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Love Bugs: Learning about the Natural World
Author: Sandra Foyt14 Feb
Trekking to our favorite corner of Brewer’s Beach (St. Thomas, USVI) we saw a man who seemed to be eyeing the poisonous fruits of the Portia tree.
On another beach, Diana and I would have jumped in to warn an unwary tourist. This particular beach; however, is on the University of the Virgin Island’s campus.
There was a good chance that this man wasn’t a tourist. So, we walked by very slowly and nonchalantly enquired if he knew what kind of tree it was.
It was immediately obvious that he knew a lot more about the tree than we ever would. It turned out that he was an UVI professor who was checking on his students’ comparative study of the love bug (pyrrhocorid) consumption of the Portia fruit.
I was thrilled. Not about the bug study, but here was an opportunity for my son to see a real, live field science project. I was sure that this boy - who has been planning a career in science, most recently as a herpetologist, since he could speak - would be enthralled.
Well, he was only mildly interested. Even more horrifying, when we mentioned that this was the kind of study he could do as a scientist, he answered, “I hate science!”
What went wrong? Here was a kid whose main reason for switching to homeschooling was to be able to do more hands-on science. How did a boy who was passionate about science end up saying that he hated science?
It was my fault.
I fell into the classic newbie homeschooler mistake of trying to cover the traditional school curriculum. To ensure that there were no gaps in our science coverage, I picked up a science workbook that covered 2nd Grade science.
This was just a supplement to all the other ways that Alex has been learning about the natural world: caring for a pet leopard gecko; catching and releasing frogs in our yard; observing birds for Project Feederwatch; dissecting owl puke; planetarium visits; science museum programs; natural history museum visits; ocean park visits; weather studies; rock mining; fossil camp; Virgin Islands’ reptile observation; snorkeling coral reef exploration; biome creation on Zoo Tycoon; and real zoo activities including National Zoo Camp, the Shutterbug on Safari adventure at the San Diego Zoo, and Bronx Zoo tours.
Just listing this, I’m wondering what was I thinking? Did I really imagine that Alex hadn’t learned plenty about the natural world, or at least as much as is taught in any 2nd Grade class?
So, despite all the ways that Alex was enjoying learning about the natural world, he now hated science because it was associated with that boring workbook. Ah, now I have another challenge, to reawaken Alex’s love of science.
What would you do?
I started out by getting rid of that workbook. Then, I asked Alex what he wants to do for science learning. His answer was that he wants more time for science projects at home.
Since we often skip this in our daily routine, I’ve shifted the columns in my plan book so that science is the first item on our schedule. Now, it’s rarely the first thing we do, but at least it isn’t the last.
Do you have any other suggestions for integrating science learning in our homeschool schedule? Please post a comment with your suggestions.
Online Science Resources:
USGS Science Resources for Primary Grades (K-6)
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4 Responses for "Love Bugs: Learning about the Natural World"
I think my biggest complaint about science written for early elementary is that it’s so stinking boring. We’ve run into it time and again…the stuff we do in play far outweighs the stuff you can find in books.
My older boys are in 4th grade this year, so science is centered around physics, etc. I bought a bunch of little books with very simplistic experiments in them. We’ve been going through them, and some were fun. One thing mentioned was solar energy so I found a kit online and ordered it. Except for the part where we are in the dead of February and have had to manufacture light enough to make things work, it’s fantastic! The kit is made by Thames and Kosmos.
When we studied fossils and earth science stuff, the Science in a Nutshell kits were great. Everything was very hands-on. There’s a workbook but it’s used to record results and learn vocab words, etc. They might have life science and bug stuff, but I’m not sure. Be sure to check the reading levels as some were written for 4-6th graders. We were able to do the experiments and talk about results, but some of the writing activities were too challenging so I just did it orally. Overall I was very pleased with them and plan to use them with the little boys.
Sometimes I wonder if it’s just me, thinking that science education is “stinking boring.”
The Science in a Nutshell kits sound promising. I’ll look for them. Thank you so much!
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Oh dear. Science is not boring, just the way it is presented.
My son used to love poetry, partially because I had been reading him poetry from year one. He always chose what he wanted to read. Then he had to do a unit where he had to write 5 poems in a short time frame. Now he says he hates poetry. I sneak some in once in awhile and he’s turning around, but it is hard to undo the frustration.
My son loves science, but my husband and I are both scientists, and we are the type of family who get more excited when the experiment doesn’t turn out as expected, because that gives us a chance to figure out what went wrong, and why and how and what happens if… Science is about using your senses to explore the world and asking a lot of questions.
I have been writing a blog at blog.growingwithscience.com, you might want to give it a peek, click on the category “fun science experiments.” Let me know if your son has any specific interests, I’m always looking for ideas for activities and/or experiments.
Good luck!
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