s/o Gifted kids who love science.

[Blessedfamily]

Thought I'd start a thread about science, since many gifted kids are very interested in science topics normally not taught at their age. The problem with a younger gifted kid seems to be finding a program with any depth at a younger level.


My science lover was an early reader, so basically, she read a lot of books on whatever topic interested her. I found activities that illustrated whatever principle she was reading about.

Then, I used Dr. Nebel's Building Foundations Of Scientific Understanding, which isn't a text, but a guide on what to cover in all branches of science for early elem. It instructs you on each topic, and you teach it to the child through orally, and through activities. We read a combination of living books and texts at various levels for dd's readings. It is VERY teacher intensive and definately not "open and go".

Dr. Nebel believes young children can comprehend abstract topics, so it covers some things other early elem doesn't.

I just got MPH to use as a jumping off point for this year. We will be supplementing the text heavily with living books, which dd read in her spare time anyway. I think the activities and Higher Order Thinking Skills are good.

[patchfire]

We're having a lot of fun with a couple of the TOPS units so far this (Magnetism and Electricity). I bought a bunch of kits for this year, and then filled in with books aimed anywhere from middle school to adults. I haven't found a put together "program" that fits our needs.

[Heather in WI]

We're having a lot of fun with a couple of the TOPS units so far this (Magnetism and Electricity).

My oldest is using Sonlight 4 this year, which incorporates the TOPS electricity & magnetism. He LOVES it! :-)

[Truscifi]

What do you mean when you say living books? I keep seeing that phrase on here and I am not sure I understand it.

:bigear:

[Blessedfamily]

Living books are just books on a certain topic, as opposed to a textbook. Like checking out a really good book on flowers to learn about pollination, instead of the two paragraphs some textbooks might have.

[zaichiki]

I hadn't considered oldest ds to be a science-lover until recently. He's not interested in ALL science, but has become intensely interested in paleontology this year. He's also been WAY into everything aerospace since he was 5 or so.

I found that he *loved* the Real Science 4 Kids textbooks (read them like they were candy), even though we didn't do most of the experiments. He likes to read science magazines, expecially those written for adults. Most of his info has come from books and documentaries. We've done a number of field trips centered on his science topics of interest, too.

If anyone is interested in a list of field trips in the northeast/mid-atlantic based on paleontology and/or aerospace, let me know. It seems we've exhausted all the possibilities... (Or if YOU have an "off the beaten path" field trip idea along these lines, PLEASE let ME know.)

:)

[HSHS]

DD would like to know if your kids will tutor her. :D

[RanchGirl]

If anyone is interested in a list of field trips in the northeast/mid-atlantic based on paleontology and/or aerospace, let me know.


I would love to get that list from you please! We are in Minnesota but planning to do a lot of traveling over the next few years and I want to tie in as many educational field trips as possible.

Thanks!!

[JeanM]

Well my boys both love science. DS1 wants to be either a vet or a marine biologist. Honestly, until this year (oldest 5th grade, younger 3rd grade) we haven't really done a formal science program. They've taken some coop science classes and we've been to lots of science museums, zoos, aquariums, etc. We've also read lots and lots of books about various science topics (whales, dinosaurs, astronomy, volcanoes, etc.) and watched lots of videos on various science topics.

This year, at the request of dc, they each have an official science program. DS1 is doing biology (Singapore Biology Matters) and DS2 is doing Ellen McHenry's The Elements. I'm still thinking about what else DS2 will do, since The Elements won't last for a full year.

[WendyK]

I haven't found any science program that was 100% awesome (and I have tried a ton of them). So for now we are using NOEO and adding in a lot of extra reading (and hands on stuff). This combination is working out quite well. We will often spend a month or two on one topic to dig deeper. I love this so much better than jumping around from topic to topic each week.

I tried some upper level textbooks and found that they tried to talk to the student. That doesn't work out when they are trying to talk to a teenager, but the student is only 7.

There really are tons of great living books out there for younger kids. I'm amazed at the amount out there. We never seem to run out of books.

I'm thinking to try Rainbow Science after we are done with NOEO. I like the way that one looks.

[Truscifi]

Living books are just books on a certain topic, as opposed to a textbook. Like checking out a really good book on flowers to learn about pollination, instead of the two paragraphs some textbooks might have.

Ok, thanks. We do use a lot of those with ds5. I pick out one history related book and one science related book each week to go with our topic in that subject, but then he is allowed to pick out as many additional books as he wants - and they are almost all about science topics. We use REAL Science Odyssey as our formal science program and really like the hands on activities, but it doesn't give ds enough, he always wants more science.

[elise1mds]

I use REAL Science as well, but you're right... it's not nearly enough. We can do the reading and labs in one sitting and DS will still want more. I try to incorporate a lot of living books (sometimes he finds them on his own), we take field trips, he has a journal, and we do experiments that he finds in his other books. The other day, for example, we harvested some wild mushrooms out of the yard and let them drop their spores on black construction paper, then spray-glued the spores in place. We talk about science a lot, too. The other day when he and I were running some errands, we covered blood tests, the function of your liver and kidneys, cholesterol, and basic genetics. I think we scared more than one cashier. It was one of those great homeschooling moments...

[Nan in Mass]

Some books we liked are Nebel's, Creepy Crawlers and the Scientific Method, Singapore Interactive Science (think I got the title right), and Hewitt's Conceptual Physics.

[Truscifi]

I use REAL Science as well, but you're right... it's not nearly enough. We can do the reading and labs in one sitting and DS will still want more. I try to incorporate a lot of living books (sometimes he finds them on his own), we take field trips, he has a journal, and we do experiments that he finds in his other books. The other day, for example, we harvested some wild mushrooms out of the yard and let them drop their spores on black construction paper, then spray-glued the spores in place. We talk about science a lot, too. The other day when he and I were running some errands, we covered blood tests, the function of your liver and kidneys, cholesterol, and basic genetics. I think we scared more than one cashier. It was one of those great homeschooling moments...

:lol: Sounds like an afternoon conversation at my house! BTW, the book Uncovering the Human Body is great - it has a model of the human body inside it in layers, so that when you turn a page you can see one particular layer. It also has good info about the various body sytems. Ds loves it and now wants the whole series.

[Crimson Wife]

My not-quite-7 y.o. is loving Ellen McHenry's The Elements. We're also reading Exploring the World of Chemistry by John Hudson Tiner (folks should be aware that it's Christian and there are a handful of "Intelligent Design" references) and The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin Wiker.

[Stacia]

Has anyone here tried Supercharged Science yet?

It looks great & my kids like the hands-on part of science. They love books, but science books are not their favorite. For science, they want to 'do' not read, kwim?

[amtmcm]

I'm thinking to try Rainbow Science after we are done with NOEO. I like the way that one looks.

We used Rainbow Science last year and the labs are A++. For a gifted child I'd do Rainbow in one year instead of 2, or supplement with more reading. The John Tiner books mentioned above would be good for supplementing.

I'd also like to put in a plug for Beautiful Feet History of Science (http://www.bfbooks.com/s.nl/it.A/id.285/.f?sc=1&category=671). It was my DD's favorite! The reading is top notch and there are a number of experiments. I added Great Scientists in Action (http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=104361&item_code=WW&netp_id=372119&event=ESRCN&view=covers) for more experiments. A gifted reader/science oriented child might be able to use it fairly independently in 4th grade, 5th-6th grade is probably perfect. Older kids could do it in a semester and still benefit from this excellent introduction to general science and historical giants. Most of the Christian references are in the historical context of the scientists and Bible verses can be easily skipped.

There's my two plugs for the day! :)

[elise1mds]

My not-quite-7 y.o. is loving Ellen McHenry's The Elements. We're also reading Exploring the World of Chemistry by John Hudson Tiner (folks should be aware that it's Christian and there are a handful of "Intelligent Design" references) and The Mystery of the Periodic Table by Benjamin Wiker.

Thanks! I've got these on my list to see if the library has them. :)

[freerange]

BTW, the book Uncovering the Human Body is great - it has a model of the human body inside it in layers, so that when you turn a page you can see one particular layer. It also has good info about the various body sytems. Ds loves it and now wants the whole series.
:iagree:We started with Uncover T Rex after she requested a dinosaur version of the human torso with removable organs that her brother lent her. I thought that was going to be a tall order, so finding it was a pleasant surprise.

[nutmeg]

The Mystery of the Periodic Table

My dd loved that one. She read it last year along with The Periodic Table: Element with Style (http://www.amazon.com/Basher-Science-Periodic-Adrian-Dingle/dp/0753460858/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c) and the textbook Christian Kids Explore Chemistry.

In the same style as the Mystery... is:
Galen and the Gateway to Medicine
Archimedes and the Door of Science
Along Came Galileo

In the same style as The Periodic Table: Elements with Style is:
Biology: Life as We Know It
Physics: Why Matter Matters
Astronomy: Out of this World!
Rocks & Minerals: A Gem of a Read (coming soon)

I've been picking up the John Hudson Tiner books, too.

[Jill]

Putting my vote in for Scott McQuerry's science books available online. as in my siggy.
We are enjoying it more than RS4K which we did last year.
Lots of experiments with things we always have in hand, so far.

[EKS]

We're using K12 science two grades ahead with lots of supplemental reading. That seems to be satisfying him for the moment.

[alexfam]

We are in a virtual public school but we can do science as fast as ds wants. He will be finished in about a month. After that we are planning on using www.Exploreelearning.com (http://www.Exploreelearning.com). I got a free month and ds has been having a really good time using it.