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by Kay Chance
Adventures in Science
Kids are naturally curious and begin learning from the moment they are born. That’s how they are designed! When we tap into that design, learning comes naturally. A natural learning home provides space, time, resources, and encouragement for kids to follow their curiosity. This year, we will explore how kids learn different subjects and offer you easy, practical ways to make learning fun and natural.
S
cience can be one of the most exciting subjects for kids of any age to learn about. All the words we use to describe children—curious, wonder-filled, adventurous—are the perfect “prerequisites” for such a discovery-based subject.
Science, Naturally
When it comes to “teaching” science (I put teaching in quotes since we often learn alongside our kids), a natural approach involves these five aspects: observing, questioning, discovering, doing, and reflecting.
“Remember, a natural learning home provides space, time, resources, and encouragement for kids to follow their curiosity.”
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Developmentally, kids move from concrete to abstract thinking. Sometimes we abandon concrete learning as they get older, but all ages can benefit from it—especially when a new concept is introduced. (To remember what concrete thinking is versus abstract thinking, consider math. During the concrete stage, kids use real objects to learn to add or subtract, and during the abstract stage, they use symbols.)
- The more senses involved in the learning process, the better children understand and remember whatever topic they are studying.
- With a natural learning approach, it’s important to be flexible and take advantage of the small opportunities that present themselves. These “magical moments” are powerful despite being unplanned!
- During the elementary years, it’s especially important to allow your kids to follow their curiosity. (Though I would argue this is always true, no matter how old kids are! I always learn more when I actually care about what I’m learning about, too.)
The order may vary a bit, and you don’t have to do it all each time (remember “magical moments”), but this is a framework you can use to learn science together.
Observing.
Observation provides the foundation for all scientific learning, whether it’s physical science, biology, chemistry, or physics. Observation is simply noticing the details about something. We may use all of our senses when we observe: seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. Often, we record our observations in some way, whether through writing, photography, journaling, and/or drawing. Some useful tools for observing include bug catchers, magnifying glasses, microscopes, telescopes, journals, and colored pencils.
Questioning.
The toddler years are especially fun. Who doesn’t love being bombarded with questions all day long? But the questions don’t end as kids grow, so tap into that natural curiosity and encourage the questions! You can model how to do this by asking one of your own questions. For example, “I wonder, how does a snake move when it doesn’t have legs?”
Discovering.
As an official word nerd, I enjoy looking up the definitions of words I already know to discover their nuances. For example, the word discover: Did you know that its “Latin root discooperire, ‘uncover,’ combines the prefix dis-, or ‘opposite of,’ with cooperire, ‘to cover up’” (vocabulary.com)? So present learning about science to your kids this way: “You are a detective!” Observation is a part of the discovery process. Other tools, such as a library card, internet access, and access to people or experts in different areas of science, are especially helpful.
Doing.
From modeling, to demonstrating, to experimenting—there are so many ways to incorporate hands-on activities. You’ll find more possibilities than you can ever hope to do at the library and on the internet. Also, encourage your children to come up with their own “activities.” It’s amazing how much ownership they will take in a project that is completely their idea!
Reflecting.
Perhaps one of the most underrated learning tools is reflection. Often, we try to hurry and just finish a subject so we can get on to the next. But our brains need time to chew on things. Giving students reflection questions can help them. Encourage journaling, creating notebook pages, or making a presentation. Or, have your students teach someone else about what they have learned.
When it comes to teaching your kids at home, you don’t have to invest in expensive curriculum if you don’t want to. Remember, a natural learning home provides space, time, resources, and encouragement for kids to follow their curiosity. Kids are ready to learn because God designed them that way. Observe your unique kids and consider other ways you can teach them naturally!
In each issue, we’re giving you some practical activities you can do at home (or at least close to home)! Think of these as a springboard for your own ideas.
Start with nature.
When I began homeschooling, I noticed that homeschoolers seem a bit obsessed with nature study. I discovered it was for good reason! There really is no better place to start since kids love being outdoors and get excited about all the things they find there: plants, trees, flowers, creepy-crawlies, birds, animals, changing weather, the moon, stars, and planets. The world outside presents the perfect laboratory for their curious minds. Nature study is a great way to develop observational skills. Remember, nature study can happen anywhere! In your backyard or neighborhood, a park, at the zoo, or on vacation. Have your kids keep a nature notebook that they can add to through the years with drawings, observations, photographs, and more.
Brainstorm questions.
Gather your students around a whiteboard or a poster board. Ask them, “What science topics are you curious about?” List everything on the board. Then, give each student a piece of paper where they can write down the one thing they are most interested in. Have them write their questions about the topic. (Or download our printable notebook page for this activity!)
Interview an expert.
This is a fun project you can even do with a few friends. Arrange a field trip to a local business to learn about some aspect of science from an expert. For example, you might visit a news station and interview a meteorologist about his job. Have the kids ask some questions about the weather.
Build a model.
Making models provides a fun, hands-on experience. Often, you make a model out of things you already have around the house, and there are thousands of ideas for them on the internet. Here are a few to get you started:
Make a science notebook.
Notebooking is a versatile and easy way to incorporate reflection into learning about science. As students draw pictures, write short definitions and descriptions, summarize information, and organize it in a notebook page, they will naturally reflect on all that they have learned. Then when they show off their notebooks to their grandparents or friends, they will continue to review the information.
K
ay Chance homeschooled her children for fifteen years. While teaching them, she discovered a passion for writing and developing curriculum resources. She loves sharing natural learning methods and creative lesson ideas with other homeschooling parents. Kay is the co-executive editor of Homeschooling Today magazine and the author of the older extensions for the Trail Guide to Learning series. She makes her home in Texas with her husband Brian.