A Bit About Science and History

In my sketch of Fall I forgot to mention how we are approaching science and history.  Maybe that is because I don't place a huge emphasis on these two subjects from a curriculum standpoint, which some may disagree with.  The reason is, how many of us remember what we learned in science or history during our school years?  Maybe some had exceptional teachers, or a personal interest in it, so they remember a lot.  I don't remember anything except a few field trips to mines in Colorado that I thought were cool.  I remember liking the Civil War period, but I don't remember any details.  And I don't think it is the facts of science and history that will get you in to college or anywhere else in life, but I do think it is the type of thinking those two subjects can develop.

SCIENCE
If you read anything about education reform these days it is all about the push for science and technology, but it isn't the facts of science, it is the problem solving/critical thinking used in science that they are talking about.  I wasn't taught to think this way, and it doesn't come naturally for me, so I have a hard time with using science in this way, although I wish I could.  Geoff is very good at it, but his schedule doesn't allow for him to take a consistent role.  We try to help them think critically and problem solve in other areas of life, but we are looking for ways to increase this kind of thinking.  In the Spring I would like to pull together a group for a class based on the book The Private Eye.  We tried this a few years ago but it didn't really fly; I think a group and a little more prep on my part would have helped.  But this approach has kids look through little jewelry loupes at things in nature, and then think through what else looks like that.  And then they are taken through a serious of questions about the purpose of the design (i.e. Why veins through the leaf, and why veins through the body?)  So we'll see if I can really pull that off later this year.

I am also trying to organize a monthly field trip to The Leo science museum.  Their field trips are hands-on and multi-sensory, which I like.  And I will say that when we are exploring some place like caves, the Southwest or a rainforest I order topic related magazines from Cobblestone Publishing and we read them as we go.  We use these a lot for history too. 

I firmly believe that children learn more when it is something they want to learn.  One year I created an entire unit on clouds.  I tried to prepare all sorts of activities, and I collected a variety of materials to make it as interesting as possible.  The first day I was reading a book to Adele and Ceci when Adele stopped me mid-page and said, "Mom, I don't want to read this book.  I don't care about clouds."  I could have told her how important they were, and force fed them all of my activities, but instead I ended it there and we moved on.  I am positive that she wouldn't have learned a thing, and having to sit through my cloud lessons would have made learning a drudgery, which is NOT what I'm shooting for!  (Ceci concurred that she didn't care about clouds, either.)

On the flip side, Tennie told me she was interested in DNA one year so I bought her an awesome Usborne book with internet links about DNA and she devoured it on her own. When one of my children expresses an interest in something I try to find books, activities, museums, etc. around that interest.  That is when learning is really alive for them.

HISTORY
I love history, and feel that it gives us a sense of where we've been, and where we can go.  Many history books give a one-sided view of things, and I feel it is important to look at all angles and try to understand what was really going on; why people behaved the way they did.  This way we can see things as they really were (in retrospect) and hopefully look at things as they really are now.  

We don't use a curriculum for history, we read books.  We are studying American history again this year, from the Civil War to the present.  I get reading lists from Sonlight Curriculum - they choose great literature.  My kids remember characters and their story, and therefore remember time periods and struggles of that time.  We read these at night, although our schedule this fall isn't allowing for as much time to read as I would like.  When available I'm looking for the books in audio form so we can use our car time effectively.

We started off the year reviewing early American history with a fact scavenger hunt.  I got out all of the magazines and books related to that time period, and gave the girls a list of dates and people and facts to find.  This took them a few hours.  Geoff challenged them to put the magazines and books in chronological order, which they did.

And now we are off again on the Civil War, the Wild West and the building of the railroad, etc.  At times it is slow going, but we are going!