Ahh, The "S" Word

Yes, in my life the "S" word has long been science.  I had an...interesting experience with my own 7-12 grade science teacher, and it left me with a certain dis-love for the subject.  Even thinking back to elementary school, I really cannot remember ever having a single teacher who shared a love for the subject.  Now that I have been teaching for quite a while myself, I get it. 

Science is messy.  Science experiments require you to have a sometimes ridiculous number of supplies, even so-called "common household items" that are not actually found in this common household, at least not on the exact day when they are needed.  Science experiments require time to buy and gather things, time to organize and set up, time to read and research--all for an experiment that lasts 12 1/2 seconds and probably won't do what the book says it should anyway.  I won't even mention the experiment that ruined my favorite plastic spoon when the kids melted it into their solution or the one that rendered my most-used plastic bowl garbage when whatever they were making in it became stuck inside forever.

Over the years, we have tried various types of science programs, some more successfully than others.  We tried Sonlight's Biology and just did not like it.  We tried doing things The Well-Trained Mind way but never got around to many experiments because I just did not have what we needed.  Brishen did all the readings, but the experiments--not so much.  Finally we found NOEO, which worked perfectly for us for a couple years.  You pay big bucks, but the experiment kits are included.  Brishen could do it all entirely on his own, which is exactly how this mom prefers scientific exploration, especially when prompt clean-up is part of the deal.

I have kind of lucked out because Brishen is a read-about-it kind of guy.  He would rather read about science and the experiments that others are doing more than do the experiments on his own most of the time.  He may have gotten that from his mom.  Then there came Basia.  She would love to spend all her education time doing science experiments.  Only she's a real scientist.  She doesn't want to do the experiments that others have planned for her.  She wants to be given access to a wide variety of supplies to mix and poke and dye and execute (poor ant who is now on one of her microscope slides) to her heart's content.  Oh, and she doesn't believe in actually cleaning up because she may just need to get back to that experiment again someday.

So, here we are again, gearing up for another year of science.  What to do, what to do.  Now that Brishen is planning to be part of an actual diploma program, his science is chosen for him:  Apologia Physical Science.  The problem for me is that I am now required to send in proof that he has done ALL the work for the class, including the experiments.  This is the year I have to get seriously involved in the "s" word and all its messes.  I decided to have Basia follow right along and start her own Apologia book, the astronomy one.  She certainly won't have him getting to have all the fun.  That means that I am vowing to get experiment-crazy with her, too. 

Let me show you what I got in the mail that just may make this year a little more successful than most:

 Yep, I let someone else gather the 4,139 supplies I would need for the two kids to do their experiments, and I really don't think it cost me any more than it would have cost to go and find it all myself.  I can't even imagine how many hours I saved.  Here are a few of the items that I now don't have to locate:  3 sizes of marbles, bamboo skewers, a cork, 4 sticks, 1-inch washer, effervescent seltzer tablet, rock salt, umbrella, craft wire, small straws, film canister, small flat mirror, bulb thermometer, comb, nylon kite string, 3" long iron nail, insulated 24-gauge wire, 9" pieces of copper wire, 9-volt batteries, candle in a holder, and sand paper.  The list of supplies I needed to get is actually 2-pages long for Brishen's year of science alone.  For some reason the company did not include supplies like ice, "a parent to drive a car", and butter, so I will have to do my share.  I think we just may be starting the year right for once. 

Now Brishen's summer science ecology program is a whole other post...  I'll just say that everything I do and use is now under serious scrutiny.