Science in Bigger

[crlacey]

Let me first start by saying that my DD and I have worked through LHTH, LHFHG and now are in the second half of the Beyond program. We've enjoyed the journey so far and are looking ahead to Bigger. My DH and I are concerned about some of the books listed for science in Bigger and are hoping that we can get a better picture of the science portion of Bigger. I understand the One Small Square series since we have some of those books and I can clearly see them as science books. Our confusion lies with the following books being used for science: A Pioneer Sampler, John Audubon, and Thomas A Edison. From what we've been able to see of these books, they look to be more of a history biography book rather than a science book. I understand that the 2 biography type books are about people in a science field, but I guess I'm not seeing how they can be used as a hands-on science book. Also a Pioneer Sampler looks to be more like the history book Pioneers and Patriots used in Beyond (which we love, but is not a science book). I am hoping that someone can give us a better idea of how these books are used for science since science is a big deal around our house.
Thanks!

[lmercon]

We are currently using Bigger. I am a science person, and I love the science in Bigger! The "Science in Colonial America" was great. We did activities, experiments, and notebook entries that related to the content we were reading. It was very interesting to learn how American science began and how it differed from European science. Topics such as body defenses, astronomy, and electricity are covered. We are about halfway through the John Audubon book. It is a very interesting story of the his life. My ds loves it. We are doing activities that mostly focus on birds - kinds of beaks, types of feathers, bird flight, nest building, etc. I'm sure that the Edison book will tie in much of his types of experiments and discoveries. We haven't done, "The Pioneer Sampler" yet, but it was my sil's favorite when she used with her kids last year. I think it is a fantastic way to learn science because it is in context with a story the child is engaged in. The story makes the science meaningful. We are really enjoying it. My ds's observational and drawing skills have improved dramatically. I also like the emphasis on the scientific process. Carrie has done a great job. I don't think you will be disappointed.
hth,
Laura

[water2wine]

Crystal I was also a little unsure of the living book approach to science that you see in Bigger before we actually did it. My background is biotech so science is huge to me with my kids. I have to tell you though the science in Bigger is really great. It is different than you would expect for a here is a science book you read a chapter about something then do an experiment. But I am going to tell you that it gets them thinking more scientifically than that type of learning. There is a lot of focus on the how and the why of things. And when I looked at it with as unbiased eyes as I could I found that they were learning skills that were very important. They were learning basic scientific principles and they were learning how to see the science and that is a huge one. We also did the extension science. That is more of the history of science but it has some great scientific information as well. We really enjoyed it. I also should say that I was doing it with kids on the high end of the age scale as well. I think if you give it a try you will like it.

[my3sons]

My ds loved the science in BHFHG when we did it years past. It is very difficult to do science in a living book way, but BHFHG does it so well. By pointing out links between history and science, my ds learned to see science everywhere around him, rather than to think of it as a separate subject. This has led to him doing many science experiments just on his own, to test out what he thinks may or may not happen. For example, when moving our wood pile, he devised a ramp and finished the job in a fraction of the time it would have taken otherwise. When we did an egg toss, he tried to determine which eggs would break more easily, the ones at room temperature we'd set out earlier, or the ones in the fridge. (The ones in the fridge did better, BTW ) And he talks about these simple experiments he's trying, as if he were a scientist attempting a grand experiment. If he were just learning science from a textbook, he'd have had no idea (nor probably the interest or inclination) to set up his own experiments to try. By studying people's lives and how they used science to live - to SURVIVE really, makes science seem so much more real and important than just asking questions and giving answers to them. Not to mention, any time you study a person and get to know them well, you remember them, naturally retaining the information better - including why they were passionate about science, how it impacted their lives and the people around them, and how science can be a passion of people's for even an entire lifetime.

For example, Wyatt STILL (2 years after doing BHFHG) loves birds and remembers John Audubon. In fact, we just got a book from the National Audubon Society, and he said, "Mom, don't you remember reading about John Audubon? Look how his work lives on yet today. That's pretty amazing." We have bird calling things, bird feeders, bird books, and my ds is just avid about watching birds outdoors. He even wrote often about them in his poetry for PHFHG, and continues to love to draw them in CTC for his notebooking. I could go on about the other books as well, but it would be the same type of stories.

Doing science with living books makes a mark on dc's memory. It makes them see THEY can be scientists, right NOW. They can be the ones to have scientific theories to test out, have questions they want answers to that they can set up experiments to find answers to, and can appreciate all of the scientific knowledge we have today because of those passionate about it who have gone before us. In short, science has meaning. It is not just a bunch of facts to memorize, nor is it meant to be something you simply ingest a question, an experiment that answered the question, and a rule. Instead, science is everywhere around us, and curiosity, a willingness to experiment with answers even if you might fail, and a passion for solving problems is often what makes a great scientist - who knows, could make the next inventor one of our own dc because they'll have learned to think like a scientist. An almost impossible ideal to convey with science textbooks. I've learned over the years that a living book choice is ALWAYS the best way to teach something if I want my dc to retain anything of substance or worth over time anyway, so BHFHG does that for me already - even within science. I think this is a good question, and thank you for asking it!

In Christ,
Julie

[crlacey]

So it sounds a lot like the science portions we've been doing with Beyond this week. (week 21) This week we've read about a girl who, in her travels, sees a hummingbird collecting nectar from a flower. Then in science we learned about different types of birds beaks. And today in the history story it rained and in science we talked about the different types of clouds.

I think I'm getting a better picture now. I still have a hard time looking past the traditional way of doing things such as needing a science book to do science "class".

[water2wine]

If you want to do traditional science you can add it. We did some of that ourselves along the way but we still did the Bigger science becasue I really found they learned a lot. It's flexible.

[threegreatkids]

I enjoyed reading these responses! Thanks for asking a great question!
We LOVE the science in Bigger and Preparing, and we are a science-focused family, too (my degree is science-related and dh is an MD). Sometimes when something is enjoyable we can question if it is "enough", but I agree with everyone else that it really is the perfect way to teach science for this age group, as they are learning to think scientifically as well as love science. I'm excited to see that the living books approach to science continues in future guides, too.

Just wait until you see the amazing science notebook pages your kids produce!