Especially about something that my husband makes his living by. With that said, I'm part of a home education group that is working with the local community college in order to gain access to the labs. While my kids have access to my husband's workspace, not everyone does. Parents also don't normally have access to the more volatile chemicals--professionals do. I'm just not in the mood to take on more mess right now. Just because we can blow things up, doesn't mean we have to right now. (Do you know how often I have to actually say that?)I'm (slowly) working on my next degree, which is natural resource and land management. Lucky kids, being surrounded by geology and biology. Or not. One of the neighbor kids came over once with a velvet pouch full of special crystals with magical powers. Then my spoilsports had to tell her that the special crystals weren't anything but boring old quartz crystals. (We had a talk about respecting others' beliefs.) Then there was the pyrite incident... I don't want you guys to think that I'm failing my kids in their education. The curriculum I choose is rigorous, and they perform consistently above their peers. By grade level, the oldest is one grade ahead, the second is 2 grades ahead and the youngest is currently 1/2 grade ahead. They get along well with people of all ages, are a little behind culturally (no Miley Cyrus twerking videos, no M rated video games, some PG13 movies), participate in sports and church. With all that said, I still want to tell them I invented electricity. |
| That sounds great! You could go right ahead and tell them you invented electricity sometime before you set them a research task on the history of the invention of the electric light bulb or some such, then segue into a lesson on checking references.  |
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