The Homeschool Village - Science

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Oh my. Had to go there, didn't they? The s-word. At least in our homeschool, the s-word is science. We also have the h-word, history. Yikes.

So ... thus far in our homeschool journey, the science has been at the very bottom of the priority list, and for most of the time, didn't even make the priority list at all.

I know what you're thinking. Don't you have a seventh grader? And you haven't done science??

Um.

We did a science curriculum one year. I think it was third grade, or maybe it was fourth? We did a couple of lessons of fifth grade, I seem to recall. I'm pretty sure the middle one did some science when she was in first grade.

So yes, I am a science failure. And I'm admitting it publicly.

That said though - we have been part of a homeschool co-op since the oldest was in first grade, and science is part of their class day every year. They have done some great things with this program! The oldest made an entire ecosystem, complete with pond and garden. The middle one spent a year learning anatomy and made this fabulous human body complete with macaroni brain and balloon lungs. The oldest did an overview of geology last year along with life science. The middle one did astronomy. They both have seemed to learn a lot from co-op, and up until now, we've called it good.

Now that the oldest is in seventh grade though, I figured it was time to step it up a little around here. Part of our Heart of Dakota curriculum is science, and this year we're doing zoology, plant life, early medicine, and human anatomy. I believe we're calling this "making up for lost time!" So far though, I have been amazed as we've gone through our curriculum. They both seem to have a pretty good scientific foundation, so maybe that "lost time" wasn't really lost at all.

This year (remember, we're only in week six now) so far we've talked about various animals and how to classify them, and how God created them uniquely. On Fridays, we do experiments. Of course, that is their favorite part. It's one of my favorite parts too, because their father is usually home on Fridays, and amazingly, right at the time we get to science, I find an errand that I just *have* to run, and hand the book to him. ;) Love experiment Fridays!

I anxious to read about everyone else's science plans!

eta ... just realized I didn't actually answer the specific question regarding my favorite science experiment. And wasn't it just yesterday that I got on to one of the girls for giving me a well-written paper that would have been great had it actually covered the assignment? Apparently the "follow the assignment" apple doesn't fall far from the tree either! We actually haven't done a lot of experiments. I love the chemical reaction experiment with vinegar and baking soda ... great fun to pour it in the sink and say "HEY! I KNOW!! While that's here, let's clean the sink!!" So now I'm even more anxious to read everyone else's posts to find some fun experiments to try!

eta again -- I'm leaving the SpellQuizzer giveaway open for the rest of the day (Scroll down a couple of posts) so if you're interested, go ahead and comment on that post and you'll be entered!