It’s been a long time since I’ve done a homeschooling post
on the blog. We’re wrapping up 7th grade year in the next week or
two, so I’m busy pulling together the portfolio of the year (made more fun this
year by not having a working printer in the house)! But that means I am also in
one of my favorite parts of homeschooling: planning coursework for the fall.
We rely rather loosely on a classical framework, which among
other things has meant that we’ve done history and science in four year cycles.
The history cycle is ancient, medieval, early modern, and modern, and the
science cycle is life science, earth science, chemistry, and physics. In the
grammar years, it was basically an introduction to those topics, while the
logic (mid-grade) years have given us a chance to press deeper into the topics
and focus a bit more within each. For instance, last year (roughly 6th
grade) we spent part of the year on general earth science, covered geology in a
more in-depth unit, and then did close to a semester of astronomy. 7th
didn’t lend itself to quite so many nifty detours, as we basically stuck to
mid-grade chemistry the whole way, but chemistry lends itself to more lab-work,
which the sweet girl enjoys.
For 8th grade, I’ve been going back and forth for
a while about what to do. Our introduction to physics, back in the grammar
years (4th grade) did not go too well. It was due to a lot of
things: a harder year overall as we moved toward the logic stage, a curriculum
I bought with great enthusiasm, thinking it would work for us, only to find
that it really didn’t, and the fact that I have very little aptitude for
teaching physics. The bottom line may simply be that it’s also the branch of
science that holds almost no interest for S. I’m sure it would have helped if I
could have lit a metaphorical fire under her and sparked that interest early,
but alas, it didn’t happen.
Knowing that we’re approaching what should be a physics year
in the cycle again, I think we’ve both been feeling a bit worried about what we’ll
do. Since part of the beauty of homeschooling is that we get to play to our
strengths, part of me thought of just dropping it entirely and moving straight
back into the life sciences. Then again, another beauty of homeschooling, at
least from my perspective, is that we can encourage a student to try something
again or to stick with things that may feel harder without too much grading
pressure. The learning is the adventure. If it turns out not to be your
favorite subject – eh, that’s okay. But at least you can say you gave it a try
and got a taste of it.
With that in mind, I’ve decided to compromise. For eighth
grade, we’re going to do one semester of physics, and one of botany. The botany
will give us a jump on biology in high school, and will also give the sweet
girl something to look forward to in spring semester after working hard in the
fall at something that isn’t as much her cup of tea.
This has turned out to be incredibly freeing for me as a
teacher too. I find that planning in semester implements can feel much less
daunting than planning a whole year. It helps me to think outside the box in
turns of resources, including the use of resources that might make a great
unit or cover several weeks, but wouldn’t work for a whole course. And I’m
very happy with what I’ve managed to put together so far, though I can’t
actually build the course schedule until I get some things ordered, which
probably won’t be till part-way through June.
Here’s what I’m planning to use:
Physics for Middle
School by Rebecca Keller, PhD
(RealScience4Kids)
Despite the fact that they’re a bit pricey for our budget,
we love these resources from Gravitas. We’ve used both their astronomy and
chemistry books for the mid-grade year. Basically the text provides ten lessons
and the accompanying lab book provides labs that go with each of the ten
lessons. One of the things I appreciate about them is that they are
well-organized, covering important topics in the field at age-appropriate
levels. Because they’re good at covering important/key concepts, I can use them
as jumping off places to help the sweet girl find other reading and resources
that build on the information in the text. They’re also nicely designed, with
colorful images and good-sized text in a slick looking paperback that feels
approachable to hold and read. Finally, the teacher’s guide actually offers
some further information and some possible stepping-off points for discussion.
Developing Critical
Thinking Through Science, Book 2
(Critical Thinking Company)
Since S. is a hands-on kind of learner, I wanted to make
sure we have at least one more good lab resource on hand, and I’m hoping this
will prove to be useful. The description I’ve read indicates that most of the
labs can be done with household items and a few other things you might need to
buy ahead. I think it’s technically listed as “grades 4-8” which means there
are probably some easier/some harder lab options throughout, which will give S.
a chance to ease into things.
Exploring the World
of Physics by John Hudson Tiner
(Master Books)
I can’t tell you how happy I was to discover Tiner’s Exploring the World of Chemistry this
year. We found it late, alas, but we’re still trying to get it all in because
we’ve enjoyed it that much. He does a fine job of looking into the history of a
scientific discipline, stopping along the way to explain concepts that were
discovered or developed. The writing is an interesting combination of straightforward
and yet complex when it comes to the actual science being described or
explained. S. enjoys exploring the history of science and has liked the
Chemistry book, so I’m planning to weave the Physics book in and around the
lessons and labs from our other resources. I’ve also discovered that Memoria
Press provides supplemental questions and even quizzes/tests based on Tiner’s
series, so I plan to pick that up as well.
I’ve already got Botany plans in the work for second
semester, but I’m still exploring resources, so I’ll share more about that
later.
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