| Welcome Homeschoolers! |
 Homeschooling gives you time and flexibility to really explore science. And while teaching
science can seem scary (What if the lesson goes wrong?!), it doesn't have to be. Some of the
best learning comes from our mistakes. Science also involves other subjects--thinking, reading,
writing, math. We want to help make your science program fun, easy, and successful. |
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| Teaching Science at Home |
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Sort and Classify
Classifying information involves both observation and critical thinking. To classify objects into
specifi c groups, you must compare and contrast the similarities and differences among them. Start the
activity by showing the children two groups of objects that you have already sorted.
Ask them to determine how the items were sorted and then label each group. Depending on the age
of your students, you should sort the objects by a feature that is less obvious than just color or shape.
Then have the students see how many different ways they can sort the same objects. Be open to new
possibilities. I’m always amazed at kids’ ability to fi nd new ways to look at things that I hadn’t
considered.
Read more... |
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Observation and Measurement
In our last newsletter, we wrote about developing observational skills in children and focused primarily on using the five senses. Observation is the fundamental science process skill, so refining a child’s observations is important.
Quantitative observation involves identifying a number or quantity. If a child notices that an insect has legs, the next question is how many? Adding number and quantity to observation gives the child more precise information. Measuring is also a part of quantitative observation.
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Developing Observation Skills
Developing a child’s observational skills is an important first step in science education. As students make observations, they are learning to collect and organize information. Observation leads to questions, which are the basis of inquiry. Questions lead to a search for answers by making inferences, and then using more detailed observations and actual experiments to see if the inferences are true. Science is all about finding out “why.”
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Keeping a Lab Notebook
Hands-on learning is a lot of fun in science, but it's important to make sure that you focus on the concept being taught so that your child makes the connection. Keeping a scientific log, or journal, is a must for science lessons. Have your child start by writing down the purpose of the experiment. What is it you want to learn or prove? Ask your child to predict what may happen and write this down also.
Read more in our
Lab Notebook Activity sheet... |
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Webs to Whales Nature Tales
We combine literature with technology to teach science. Each story teaches a moral lesson. The fictional story also stimulates questions about the animals – do spiders spin colored silk, do whales talk to each other?
The companion CD-ROM gives you the factual information, using photos and video of real animals. All the content has been vetted by experts. With each CD-ROM, you get
- Easy-to-use interactive units for students
- Optional read-to-me for early readers and special needs students
- Hands-on activities to accompany the lessons
- Printable worksheets in reading, math, and science
- Ready-made lessons (on CD or online)
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Books and software also available from:
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2007 Teachers’ Choice Award for the Family
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Reviews
Read the latest reviews on our products from
The Old Schoolhouse magazine:
- "The Rainbow Web, by Cheryl Block, is a fun and friendly educational book/software set for young children." read full review
- "This set (True Blue Friend) would make a good, very basic introduction to a study on marine science." read full review
- "This is such a neat product (Little Octopus)!...In addition to teaching the virtue of understanding and the appreciation of differences, the book comes with a wonderful educational tool--an interactive CD-ROM." read full review
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The website offers additional resources for use with our books and software.
- Critter News
Use these news articles as additional teaching resources, to learn about new discoveries, and
to expand your child's awareness of our world.
- Teaching Resources
Download free lessons and sample activities for each of our products.
- Nature Tales Newsletter
Sign-up for our Quarterly Newsletter, Nature Tales. These are full of interesting articles and activities as well as product specials and announcements.
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