Comments on: Love Bugs: Learning about the Natural World http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/2008/02/14/love-bugs-learning-about-the-natural-world/ Learn, Grow, Explore, Change the World Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:46:12 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Roberta http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/2008/02/14/love-bugs-learning-about-the-natural-world/#comment-587 Roberta Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:58:36 +0000 http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/2008/02/14/love-bugs-learning-about-the-natural-world/#comment-587 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! 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!

]]> By: The Homeschool Blog Awards » Carnival of Homeschooling: One Room Schoolhouse Edition at the HSBA! http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/2008/02/14/love-bugs-learning-about-the-natural-world/#comment-239 The Homeschool Blog Awards » Carnival of Homeschooling: One Room Schoolhouse Edition at the HSBA! Tue, 19 Feb 2008 08:17:10 +0000 http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/2008/02/14/love-bugs-learning-about-the-natural-world/#comment-239 [...] Love Bugs: Learning about the Natural World ~ On Living By [...] [...] Love Bugs: Learning about the Natural World ~ On Living By [...]

]]> By: livingbylearning http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/2008/02/14/love-bugs-learning-about-the-natural-world/#comment-227 livingbylearning Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:10:44 +0000 http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/2008/02/14/love-bugs-learning-about-the-natural-world/#comment-227 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! 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!

]]> By: AmyL http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/2008/02/14/love-bugs-learning-about-the-natural-world/#comment-224 AmyL Fri, 15 Feb 2008 02:50:59 +0000 http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/2008/02/14/love-bugs-learning-about-the-natural-world/#comment-224 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. 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.

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