Non-traditional science curriculum?

[CynthiaOK]

Ds#3 loves science. However, he does not do well with a heavy textbook approach. He spends a lot of time researching science topics (chemistry and physics mostly) online and then using his information to build things (rockets, fireworks, etc.). He knows so much already. Right now he is doing Conceptual Physics formally and scoring great.

He needs a solid chemistry program next year (possibly even AP or honors level) but I don't want to just stick him with a text and lab manual. Is there another way to get the information into him without him needing to read some huge text? Would he do well with Thinkwell? Would a student need a text to go with that? I'm not concerned about labs because that's what I do...I've taught chemistry several times now in our co-op and am undaunted by the prospect. However, this kid is unlike any I have taught before. He wants to learn it, is self-motivated to learn, but looks at a big science text as a boring way to do it.

His reading level is very high so the ability to read the text isn't the problem. It's the fact that most of his time would be spent reading and he's rather be doing that causes the problem. Has anyone found a non-textbook way to get a textbook type result? :001_huh:

[Brenda in MA]

Cynthia,

Have you looked at Spectrum Chemistry? It's still a textbook, but a fairly slim one. Lots of good info with nice illustrations, communicated in a fairly concise manner. If he didn't want to do the labs that come with it, perhaps you could let him research the topics he's reading about further and either do projects or write mini-reports.

Brenda

[Nan in Mass]

Isn't there a homeschooling biology program which is just a series of questions that the student must answer? It was written by a homeschooling mother. Maybe she does a chemistry as well? I don't know if it is AP level. If you do a search for napalm (sp?), you might find that thread where we all discussed hands-on chemistry rather than textbook chemistry. You might be able to find the name of someone who owns the book in question and ask if all the regular information is in it. It was a book about doing real chemistry with pool chemicals and things.
-Nan

[MIch elle]

DIVE science
Teaching Company lectures - Physics for Life, Joy of Science, etc.
Kinetic science
Discovery Education/science - watch videos of choice
http://www.khanacademy.org/
MIT open courseware

[JennW in SoCal]

I know what you are talking about, Nan, and I remember looking at the site and thinking it was a great option, but I lost all my bookmarks when my computer died last summer, and I'm not finding it through google (maybe I need to refine my search parameters..)

This book looked interesting:
Chemistry of Ordinary Things with Late Night Labs by Carol Snyder

SWB's son is doing chemistry via K12 -- you can read about it on her blog http://www.welltrainedmind.com/blog/

My 14yo is doing biology at home with me this year. It has a dense text book (I didn't choose the AP version, but the next, lighter version). The accompanying website has many virtual labs and videos in support of the material in the text. We are also using many other sources -- it looks like this:
Campbell Biology: Concepts and Connections;
Princeton Review's Biology coloring book;
Teaching Company's "Biology Science of Life"
worksheets and ideas from this website: http://www.biologycorner.com/
and some single station AP labs from Carolina Biology

It is a lot of work putting it all together, but my ds, like your ds, loves to research and apply science, and really hates text book learning. It's lots of fun and the Teaching Company professor is terrific. I'm hoping this course will teach him HOW to learn from a text as he learns and enjoys biology from everything else. Perhaps, Cynthia, you can put something similar together for your ds?

[Kareni]

Isn't there a homeschooling biology program which is just a series of questions that the student must answer? It was written by a homeschooling mother. Maybe she does a chemistry as well? I don't know if it is AP level. ...

It's Science for High School (http://www.scienceforhighschool.com/) by Bridget Ardoin. She has programs for Biology, Chemistry and Physical Science.

Regards,
Kareni

[stripe]

I just wanted to recommend the book The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope (http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Harnessed-Wind-Electricity/dp/0061730327/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257788035&sr=8-1) by William Kamkwamba, whose blog is here (http://williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/). At 14, he built a windmill by himself to electrically power his village from reading some old physics books, after he wasn't allowed to enroll in school because his parents couldn't afford the fees. He was invited by TED (http://www.ted.com/) to give talks, and your son might find that organization and the website interesting. TED's page about him is here (http://www.ted.com/speakers/william_kamkwamba.html).

Otherwise I am taking note of the resources shared here. :)

[Caryl]

this book
http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Guide-Home-Chemistry-Experiments/dp/0596514921 Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments offers introductory level sessions suitable for a middle school or first-year high school chemistry laboratory course, and more advanced sessions suitable for students who intend to take the College Board Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry exam. A student who completes all of the laboratories in this book will have done the equivalent of two full years of high school chemistry lab work or a first-year college general chemistry laboratory course.

Looks like a lot of fun and pretty serious science (my husband is just itching to blow things up again, like he did when he was a kid and had his own lab in the basement...with no ventilation). We'll be using it next year.

[CynthiaOK]

Yes, I have that book already and planned to use it as my base for labs as I did last year. I've used TTC High School chemistry lectures in the past and don't think it would work for this son. It's really only the math portion that one would encounter in chemistry. Is there another TTC chemistry course that would do more actual chemistry? Does anyone know if the author of Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments recommends a text?

[CynthiaOK]

Yes, I had it several years ago. I liked it, but it's too limited in scope for this son. There is really no room to do outside experimentation. All the experiments are intimately tied to the text. That is a good thing in most cases, but in the case of this son, it would be too constraining.

[CynthiaOK]

That Khan site is...wow!...overwhelming! I'm sure I could find stuff there. And I'm still considering the MIT stuff but am unsure of how to implement it. Any ideas?

[CynthiaOK]

I'll check out the book recommendation. Sounds interesting. I'm thinking that I'm going to just have to pull something together from a mass of various resources. Not what I really want to do, but maybe necessary. I'm keeping your biology suggestions because I'll need that next :-)

[CynthiaOK]

Hmmm...looks interesting. I'll check it out. Thanks

[CynthiaOK]

Oh, my, googling Napalm just might set the ATF on my doorstep :-). I've had conversations with ds about which sites he can access and what he shouldn't google. I'm amazed at what YouTube has to offer for virtual "science" experiments. What I really need is a vent-hood in a stand-alone hut outside in the yard - you wouldn't believe what he has made on my stovetop!

My plan for his summer includes having him make all the chemicals needed for the experiments in Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments. Then we'll have our stock of stuff ready when we need it. I'll check out the homeschool mom's text. Thanks

[CynthiaOK]

Oh, thanks for the book rec. It looks really interesting.

[Nan in Mass]

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76733&highlight=napalm Here is the thread. Did you find it? You participated in it GRIN.

[CynthiaOK]

Yes, I remember it now! This is the thread that led me to buy the lab book. It's being used already by ds with great success and I used it last year for my chemistry class. It's such a fantastic book! He has one for physics too, but the publishers are sitting on it due to the economy - I would have so liked it for my physics class this year.

My plan is to use this book for the labs and hopefully have a text or video or something to go along with it.

I was mentioning to ds the other day about a fella in California who blew his fingers off with some homemade concoction. He said, "Oh, mom, that was _______. Everyone knows that you don't make that stuff at home!" Funny thing, though, I had never heard of the stuff he was talking about! I guess if you google enough, you can learn a lot!

[JennW in SoCal]

I just looked on the Teaching Company site and there are NO chemsitry courses other than the high school chemistry.

So much for that idea!

[CynthiaOK]

On Robert Thompson's forum (for the Illustrated Guide...) he recommends Chemistry - The Central Science as a go along text. Has anyone used or seen this text? He really doesn't say why he picked it over the other texts he looked at. I guess I could ask him....I'd just like a homeschool mom opinion of the book, too.