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(HOMESCHOOLING) DISCUSSION BOARD
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Science and History The Natural Way
Digest (part 1)======================================== MESSAGE: The science of history & the history of science AUTHOR: Cerelle DATE: Friday, 30 April 1999, at 7:55 p.m. I'm looking forward to this month's topic, too, and I hope to be able to demonstrate somehow -- through example and anecdote, I suppose -- that nothing brings learning to life like generous doses of science and history. I tend to teach everything as history, partly because history fascinates me, but also because a historical context makes any subject a little more real and meaningful. One of the first things I did, after Ariel left school in the middle of 2nd grade, was explore the history of numerals with her. For her, it was a refreshing break from timed subtraction tests (and yet it "counted" as arithmetic -- how convenient!) and wonderfully interesting. For me, it was a way to begin to charm her back into the world of numbers and their mysteries. No, I wouldn't say I ever completely won her over to the beauty of math, but through the years I could count on getting her attention if we were learning about Mayan numeration systems or the origins of the abacus. Just this week, I found an article about algorithms of the 1800s. Talk about fascinating! It showed the way students were taught to add, subtract, multiply and divide before 1900 -- VERY different procedures from those that are in common use now. Getting the historical perspective on this sort of thing (not just of math, itself, but of the pedagogy of math) reminds that while there may be only one right answer, there are many ways to REACH that right answer. The "right" algorithms are dictated by trends and fads in education as much as by their efficiency or reliability. This isn't anything most of us learned in school, but getting the historical perspective on anything really PUTS it in perspective -- for us and for our children. And why is this the "natural way"? Well, when everything is woven together so seamlessly -- as it is, in fact, in nature -- that it's hard for us to say exactly where the history stops and the math (or science or literature) begins, we have a more natural experience of learning about something as it developed in real life. It hasn't been cut to pieces, boiled down, pressed through a tiny screen, and then served up, all but unrecognizable, on a plate. Instead, our subject still has bits of life (history and science!) clinging to it. Cerelle ======================================== MESSAGE: Timeline AUTHOR: denise b DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 1:44 a.m. I love to teach history. When my oldest was in fifth grade I think I made him a scroll timeline. We used Ruth Beechick's Adam's Kin as the basis as the beginnig of creation and talked about how this may have been one way the beginning of time could have happened. Once we hit Ancient Egyptian history I divided the timeline in half horizontally and put Bible history on the top and "world" history on the bottom. I then divided the scroll into hundred year sections ( each section is about 18 inches) with BC dates and continued to 2001 AD, we ended by putting his birthdate. Then everytime we studied something that went with a date we plotted it in. We live in China so we plotted the dynasties along with "western" things. We are always amazed at when things happened in relation to other things. I made one for each of my kids. I now have given my fourth child her own scroll this year. And she will have her own to look at and work with for the next 12 years. This has been one of my favorite tools in my homeschool. See if this could work for you! Denise ======================================== MESSAGE: Thought it was my original idea :-) AUTHOR: Rose DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 6:20 a.m. Response To: Timeline Author: denise b Date: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 1:44 a.m. Gee, I thought I was the only one smart enough to think of something like this! HAHA! We are really stretching ourselves this next school year. DD strongly dislikes history texts and science texts so thought we'd try something new and go way out on a limb. We have not covered US history very thoroughly so are beginning in 1776. We made a timeline book out of the old BIG computer paper with each decade marked. As we study through the decades she will write important things that happened. I found the SONlight catalog really helpful in finding literature to go with each time period. We can get most books from the library. We are using a Childcraft Inventions book for our Science right now. She already has chosen to mark the Ferris Wheel and the Invention of the Band Aid on her time line. As time goes on, she'll have marked which president was in office at these times and other happenings from around that era. She seems excited about it, and I think literature based study (as she loves to read) will work well with this. Thanks for posting about your scroll. Gives me more confidence that this will work. > I love to teach history. When my > oldest was in fifth grade I think I > made him a scroll timeline. We used > Ruth Beechick's Adam's Kin as the basis > as the beginnig of creation and talked > about how this may have been one way > the beginning of time could have happened. > Once we hit Ancient Egyptian history > I divided the timeline in half horizontally > and put Bible history on the top and > "world" history on the bottom. > I then divided the scroll into hundred > year sections ( each section is about > 18 inches) with BC dates and continued > to 2001 AD, we ended by putting his > birthdate. Then everytime we studied > something that went with a date we plotted > it in. We live in China so we plotted > the dynasties along with "western" > things. We are always amazed at when > things happened in relation to other > things. I made one for each of my kids. > I now have given my fourth child her > own scroll this year. And she will have > her own to look at and work with for > the next 12 years. This has been one > of my favorite tools in my homeschool. > See if this could work for you! Denise > ======================================== MESSAGE: Gotta have a timeline!!!! AUTHOR: Giovanna DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 6:23 a.m. Response To: Timeline Author: denise b Date: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 1:44 a.m. A timeline is probably one of the best things we've ever had in our home. Konos has a wonderful timeline but it is BIG and I don't have a wall big enough for it. I did purchase a much smaller one but the dog ate it! (Chewed it off the wall). So now we have a BOOK OF THE CENTURIES! It's a big binder. Mine starts with Creation but you can start yours whenever you want because you can add pages. Whenever we learn about someone we find a figure (sometimes I just print out a picture off the internet) and put it on our binder. The Book of the Centuries also comes with these "half sheets" and we use those to write a little something about the person. Our newest addition to the timeline will be Noah Webster. Have you read his story? Really neat! Giovanna ======================================== MESSAGE: Confessions of a historical novel junkie. (rambling) AUTHOR: Katherine from Quebec DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 6:45 a.m. I learned history reading "trash" novels, and I always stood at the top of my class in highschool histroy. I didn't get there 'cause I studied the text or memorized the dates, it was because I remembered all the details (clothes, food, class distinctions, furnishings, transportation) and backdrops (England, France, Colonial India) of the stories I read. People and places were very real and personal--the differences between each "Epoch" were I easily internalized without having to write out comparisons or time lines. I am a fan of time lines now, but my point is that HISTORY is so much more real from stories than it is from text books. I think children and adults can learn and be enriched from historical novels (yes, details can be confirmed from primary sources, encyclopediea, scholarly tomes). Novels teach us to care about the people and the past; to know where we came from; and to draw conclusions about where we are going. Knowledge of history isn't encouraged anymore (in Canadian schools anyway), it has been dropped in favour of courses which teach the student to "problem solve" and play computer games. But how can we solve problems if we don't have knowledge of where we are and where we have been as a culture and country? ...My point? Oh yes, encourage children to read lots of historical novels--and don't just restrict them to "high-brow" novels, even Barbara Cartland and Victoria Holt have some educational value. ======================================== MESSAGE: Confessions of a biography lover AUTHOR: Cerelle DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 7:24 a.m. Response To: Confessions of a historical novel junkie. (rambling) Author: Katherine from Quebec Date: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 6:45 a.m. I'm right there with you, Katherine. Those historical novels are sometimes the very thing that spark an interest in a particular place or time, and I like to follow them up with travel guides, social histories, and journalism pieces (National Geographic articles, for example). And for us, biographies are often our entry into scientific fields. I remember reading Robert Fulton's bio when I was a kid and suddenly being fascinated by steamboats and inventors. James Gleick's biography of Richard Feynman, Genius, was a wonderful introduction to modern physics. I remember Ariel's being inspired by a book about Jane Goodall's childhood and young womanhood. When Laurel was a little bitty thing, she loved the story of Leeuwenhoek and his "wee beasties." And whose life could be more interesting than Louis Pasteur's? I don't think this is so different from getting drawn into a certain historical period by fictional characters. In either case, I think some of us just naturally care about people and personalities first, and then we begin to care about the world they moved in -- how it influenced them and how they, in turn, influenced it. Cerelle ======================================== MESSAGE: Just what I needed!! AUTHOR: SuzieL DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 8:17 a.m. I have all my stuff together already for next year except for science and history. Now I will get to gleen off all you with experience. I keep wavering between History through Literature and Beautiful Feet, then I look somewhere else and throw both out the window. Then look somewhere else and dicide maybe they are good like I thought. As for science I have no idea what to do. Hubby has agreed to teach this, but wants me to tell him what concepts I want him to teach! AARRGGHH! Great timing for me. I may not post much, but be assured I will be gleening like crazy. So post lots of great ideas!! ======================================== MESSAGE: Long thoughts on 'seamless'. . . AUTHOR: dmx DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 9:28 a.m. Response To: The science of history & the history of science Author: Cerelle Date: Friday, 30 April 1999, at 7:55 p.m. Your post reminds me of two television programs and a New Yorker article that we have recently viewed/read. They have all been about how people really use their 'education' in the work they do. The first item was a series of programs on PBS called LIFE by The Numbers. It was 6 programs focusing on how math is used in different careers. The series was wonderfully done & fascinating. It showed how math was used by professionals in sports, medecine, telephone companies, virtual reality, etc. My son was fascinated by the way math was used to determine patterns in nature and patterns in body movement in order to create better virtual reality machines. (Not unlike what George Lucas does in creating his Star Wars creatures.) The second was a Ted Koppel Nightline program that profiled a company in California, called IDEO. It's a company that designs products. Nightline gave them the task of designing a new grocery shopping cart and then followed them through the process of brainstorm, design, mock-ups and finished product. The company is run by a couple people, but the work ethic is team-oriented. NOONE worries about stepping on the boss' toes. And they think the creative flow of ideas is integral to their tremendous success. One interesting aspect of this team (of about 7-10 people, if I remember right) is that it includes engineers, yes, but also a psychologist, a pre-med student (who keeps putting off med school to continue working at this company :)), an architect, to name the ones I remember. This show had to be seen to be appreciated. The impact on me - and my 13 yo son - has been enormous. It modeled a dynamic way of working that is inspiring - and also showed that you have to be at the top of your game to work in such a place. And that's it's worth the work to get there! The third is an article in a recent New Yorker about two physicists who are trying to work out a computer program that will predict the ups and downs of the Stock Market. Sounded boring to me, but I plunged in. Well, these guys are astounding. They are basically working in chaos theory (basically, a belief that finds order even in chaos). And the inspiration is in them, as people. It's the puzzle that drives them. Yes, they hope and want the riches. But, it's the puzzle. They have had to learn the ins and outs of financial markets, which sounds like it would bore them to tears if they didn't NEED to know it for their puzzle. What do we and our children find? That in order to fly that plane, we have to learn some trigonometry. In order to buy that toy, we've got to understand money. In order to correct the problem in our model rocket, we've got to understand some science. These 3 items have done more for math and science in our house than many weeks of math practice or science 'lessons'. My son would look forward eagerly to much of this 'work'. To get there, he might need to do some things that, in themselves, aren't that interesting. But they are tools to open such doors. A great motivation for 'learning'. ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Confessions of a historical novel junkie. (rambling) AUTHOR: dmx DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 9:42 a.m. Response To: Confessions of a historical novel junkie. (rambling) Author: Katherine from Quebec Date: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 6:45 a.m. Absolutely. My son knows more about Ancient Rome and France than I ever will simply from reading Asterix books. He's learned alot of geography and about other cultures from his Tin-Tin books. ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Long thoughts on 'seamless'. . . AUTHOR: Cerelle DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 9:51 a.m. Response To: Long thoughts on 'seamless'. . . Author: dmx Date: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 9:28 a.m. Great examples! I missed out on both of those TV programs, but I should be able to find the New Yorker article at the library. I have a real block about economy and finance, but physics is interesting to me these days. Maybe these guys will inspire me to open up a little to Wall Street, etc. :-) Thank you so much for mentioning these. Don't know about you, but here in our house, we get so excited when we find unexpected connections among things we're currently interested in . . . and it seems those connections nearly always pop up. I always experience that like a confirmation that we're on the right path, if you know what I mean -- that these things we're enjoying learning about are, in fact, interrelated on the deepest levels and part of a unified whole. This is a very different feeling from the one I usually had in grade school, where all the subjects were kept neatly separated, both by the clock and by the little tabs in my binder. Never the twain shall meet, you know. Then in junior high and high school, they were separated by room and teacher, too. In college, they were separated by building! Somehow, the farther along I got in school, the less relationship any of it had to any of the rest of it. What a delight to rediscover, in my adult life, that it's all of a piece after all! Cerelle ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Just what I needed!! AUTHOR: Giovanna DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 9:55 a.m. Response To: Just what I needed!! Author: SuzieL Date: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 8:17 a.m. > I keep wavering between History > through Literature and Beautiful Feet, > then I look somewhere else and throw > both out the window. Then look somewhere > else and dicide maybe they are good > like I thought. > As for science I have no idea what > to do. Hubby has agreed to teach this, > but wants me to tell him what concepts > I want him to teach! AARRGGHH! You didn't say what age your children were. That's a big deciding factor. Let me tell you how we do history around here. My son (turned 7 in late March) became very interesting in history by studing the planets, if you can believe that! It's a long story but suffice it to say that one interest led to another and another and another and we went from planets to reading about all United States presidents--per his request at age 5. There are many ways to study history. You can learn about dates and events and that's Ok but to me history is much, much more exciting that just some dates. History is about the story of PEOPLE! You can approach history chronologically or skip here and there. We skip here and there a lot and that's why I have a timeline (read my previous post titled "GOTTA HAVE A TIMELINE"). The timeline puts it all in perspective. There are many wonderful programs out there. Beautiful Feet sells some excellent books and I love the way they use real books to weave the story of how events and people come together. Greenleaf Press is also excellent at that. Just remember though... if you have a well stocked local library you may not need to buy anything at all. I have become quite good at using CATALOGS as curriculum. YEP! I can browse through most history curriculum catalogs and guess how they use their books. I go to my library, check out the book, read it, and we learn! And the best part? I didn't spend one dime! Reading good books will open interests. We read Hillyer's A CHILD'S HISTORY OF THE WORLD and that's all it took to get my son hopelessly interested in ancient Egypt. So what am I saying? Basically what I am saying is that the best resource you can have for history is YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY. You can also find books at your library on crafts that pertain to a certain history period to supplement your reading. HAVE FUN! Talk about what you are reading, compare and contrast that time period to today, check out opportunities in your area that will enforce what you are reading (re-enactments, museums, movies. HISTORY IS A BLAST! Giovanna ======================================== MESSAGE: history and science are fun! AUTHOR: Christine G. DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 12:38 p.m. I was just saying to my husband this morning that I realized we'd been doing an "unplanned" unit study on the 19th C. Because of our interests it just sort of happened. We've been learning about the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, the childhood and inventions of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and some wonderful 19th C. artists (Monet, VanGogh, Renoir, and more). We're having so much fun and learning a lot! We did something similar with Egyptian history, mummification, etc. earlier in the year when my son became interested in mummies. My sons are 8 and 6 (and 11 months!) so we don't feel any pressure to DO history and science. But I can't imagine a better way to learn! Like Giovanna, we get most of our materials from the library. We also love to visit museums (art, science and history). Christine ======================================== MESSAGE: Civil War Re-enactments AUTHOR: Carol Sue DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 1:14 p.m. We just came home from a Civil War Re-enactment today. The kids really enjoyed themselves. I know that they are going to be wanting to read about the Civil War now. We are ready for this because we had just studied the Underground Railroad. My son wants to know something about the uniforms so we will be off to the library for books about uniforms. I rarely worry about history because we love historical fiction and we just naturally learn from it and if they have a question we look it up. ======================================== MESSAGE: Historical Fictions AUTHOR: Karla B. DATE: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 4:47 p.m. This is our first year hsing. We've used a literature based curriculum for history/geography and I'm very happy with the results. What an interesting way to learn about history. Reading facts out of a text book is so dry. In reading the fictional histories you really get the depth that can't be gotten in a text book. We've read 26 historical fictions this "year" and when I look at the list I am impressed. I'm sure we wouldn't have gotten the quality of reading material had we used a textbook. I personally feel like I've learned more about pre-american discovery through the war of 1812 this year than I learned in 12 years of regular "school" where we studied pilgrims every year and skimmed the rest. ======================================== MESSAGE: american history AUTHOR: Susan Eardley DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 9:00 a.m. Want to recomend a book I am enjoying now, The Spirit of America by William J. Bennett. He is the author of the Book of Virtues. If you want to get in touch with our founding fathers and your own sense of patriotism this is wonderful. And the very best thing is to leave it on the table for the older kids to get hooked. ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Timeline AUTHOR: Catherine DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 9:07 a.m. Response To: Timeline Author: denise b Date: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 1:44 a.m. Hi Denise - Could you tell us more about how you made this "scroll". We've tried the wall method - they fall off. We've tried the book method (out of sight out of mind).... Maybe this is just what we need! Thanks Catherine - also in China (ShaoXing - Mainland) ======================================== MESSAGE: Natural learning - Science AUTHOR: Catherine DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 9:18 a.m. We've had a terrible time with Science this year! But I learned something these last two weeks I have to share. My daughter had a chance to be in a TV movie so we were on location getting bored most of these last two weeks. My 9 yo son was digging through dirt for entertainment. What started as a boring time turned into some of the best science lessons we've had all year! He saw "white baby bugs" so we talked about pupae and larvae stages. He counted 67 centipedes and was worried they'd take over the nearby village - so we talked about prey/predator and natural order. He had a dozen questions/comments - In the past, I'd respond with "that's nice dear" or a brief answer, but this time (feeling guilty about not doing formal school at home) I slipped in mini lectures as answers to all his questions. It was great! I taught more science in those two weeks than this whole year! I am going to start writing down all my children's questions so I can research them. Seems they are natural scientists (and I find myself sadly lacking for answers). Just an idea! ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Natural learning - Science AUTHOR: Laura in SC DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 10:48 a.m. Response To: Natural learning - Science Author: Catherine Date: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 9:18 a.m. > I am going to start writing down > all my children's questions so I can > research them. Seems they are natural > scientists (and I find myself sadly > lacking for answers). Just an idea! > I agree that children are naturally scientists. I think that digging out answers to their questions, observing nature, and exploring areas of interest is the best way to "do science" for the first several years of schooling. Around the middle grades you can start taking a planned, systematic, deeper look into the sciences. Up until then, just have fun exploring and learning together! Just my .02, Laura ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Historical Fictions AUTHOR: Julie DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 12:59 p.m. Response To: Historical Fictions Author: Karla B. Date: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 4:47 p.m. Would you mind being more specific about what you read? I'd love to know, especially since you felt it was so successful. You can email me directly if you'd rather. TIA > This is our first year hsing. We've > used a literature based curriculum for > history/geography and I'm very happy > with the results. > What an interesting way to learn > about history. Reading facts out of > a text book is so dry. In reading the > fictional histories you really get the > depth that can't be gotten in a text > book. > We've read 26 historical fictions > this "year" and when I look > at the list I am impressed. I'm sure > we wouldn't have gotten the quality > of reading material had we used a textbook. > > I personally feel like I've learned > more about pre-american discovery through > the war of 1812 this year than I learned > in 12 years of regular "school" > where we studied pilgrims every year > and skimmed the rest. > ======================================== MESSAGE: I bought this for my dad one year and decided to keep it!! It is GREAT!!nt AUTHOR: Mollysue DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 2:21 p.m. Response To: american history Author: Susan Eardley Date: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 9:00 a.m. > Want to recomend a book I am enjoying > now, The Spirit of America by William > J. Bennett. He is the author of the > Book of Virtues. If you want to get > in touch with our founding fathers and > your own sense of patriotism this is > wonderful. And the very best thing is > to leave it on the table for the older > kids to get hooked. ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Historical Fictions AUTHOR: Karla B. DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 2:59 p.m. Response To: Re: Historical Fictions Author: Julie Date: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 12:59 p.m. Julie, I used Sonlight, but there are several companies that sell literature based curriculums. My two boys are 7 and 9 and the reading selection ranged from Walk the World's Rim and Secret of the Andes to The Sign of the Beaver and Johnny Tremain. I've recommended people getting the Sonlight catalog if for nothing else than a reading guide. > Would you mind being more specific > about what you read? I'd love to know, > especially since you felt it was so > successful. You can email me directly > if you'd rather. TIA ======================================== MESSAGE: My son is a natural at science but what about history??... AUTHOR: Mollysue DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 3:24 p.m. We love doing science, insects, planets, and natural disasters are interesting to him but learning about people and events are something he doesn't care for yet. He is six so I think we have some time for this but what age is good to start? I was thinking about 9-10yrs for him but my dd seems to be more people oriented so she'll probably be 6-7 when she starts(they are 30mo apart). Is this reasonable, I can't even remember history in public school except my 7th grade class when the teacher threw a book at the girl behind me and HIT her with it!! My dad was a history teacher and has a master's degree in it and it was one of my favorite subjects. Should I just hold off until my son shows an interest? He *did* finally ask his first questions about *people* yesterday when we were reading his Pathway Reader, he picked my brain about how the Amish live. There is hope for him yet.*G* ======================================== MESSAGE: Nature Study... AUTHOR: Jody C. DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 5:04 p.m. Hi Everyone! This looks like another great topic! Our favorite way to study science is by study of nature all around us. We weekly take nature walks and find things, animals, plants, rocks etc that look interesting enough to study, identify, and even record in nature journals which we keep. Oftentimes when we start a very simple study, it balloons into something larger than we anticipated. Like bird watching. Now we have several bird id. books, books about nests, eggs, feathers and all. We also feed birds and whenever we are outdoors or riding horseback, we see something "new" to identify. Now that spring has arrived here in the Montana prairie, we are seeing all kinds of wildflowers, plants and birds. Every day one of the kids has something to show or "look up in the big books". We've learned so much!! Jody ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Just what I needed!! AUTHOR: Jody C. DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 5:16 p.m. Response To: Just what I needed!! Author: SuzieL Date: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 8:17 a.m. Hi Suzi! Just some ideas for science...even if they're young...Nature study as I posted above! and one more thing...TOP's science. Our kids have really enjoyed the experiments (hands-on) learning of science. You can visit them at TOP's Science and even copy the experiment samples there online. Try one out before school ends or for summertime. I also use catalogs for curriculum...just take 'em to the library and load your basket up. Some folks laugh at our basket of books, but the librarians love it! > Jody ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: My son is a natural at science but what about history??... AUTHOR: Giovanna DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 7:58 p.m. Response To: My son is a natural at science but what about history??... Author: Mollysue Date: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 3:24 p.m. > He *did* finally > ask his first questions about *people* > yesterday when we were reading his Pathway > Reader, he picked my brain about how > the Amish live. There is hope for him > yet.*G* OH THERE IS HOPE FOR SURE! :-D My son became interested in history as we were studying planets, believe it or not! He told me he wanted to learn about the "the first people who went into space" and that's how it started. The name "John F. Kennedy" kept popping up until he asked me WHO IS THAT? I told him he was the president of the United States while those first rockets were being launched and then he wanted to know who all the presidents were. Thus, the start of history. Maybe something like this will happen at your house. Keep reading to him and exploring his interests. You are definitely on the right track. There is no harm in pointing out key people pertaining to what you are learning about. See if it sparks his curiosity. Remember, history is a STORY! It isn't about boring dates and facts. Who doesn't love a good story? And you know what? Natural Disasters can qualify for history!!!! When you are reading about a certain hurricane you can talk about when it hit and where. If it happened earlier this century you can talk about how people were affected and why. They didn't have the technology we have now for early dectection. How did that make things worse? History is everywhere! Giovanna ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: My son is a natural at science but what about history??... AUTHOR: Deborah H. DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 9:50 p.m. Response To: Re: My son is a natural at science but what about history??... Author: Giovanna Date: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 7:58 p.m. My son, too, is a natural at science, and far less interested in history (he's just like his mom!). I usually start our school year with a history unit study, some more succesful than others. We usually check out many books on a history topic, and focus on 2 or 3 that pique his interest the most. I found out that he likes the "Famous Men of ..." published by Greenleaf, so I'm going to buy more of them for our home library. This year he's been very interested in American politics, so I think it's time to buy Joyce Hakim's "The Story of US." My son is 9yo. I also found when he was 6, that there were not a lot of good historical biographies or fiction for that age. I wouldn't worry about it until he's older, and then you'll have plenty to choose from! Just our .02! Deborah H. > > OH THERE IS HOPE FOR SURE! :-D > > My son became interested in history > as we were studying planets, believe > it or not! He told me he wanted to learn > about the "the first people who > went into space" and that's how > it started. The name "John F. Kennedy" > kept popping up until he asked me WHO > IS THAT? I told him he was the president > of the United States while those first > rockets were being launched and then > he wanted to know who all the presidents > were. Thus, the start of history. > Maybe something like this will > happen at your house. > Keep reading to him and exploring > his interests. You are definitely on > the right track. There is no harm in > pointing out key people pertaining to > what you are learning about. See if > it sparks his curiosity. Remember, history > is a STORY! It isn't about boring dates > and facts. Who doesn't love a good story? > > And you know what? Natural Disasters > can qualify for history!!!! When you > are reading about a certain hurricane > you can talk about when it hit and where. > If it happened earlier this century > you can talk about how people were affected > and why. They didn't have the technology > we have now for early dectection. How > did that make things worse? > History is everywhere! > Giovanna ======================================== MESSAGE: a short funny AUTHOR: Deborah H. DATE: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 10:03 p.m. Response To: Re: Just what I needed!! Author: Jody C. Date: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 5:16 p.m. > I also use catalogs for curriculum...just > take 'em to the library and load your > basket up. Some folks laugh at our basket > of books, but the librarians love it! > We ride the bus to the downtown Dallas library (best selection) and take our luggage carrier and a milk crate. I try to limit our selection to what will fit in the milk crate! One time a guard asked if I worked at the library. The kids got a big kick out of that one! Aaah, the joys of home-schooling! Deborah H. ======================================== MESSAGE: History... AUTHOR: Mary DATE: Monday, 3 May 1999, at 5:46 a.m. We love the "Uncle Eric Books" by Richard J Maybury. He uses letter writng to tell a story playing the part of an economist writing a series of letters to his niece or nephew. He gives interesteing and understandable explanatons of topics that are usually thought to be to difficult for anyone but the experts. He warns- "beware of anyone who tells you a topic is abouve you or better left to experts. Many poeple are twice as smart as they thing they are but they have been intimidated into believing some topics are above them. You can understand almost anything if it is explained well." Last Year we read his book - "Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?", about economics. My boys loved it. Even the then 8 year old. I just recently purchased "Whatever Happened to Justice" and we are looking forward to it. Mary ======================================== MESSAGE: Sounds interesting, where can I find them? (nt) AUTHOR: Karla B. DATE: Monday, 3 May 1999, at 7:48 a.m. Response To: History... Author: Mary Date: Monday, 3 May 1999, at 5:46 a.m. nt > We love the "Uncle Eric Books" > by Richard J Maybury. > He uses letter writng to tell a > story playing the part of an economist > writing a series of letters to his niece > or nephew. He gives interesteing and > understandable explanatons of topics > that are usually thought to be to difficult > for anyone but the experts. > He warns- "beware of anyone > who tells you a topic is abouve you > or better left to experts. Many poeple > are twice as smart as they thing they > are but they have been intimidated into > believing some topics are above them. > You can understand almost anything if > it is explained well." > Last Year we read his book - "Whatever > Happened to Penny Candy?", about > economics. My boys loved it. Even the > then 8 year old. I just recently purchased > "Whatever Happened to Justice" > and we are looking forward to it. > Mary > ======================================== MESSAGE: Don't forget audio books . . . AUTHOR: dmx DATE: Monday, 3 May 1999, at 10:45 a.m. Response To: My son is a natural at science but what about history??... Author: Mollysue Date: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 3:24 p.m. We've found that audio books can be a real asset for both history and science (often both at the same time!). Out doing that nagging weeding with the kids? A book on tape that we both like will make the time fly and the discussions take off. I found my son really enjoys listening to the 'journals' of historical figures. He listened to excerpts of the Lewis and Clark journals several times. 'The Beak of the Finch' is a fascinating (and very long!) book on tape which focuses on scientific studies being conducted on the Galapagos. But it travels back to Darwin's time frequently and also to other locations where other studies are being conducted. A recently-qualified doctor practicing in Appalachia has been interesting. Robinson Crusoe has made an impression. The Journals of the Oregon Pioneers, one on the Constitutional Convention, and Barbara Tuchman's Practicing History are next on our list. They are also great for longer car trips. And, if you don't mention it, the kids will never know it's 'learning'. ======================================== MESSAGE: Everyday American History... AUTHOR: Jamma DATE: Monday, 3 May 1999, at 11:04 a.m. I really enjoyed reading this book during a college history course. It was written by Irwin Unger, Ph.D It covers the Ccivil War through Reconstruction. It is not an in-depth textbook, rather short chapters, "Who's Who" charts, "Little Known Heros and Unsung Players." In our history course we used it as a jumping off place to dive into deeper discussions. I bought it through Doubleday Book of the Month Club but perhaps it's available at your library.. ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: My son is a natural at science but what about history??... AUTHOR: Laura in CT DATE: Monday, 3 May 1999, at 12:32 p.m. Response To: My son is a natural at science but what about history??... Author: Mollysue Date: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 3:24 p.m. At six, I wouldn't worry about it one bit. Young kids just need to be exposed to the fact that people lived a long time ago, that people didn't always live the way they do now, that things were different way back then. Since he enjoys science, I'd mention now and then how scientists didn't always understand what they understand now--talk about how people figured things out about the stars and the planets and the sun, for example, when you're out looking at the stars or whatever. Talk about how people figured out how to build machines, how significant the screw or the lever were, while you're talking about building or machines now. One thing leads to another...you don't have to do a big History Lesson for history to begin to come alive. In schools, frequently the approach in the early grades is to do "social studies" by focusing on what's supposedly most important to the child: families, then communities, then moving progressively outward to US and finally world history. It seems pretty lame to me--but it might be reassuring to realize that in school, your son might well be learning about My Community Helpers in first grade rather than any serious history. Surely your son is aware of police officers and fire fighters, so he's doing fine by school standards! ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Algorithms of the 1800s AUTHOR: Cerelle DATE: Monday, 3 May 1999, at 1:09 p.m. Hi, Laura! What are the chances I'd be able to find that article again, when the magazine was buried under my bed? LOL! It's a miracle. The article is "Summing It All Up: Pre-1900 Algorithms," by Eleanor S. Pearson. It appeared in ARITHMETIC TEACHER, Vol. 33, No. 7, March 1986. I believe you should be able to get a free photocopy of it by filling out an Interlibrary Loan form at your public library. I love ARITHMETIC TEACHER. (Maybe that's why I have old copies lying around beneath my bed.) I recommend this magazine to everyone who has ever wished they could go back to early childhood and learn all the operations and concepts over again. The various teachers who send articles to ARITHMETIC TEACHER are folks who think hard about what they're doing and really understand what they're teaching. (It impresses the heck out of me, to tell you the truth. :)) I've learned a lot from them. > I have been vaguely aware that folks > were taught arithmetic differently at > different times, but in school one gets > so caught in the "right way," > it's sometimes hard to remember how > many ways there are to skin a cat--and > understanding how the numbers work is > the best route to skinning that cat. Absolutely! It's so mind-expanding to realize that once you really understand numbers and their "wacky antics" (as my daughter always expressed it), you can come up with your own methods for arriving at correct answers. You don't have to depend on following someone else's series of steps to the letter (or number, as the case may be). Cerelle ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Civil War Re-enactments AUTHOR: Jamie DATE: Monday, 3 May 1999, at 7:34 p.m. > Was very surprised to find Civil > War reenactments going on all over the > U.S. including here in the Northwest. > If you're looking for that sort of thing > try an Infoseek search > +reenactment +Civil War > I also discovered by searching > "reenactment" there are all > sorts of goodies out there. Try the > following link for a listing of some > of the more prominent. Once on the homepage, > go to Upcoming Events or to the form > at the bottom of the page. The section > entitled Other Places leads you to interesting > links such as films, costume making, > historical societies and links to historical > pages. > We are Civil War reenactors and it has helped us tremendously. My son loves to read and research people and events. He especially loves Abraham Lincoln. This year we are going to Gettysburg for Rememberance Day. That is the day they commemorate the Gettysburg Address. So that is on our memorization list for next Fall:0) ======================================== MESSAGE: Bluestocking Press has it and... AUTHOR: Jody C. DATE: Monday, 3 May 1999, at 8:19 p.m. ...lots of other great American History books and resources. It's Richard Maybury's own catalog. This is one of those catalogs that you can plan an American History Curriculum from by taking it to the library! Everything from historical fiction, non-fiction, period music, crafts, copies of original documents and more...for all ages! Call at: 1 800 959 8586 for a catalog. Jody ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Timeline AUTHOR: denise b DATE: Monday, 3 May 1999, at 10:33 p.m. Response To: Timeline Author: denise b Date: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 1:44 a.m. Hi Catherine First of all where isShaoXing? My geography is still bad here. WE are in Beijng. We have been here almost 2years. I took white butcher paper that was on a roll for my paper. Unfortunately I brought it with me from the states. It is about 12" in height. I started with the Konos timeline when my oldest was in first grade, but you are right it kept falling down etc. I really like the fact that each child will have one to take with him/her. We keep it rolled up like a scroll around the time period we are studying. But if we need to go else where it is easy to roll to the date we need. Does this help? Ask more questions if need be. Denise ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Timeline AUTHOR: Janet in NM DATE: Tuesday, 4 May 1999, at 5:51 a.m. Response To: Re: Timeline Author: denise b Date: Monday, 3 May 1999, at 10:33 p.m. Our homemade timelines sound very like yours, Denise. However, I made ours on the computer. Each section is 11 inch length of standard printer paper, and half the width. I just created lines with the computer that run the length of the middle of the sections. I printed in the years by hand, 500 years to a section, starting with 4000 BC and ending with 2,500 AD. Like Denise, we place political events on one side of the line, and Biblical on the other. I used two different colors of paper for BC and AD (green and blue) and glued the sections together with an overlap. I then accordion-folded it so it lies flat both in use and when stored (you know, one section one way, the next section the other, like a fan). I shopped intensively for a ready made timeline, but couldn't find one that suited us. I'm glad; the homemade one works so well. Don't forget to put in family dates like birthdays. Janet ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: My son is a natural at science but what about history??... AUTHOR: Amy DATE: Tuesday, 4 May 1999, at 6:54 a.m. Response To: My son is a natural at science but what about history??... Author: Mollysue Date: Sunday, 2 May 1999, at 3:24 p.m. Mollysue, When I started history with my son we started with of course the pilgrims and simple American history. He was bored to death with it. People would tell me to do the field trip thing and see history around our state. Being a one car family that would not have been easy. We live, however, right across the street from a cemetary and often go bike riding through there. When my son started asking questions about who was buried there and the dates they were buried, it occured to me that we could learn history by learning about the history of the town in which we live. Every period in history can be covered, even the time before the town was built, with a little research. Most towns have a local Historical Society with loads of information. Libraries usually have newspapers on file that can go back to a twons origination. And some cities, like ours, have books that are written about it's history. Local history is always effected by national and world history so it ties in together. And the best part we've enjoyed is going around twon and seeing where the history took place and how it's changed since. We even got to learn about the family that originally lived in our home sixty years ago! Learning about history this way has been great fun for our whole family. Town history usually goes by the wayside with conventional curriculum and this way kids learn more even. > We love doing science, insects, > planets, and natural disasters are interesting > to him but learning about people and > events are something he doesn't care > for yet. He is six so I think we have > some time for this but what age is good > to start? I was thinking about 9-10yrs > for him but my dd seems to be more people > oriented so she'll probably be 6-7 when > she starts(they are 30mo apart). Is > this reasonable, I can't even remember > history in public school except my 7th > grade class when the teacher threw a > book at the girl behind me and HIT her > with it!! My dad was a history teacher > and has a master's degree in it and > it was one of my favorite subjects. > Should I just hold off until my son > shows an interest? He *did* finally > ask his first questions about *people* > yesterday when we were reading his Pathway > Reader, he picked my brain about how > the Amish live. There is hope for him > yet.*G* ======================================== MESSAGE: Hot Rod Magazine and Trig? AUTHOR: Jody C. DATE: Tuesday, 4 May 1999, at 3:44 p.m. Hi everyone! Just had a neat conversation with my 15yos who reads Hot Rod Magazine, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics and "anything motor". I used to get a little disgusted with him, but yesterday he brought me an article on what one needs to know in order to build engines....well, the guy at HRM said, "Every higher math and science you can get!" This has spurred my son onto wanting those higher maths and sciences now!!! Thank God for Hot Rod Magazine!!! All my kids love magazines and have learned much science through them...National Geographic World, National Geog., Horse Illustrated, Birder's World. A nice gift as well as educational!! Jody ======================================== MESSAGE: History lesson... AUTHOR: Sis DATE: Tuesday, 4 May 1999, at 7:43 p.m. I tho't I'd post this here since it's the "topic" of the month. : ) (from a list I'm on) Hi All! Jeanne Biggerstaff sent this in to the ORSig list. I though it was really interesting. As she said, "Don't know how much of this is true, but it's interesting (and plausible). DonnaKH *********** > Life in the 1500's > > Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and were still smelling pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the b.o. > > Baths equaled a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water". > > Houses had thatched roofs. Thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the pets... dogs, cats and other small animals, mice, rats, bugs lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, "It's raining cats and dogs." > > There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could really mess up your nice clean bed. So, they found if they made beds with big posts and hung a sheet over the top, it addressed that problem. Hence those beautiful big 4 poster beds with canopies. > > The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt, hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors which would get slippery in the winter when wet. So they spread thresh on the floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on the kept adding more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed at the entry way, hence a "thresh hold". > > They cooked in the kitchen in a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They mostly ate vegetables and didn't get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had been in there for a month. Hence the rhyme: peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old." > > Sometimes they could obtain pork and would feel really special when that happened. When company came over, they would bring out some bacon and hang it to show it off. It was a sign of wealth and that a man "could really bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and "chew the fat." > > Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with a high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food. This happened most often with tomatoes, so they stopped eating tomatoes... for 400 years. > > Most people didn't have pewter plates, but had trenchers - a piece of wood with the middle scooped out like a bowl. Trenchers were never washed and a lot of times worms got into the wood. After eating off wormy trenchers, they would get "trench mouth." > > Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the "upper crust". > > Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a "wake". > > England is old and small, and they started running out of places to bury people. So, they would dig up coffins and would take their bones to a house and reuse the grave. In reopening these coffins, one out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a string on their wrist and lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night to listen for the bell. Hence on the "graveyard shift" they would know that someone was "saved by the bell" or he was a "dead ringer" > ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: History lesson... AUTHOR: Barb DATE: Tuesday, 4 May 1999, at 9:32 p.m. Response To: History lesson... Author: Sis Date: Tuesday, 4 May 1999, at 7:43 p.m. > I tho't I'd post this here since > it's the "topic" of the month. > : ) (from a list I'm on) > Hi All! > Jeanne Biggerstaff sent this in > to the ORSig list. I though it was really > interesting. As she said, "Don't > know how much of this is true, but it's > interesting (and plausible). DonnaKH That was very interesting Sis. My Mom was a hairdresser in Europe "1940s". Farm ladies came in twice a year, to have their hair washed and re-braided! At times, lice were a serious problem. Mom still shudders, she was institutionalized a few times due to the hazards of her occupation. The process of getting rid of the horrid bugs was harsh chemical and at times painful. No exactly 1500s history but~~~interesting?? > *********** ======================================== MESSAGE: Update on this publication AUTHOR: Cerelle DATE: Tuesday, 4 May 1999, at 10:49 p.m. Laura, As usual, I'm a bit out of date. The article I referred to, above, WAS in a magazine called ARITHMETIC TEACHER, but that magazine is now being published under a new title: TEACHING CHILDREN MATHEMATICS. (Who knew?) In either case, the publisher is the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM's Website). There's more info there about the various periodicals they put out, etc. It's a good organization. (I'm also putting a clickable link below.) ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Civil War Re-enactments AUTHOR: Lisa Torres DATE: Wednesday, 5 May 1999, at 2:52 a.m. And around here they have French & Indian War reenactments, too, complete with French, British, and Indians! The reenactors are happy to talk to folks who ask questions, and they are all ages (including kids). I've also seen reenactments of old-time harvests, with the old farm equipment. > Was very surprised to find Civil > War reenactments going on all over the > U.S. including here in the Northwest. > If you're looking for that sort of thing > try an Infoseek search > +reenactment +Civil War > I also discovered by searching > "reenactment" there are all > sorts of goodies out there. Try the > following link for a listing of some > of the more prominent. Once on the homepage, > go to Upcoming Events or to the form > at the bottom of the page. The section > entitled Other Places leads you to interesting > links such as films, costume making, > historical societies and links to historical > pages. > ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: History lesson... AUTHOR: VivB DATE: Wednesday, 5 May 1999, at 4:12 a.m. Response To: History lesson... Author: Sis Date: Tuesday, 4 May 1999, at 7:43 p.m. This reminds me of a book we got from the library when we studied US history -- I don't remember the exact title, but it was something like "The Good Old Days -- They Weren't That Good." The book explored things like pollution -- it was much worse before cars, because of horse manure, etc. Books like this, IMHO, are much more interesting than stuffy textbooks and truly give a sense of what life was like in the past. - VivB ======================================== MESSAGE: You're right Viv, AUTHOR: Barb DATE: Wednesday, 5 May 1999, at 7:37 a.m. Response To: Re: History lesson... Author: VivB Date: Wednesday, 5 May 1999, at 4:12 a.m. > This reminds me of a book we got > from the library when we studied US > history -- I don't remember the exact > title, but it was something like "The > Good Old Days -- They Weren't That Good." > The book explored things like pollution > -- it was much worse before cars, because > of horse manure, etc. Books like this, > IMHO, are much more interesting than > stuffy textbooks and truly give a sense > of what life was like in the past. - > VivB The experience our own families had in history would make very interesting reading. I tell our children what it was like before, during and after the second WW for their grandparents. They were very young children during WW2. Mom still hits the dirt during fireworks. Dad at 14-15 years old survived by converting an old military car into wood and garbage burning powered instead of gas. This story fueled our DS's interest but I don't really know "how" he converted a combustion engine to use nearly anything that will burn instead of gasoline. He pass aways 5 years ago. Too bad I didn't ask more "how" questions. Oh well, I do know that, with that piece of transportation a 15 year old boy managed to scrounge up food for his, and many other hungry families. Yes, what a book he could have written. Wow, that was science and history. We have DH's grandfathers diaries here, tucked away. He was from Holland. They are very hard to read but wow, they date back into the 1920s. He lived to 102, surviving many wars, sailing ship wrecks off the coast of Africa, mining in Australia, and settling in Northern Alberta where he met the love of his life. We all have History and science in our families' pasts. Cheers everyone Barb ======================================== MESSAGE: The Wild West! AUTHOR: Lisa Lowe DATE: Wednesday, 5 May 1999, at 3:11 p.m. I need some suggestions for what to read for a little boy whos latest passion is the wild west. We read Caddie Woodlawn, and an Oregon Trail story. He is 7 but will sit and listen to books above his reading/listening level. ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: The Wild West! AUTHOR: Jody C. DATE: Wednesday, 5 May 1999, at 7:57 p.m. Response To: The Wild West! Author: Lisa Lowe Date: Wednesday, 5 May 1999, at 3:11 p.m. > Oh! Then he'll just love the Little Britches books by Ralph Moody. My kids love them and beg for "just another chapter" and they are ages 6-15, plus Dad likes to listen too. I read these aloud. The first book is Little Britches, then Man of the Family, Mary Emma and Company and The Home Ranch. There are more. Check the library. We are ranchers in MT and we can say, that these are REAL westerns about real Ranchers. BTW these stories are true about the author's life. Enjoy! Jody ======================================== MESSAGE: Frogs and Toads... AUTHOR: Jamma DATE: Wednesday, 5 May 1999, at 10:47 p.m. Everytime it rains at night in the spring and summer, our road is overcome with frogs and toads!! Hundreds of them! Last night was a rainy one. My husband came home from work at 9:30 - after the kids were asleep. He proceeded to go upstairs, wake up our girls (8 and 3), put on their raincoats and go out catching frogs and toads. They collected 40!!! They were ecstatic!! After we all played with them for awhile, we let them go... Today was spent studying frogs and toads - drawing them, reading about them and surfing for info. Anyone here know anything about frogs and toads as pets or about creating a frog-friendly yard? We have plenty of space and the girls are "hopping" to start collecting again...rrrrrrriiibit ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Frogs and Toads... AUTHOR: Lisa Torres DATE: Thursday, 6 May 1999, at 2:28 a.m. Response To: Frogs and Toads... Author: Jamma Date: Wednesday, 5 May 1999, at 10:47 p.m. Be sure to catch and handle the frogs with wet hands--their skin is very tender! The National Wildlife Federation has a number of programs to help folks create habitats friendly to wildlife (including frogs & toads). A couple of simple things: a small pond, with cover (water lilies, for example) creates a breeding habitat. Simple shelter (like a clay flowerpot turned over and propped up) creates shelter for toads. Also, check out FrogWeb for many links about frogs & toads, including programs like Frogwatch, where you can report data about the species you hear calling to a national data base. One word of caution: in midsummer, the tadpoles begin to metamorphose. During this five day period, they grow a skeleton, completely change their digestive system, grow lungs, and resorb their tails. This takes great energy reserves, and recent metamorphs are very subject to "catch stress". They can die from the stress of being handled at this time...so if you see metamorphs, leave them alone unless you are involved in research (this is the best time to find malformed frogs) and have some training in safe handling of the froggies. Have fun. As my Girl Scouts say, "Frogs are COOL!" > Everytime it rains at night in > the spring and summer, our road is overcome > with frogs and toads!! Hundreds of them! > > Last night was a rainy one. My > husband came home from work at 9:30 > - after the kids were asleep. He proceeded > to go upstairs, wake up our girls (8 > and 3), put on their raincoats and go > out catching frogs and toads. They collected > 40!!! They were ecstatic!! After we > all played with them for awhile, we > let them go... > Today was spent studying frogs > and toads - drawing them, reading about > them and surfing for info. > Anyone here know anything about > frogs and toads as pets or about creating > a frog-friendly yard? We have plenty > of space and the girls are "hopping" > to start collecting again...rrrrrrriiibit > ======================================== MESSAGE: Re: Science AUTHOR: Dawne DATE: Thursday, 6 May 1999, at 11:03 a.m. Response To: Just what I needed!! Author: SuzieL Date: Saturday, 1 May 1999, at 8:17 a.m. > I have all my stuff together already > for next year except for science and > history. Now I will get to gleen off > all you with experience. go here and look at all the quick and cheap experiments you can do at home. Dawne ======================================== MESSAGE: Need for organized science instruction? AUTHOR: dmx DATE: Thursday, 6 May 1999, at 1:06 p.m. Until now, with my 13 yo son, we've 'done' science as naturally as possible. We watch lots of nature shows, we garden, we observe. My son enjoys researching different animals and actually does that for fun. We have read some actual science 'books' like Lyrical Life Sciences because my son loves those. I've read quite a few 'science-based' books aloud to him and he's listened to some books-on-tape which are also about 'science'. So, using a variety of approaches, I've felt he's learning plenty of science. My question is, now that he's getting toward those high school years, should I be getting more serious about science? Does we need to look at a more formal approach so that 'chemistry' or 'biology' or 'physics' concepts are mastered? In one way, 'science' seems such a huge area that he can never really master that much over the wide screen. Just thinking about it, there's earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, paleontology, archaeology, & on and on forever! His interests really focus on 'animals'. But, I wonder wether he'll get enough 'basics' if he continues in the style we've followed up til now. In short, are there some basics that need to be covered during the high school years? ======================================== MESSAGE: Food for thought AUTHOR: kay DATE: Thursday, 6 May 1999, at 6:45 p.m. Response To: Need for organized science instruction? Author: dmx Date: Thursday, 6 May 1999, at 1:06 p.m. Sounds like you have done a good job of facilitating his interest, and I'm sure that a lot more learning happens when interest is alive than we often realize. I am currently teaching a HS biology class for 6 student (2 are my own). I am gearing it toward college bound students, and for that reason, I have reviewed many biology books, and Xeroxed many a Table of Contents from which to build my own plan. Because these students seem colledge bound, I want to cover the different areas and assure a basic overview of each topic. My students are using different text, which allows for different depths of actual study. Those interested in a biology related college field are using Bob Jones, which is quite in depth. Those who like biology, but are not sure thats the direction they are headed for a carreer, are using Abeka. Abeka is still a nice depth of information, with out quite so much chemistry and the like (but their botany coverage is wider). Those that are sure that biology is not for them, are using a typical public school text. In the end they will all be exposed to MY outline of what I think is important, from my reasearch. I intend that they all have a good biology baseline (enough at least for college entrance exams), and some fun hands-on experiences. They each will like master the information at the depth appropriate to their future perspective, and that is OK with me. Being much like you, and science oriented, I have found that my own kids have quite a good grasp of science concepts, yet it was the science vocabulary they sometimes fell short in. That is one reason I picked up a text around 7th grade), and just had them browse through it to make a vocabulary/picture journal of the bolded words. They thought that was getting off easy, and didn't fuss about the work, yet they ended up reading most of it anyway. kay ======================================== MESSAGE: State Park History AUTHOR: Liz DATE: Thursday, 6 May 1999, at 6:57 p.m. This summer we're going to do SC History, travel around our state, and use the State Park programs for our field trips. I can't wait! Liz Giles ========================================Back to the TopBack to the Digest Index