Our Plans for Science

My two oldest boys will be doing Apologia's Chemistry this year and my 13-year-old daughter will be doing Physical Science. Since both of the boys plan to go into science related fields, we place a lot of emphasis on this subject. I splurged a little and purchased each of them one of the slightly more expensive Avory binders with the clear cover that you can slide an insert into. Then I designed a cover page for them to decorate. Here is the binder belonging to my 15-year-old "mad chemist":

The boys will be using the notebooking and lab pages from Knowledge Box Central's Chemistry Lapbook Journal and their sister will be using pages I printed from the Apologia Yahoo Group files section. I really like the KBC lab forms, but the other pages have way too many lines for answering the questions and take a lot more paper than the free pages I found in the Yahoo Group files. The grading form you see in the picture below is one that I created. 

Knowledge Box Central Notebook Journal

On Your Own Questions for Physical Science

I believe hands-on experience is the best way to learn, so experimentation and observation have always been a big part of our science education. Several years ago, we even devoted an entire month to studying slime. We've been using Apologia textbooks for six years, and my children absolutely love them because of all the experiments that are included. I love how the elementary texts have notebooking worked right into them. However, I've decided to do something a little different with my younger group this year.

I had downloaded the free Elementary Life Science text some time ago from Scott McQuerry's website. I liked his fun approach and his emphasis on experiments, but we had already covered most of the Life Science material. However, when he introduced his Earth Science text, I figured it would be the perfect way to cover some topics that none of the Apologia elementary books address. I also had a copy of Ann Voskamp' A Child's Geography: Explore His Earth (which covers a lot of the same things) and being inclined to overkill, decided to add that in too. We will be notebooking through both of these texts and filing these pages in simple 3-prong folders.

The Many Faces of Notebooking: Math

Math notebooking is a little bit more difficult than notebooking a subject like science or history. I do tend to rely on textbooks and workbooks more often than not. But we do still sneak in some notebooking and living math on occasion.

This year my 6 older children will be using Life of Fred textbooks for mathematics. We really enjoy the way the author uses a storyline in these books to bring math "into the real world."

Lessons will be completed in simple, inexpensive spiral notebooks. The August Notebooking Round-Up at The Notebooking Fairy mentioned some new Dinah Zike products which are kind of a mix between lapbooking and notebooking. I plan to have the children create something similar to include additional notes and formulas in their notebooks for future reference.

My 6-year-old will be using a combination of the free math curriculum made available online by the Centre for Innovation in Mathematics Teaching  and living math activities.  She will also be doing some math notebooking along with the 11, 10, and 8 year old. We completed my Geometry Notebook Pages in the Spring and will be doing the Counting & Numbers pages this Fall.

Math notebook pages are stored in plastic 3-prong folders.

3 Ways Parents Sabbotage Healthy Eating

While being picky may come naturally to some, there are many children whose mastery of picky eating is mainly due to the fine efforts of their parents. Here are three ways you may be making a picky eater at your own dinner table.

1. Tell your children they won't like it
   A sure way to ensure your child will never try a new food is to introduce it to them with an extra large helping of doubt. And who can blame them? Would you want to try something that you have been told will probably not taste good?
   
   Remember, everyone has their own oppinions on what they enjoy eating. If you give them the opportunity to try something new without first prejudicing them against it, your child may enjoy many things you never dreamed possible. Otherwise, they will not only be limited by their own dislikes, but by yours as well.


2. Hide the veggies
   I don't know how many times I have read some misguided author write about how to work more vitamins into a child diet by hiding vegtables in cookies, spaghetti, etc. While this may work miracles on a mother's guilty conscience, it won't do anything to help junior learn to eat what's good for him. Children learn to eat a variety of foods by being served a variety of foods, not by being served healthier versions of the same old junk.


3. Offer an Alternative
   When faced with new and unfamilar foods, many children automatically assume they won't like it. If given a choice between a new casserole and peanut butter and jelly, they will naturally pick the old favorite. However, a single taste may be all it takes to introduce them to a new favorite. And since food preferences can be acquired, repeated introductions to unpopular foods can sometimes result in new favorites over time.