Go here to teach you rkids how to keep a science journal:
www.SuperchargedScience.com/journal
Homeschool Science doesn’t have to be hard or take a ton of time!
There’s a couple of key steps to keep in mind as you train your kids to do their science lessons independently, so they can learn their stuff and turn around and teach *you* science!
When you first start doing science lessons, do them right along with your child. Work right alongside them, talking with them about what you’re doing.
You’ve got to teach them “best practices” like reading the instructions, figuring out what materials to gather, and how to execute a real science experiment, not just make a mess and do whatever seems like a good idea in the moment (like watching YouTube videos that show “science” projects that are downright dangerous).
You can write out a list with a standard framework for how to do science experiments, just like a real scientist does. I have complete instructions for how to do this here on my website: www.SuperchargedScience.com/journal
If you get them started with the right structure ahead of time, they won’t have to relearn it later when they hit college (the info on that page are from my engineering courses I taught).
You’ll need to train your kids to stay focused on what they are doing. Start small, like 5-10 minutes, and every day increase it by a minute or two. Or increment it weekly. The goal is to every week make it slightly longer so by the end of the year, you notice a big difference in their time they can spend focused on one topic.
Make sure you schedule in breaks!
Also remember some days are going to be easier than others. It’s the long-term progress that we’ve got our eye on.
Next, start turning over the tasks to them, one step at a time. For example, you can have your third grader read aloud the directions to you. Or have them read it quietly and then show you how to runt he experiment. Or have them gather all the materials and set everything up so it’s ready for you both to work together. Add one new thing for them to be responsible for every week, and in a couple of months, they will be running things on their own!
This doesn’t mean you abdicate teaching science. It means that they are now in charge of making sure they do their lessons and check in with you about what was finished, what still needs work, and what they’d like to learn about next. This can be done daily, hourly, etc on your schedule.
One thing that a lot of homeschool parents in our science family like to do is to get their kids get themselves ready for one of our classes. I make sure everyone has access to the worksheet ahead of time before a class, which includes materials to gather and vocabulary to know. Kids will set everything up next to the computer screen, so when class time starts, we are all ready to go together.
If you’d like to participate in one of our free homeschool science classes, go here: www.SuperchargedScience.com/class
When there is no formal distinction between classes and the homeschool students simply drift from one lesson to the next in their own sweet time, there may creep in a level of tardiness which prevents them from completing the day’s scheduled activities. Should this continue to happen over a period of a week, you may have a large number of lessons pending with no time to cover them in your weekly schedule.
The local homeschool co-op is a good place to find used study material at a a cheaper rate. It is also good for finding other homeschool teachers who are willing to take classes for subjects that you may not be proficient in, especially in the higher grades. However, the homeschool co-op is also a nice place to share social activities as well as give homeschool students an opportunity to indulge in team sports. Here’s a sample of the stuff that you can do.
If there are specific subjects that you don’t feel comfortable handling in the homeschool classroom, you can form a homeschool co-op that allows your homeschool students to take classes with someone who is an expert at the subject. In exchange you can offer classes to students in subjects that you are comfortable with. This works out more economical than having to hire a tutor, or paying for online classes for your homeschool students. Here’s some pointers to get the homeschool co-op class exchange started.
A homeschool co-op is a good place to find study materials for your homeschool students at a reasonable rate. Depending on where you stay, a homeschool co-op may already be in existence and could be traced through other homeschooling friends. However if there is no active homeschool co-op in your area, you may consider starting one of your own. It’s not really very difficult and will provide ample saving for the little time that you invest in setting it up. Here’s how you can go about it.
In this era of fake news, rumor mongering and spoofs, it can be difficult for a homeschool student to understand exactly what is true and what’s not. Since they will be getting a lot of their information online, it behooves the homeschool teacher to ensure that they are able to sift through the information available online and figure out what to trust. Here are some ideas to help them tell the difference.
Is it worth investing in a computer just for your homeschool classroom? Yes it is. It may not seem like it initially, but it is a wise investment. You will do so much with the computer that you will recover the cost in terms of man hours within the first month. Here are some ways to ensure that you get the most out of this teaching aid.
The aid that technology provides a homeschool teacher, is great. So many aspects of teaching will become simplified by using gadgets such as a digital camera, a projector, and a laptop connected to the internet. While a person who is not too comfortable with gadgets may say that traditional schooling with books is all that is required, there is no denying the advantages of using more technology in the homeschool classroom.