A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Homeschooling

How to Teach Elementary Science

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Wanting to do science with your students?  I love science, I find it very easy to teach, particularly in the younger years, but not everyone has a natural love of science.  The question arises: How to teach elementary science.  Let’s walk through some of the options you have for teaching science to elementary aged students.

how to teach elementary science

Nature Study

Honestly, I find nature study to be easiest way of teaching science to elementary students.   There is so much to explore and learn just be observing the world around you. 

Observe Animals

Observed the animals around you.  These can be the squirrels in your local park or the spiders and bugs inside your house.  You can visit the animals at the local zoo or at a wildlife rescue centre.   You might want to visit a friend with a rabbit/guinea pig/dog or maybe go to a dog/cat/rabbit show.

Perhaps your co-op will offer an animal class or your local library offer a photo series of animals around the world.

You might want to sit down in your own backyard, block off a section of 1 or two feet and have your children count all the animals they find.  Then you could walk down to the local stream or park and look for ducks, water striders, bugs, spiders etc.

You could easily do a  bird study by setting up a bird feeder in your backyard.  Find animals and take time to watch them, you’ll be amazed at what you learn.  

If you can, bring along your phone, or a nature study guide, or a note pad (to write down questions for later) so you can answer questions that your children have.  

An example of Nature Study

 We have three squirrels in our back yard… grey (new youngster) white and black.  Just by watching them we know that grey is a bold as brass and will probably cause trouble in the rabbitry this winter.   White is easy going and knows to stay out of our way.  She’s been around for the past two years and doesn’t cause any fuss for us.  Black will get into mischief in the summer and if I leave a bowl of grain out for him in the winter he’ll get into that but won’t bother with anything else.   Bold as brass grey is starting to chase black around but so far hasn’t ousted him from the backyard maple tree. Grey is still confined to the front yard… he is pushing hard though.   By watching them we are able to learn so much about them, what they eat (did you know they will eat green tomatoes?), how they defend their territory (or to challenge for more), and all the sounds they make.   

observing nature

Unit Studies/LapBooks

Other than getting out in nature, or alongside of getting out in nature are unit studies and lapbooks. 

You take your child to the zoo and they get fascinated by tigers, or chimpanzees, or maybe the dwarf goats.   You can find a unit study or lapbook on them. My son has long been fascinated by ants and spiders and his youth I commissioned an amazing ant unit study for him.  He LOVED it.  Learned so much.  Now he raises ants and gains additional learning. 

Some places you can go for materials.

  • Amanda Bennett Unit Studies. Horses, tigers, dolphins, geckos, insects, oceans, volcanoes, seashells, caves and so much more.  Go explore, and then come home and learn some more!  (pay)
  • Homeschool Share has all sorts of unit studies and lapbooks.  (free)
  • Lapbook Lessons – Animals and science to learn and do. (free)
  • SchoolhouseTeachers.com – a variety of lessons, so many options, bug science, world of animals, curious science, disgusting creatures etc.  with over 400 lessons there’s sure to be nature studies for you! (paid)
Schoolhouse teachers

Pay Attention to Landforms, Soils and Plants

When you are out and about pay attention to landforms.  Notice the pond, the creek, the hill, the way stones stick out of the ground.  As you travel around pay attention to different trees and terrain.

When you are working out in your garden show your children what good soil looks and feels like.  Have them experiments with sandy soil, clay and good loam.   Does it make a difference if you add fertilizer?  

Help them grow a row, or start a bean plant in a container, or maybe grow some cat grass for a loved family pet.  Have your children test out if a plant will grow in the dark or what happens if light is far away from it.  Learn about phototropism and more.

When you walk through a forest pay attention to the mosses, fungi, ferns and trees.   Help your students see the different levels of a forest and then take an excursion on line and learn about the rainforest and its different levels. Expand their learning naturally. 

Additional Online Sites

There are numerous places on-line if you need more of a curriculum, or places to learn or see experiments done.  

  • Mystery Science – has open and go science lessons. Sign up for a free year of science lessons.  They have a limited number of spaces open. 
  • cK-12 – has an elementary division that you might find useful.  These are flexbooks that you can use online or download as a PDF. 
  • In the Lab of Mr. Q you will find downloadable classic science texts.  Provide a well-rounded science education. 
  •  The Canadian Wildlife Federation has put together education units to help teachers. 
  •  Nature Canada doesn’t have lessons but they are a wealth of information. 
  •  PBS learning has a number of experiments to watch and maybe do. 
  •  Canadian Geographic has a great kids area, and as an educator you can sign up for the cangeo education newsletter.  They put together some great resources!
  •  Project Gutenberg has put together an elementary geography program.
  •  Easy Peasy has an all in one science curriculum. An excellent resource for your science needs.  
  •  Guesthollow has a science and literature course. 
Online sources for teaching elementary science

Don’t forget other sources

Don’t forget to 

  • go to the library and raid their shelves for all things nature study-ish
  • Watch youtube videos
  • search websites with good information on whatever your children are interested in.
  • Easy science experiment books…. there are lots on the market.  

There is so much information available, make use of it. 

For instance, I am hopeful to get my lad into a Biodiversity weekend.   That might not work for your younger children, but I know in London we have groups that do forest school, another that takes regular walks in the local swamp, my son spent time with friends and family looking for minnows, crayfish and clams in our local streams, and of another group that does scavenger hunts in various local playgrounds.  Make use of the world around us, and do science the easy way!    Enjoy your explorations.

A book that might help you is the family adventure journal, or these nature cards.   You might want to make some crafts from the things you discover making the crafty nature journal just what you need.  I’ve pinned loads of ideas over on my nature study pinterest board.  Give it a boo, you might be delighted by what you find. 

Add in Your life

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Aren’t you delighted to see me back after a summer away from talking about how to be a better writer?  What can I say, it’s been great to take a break and focus on other things for a while.  To add to the experiences in my life.  What experiences did you add in your life?

My life over the summer was filled with a teen busy landscaping and visiting friends, a hubby working, visiting a friend from CA, and gardening. We took in the beach and some sights and kept ourselves entertained well enough.  🙂  Even a week away for camping was found. 

Anyways, I’ve kept up one of my joys over the summer of participating in Five Minute Fridays.  Almost every week I partake and turn a one word prompt into a poem.  It allows me to do what I’m going to be talking about today.  Insert my life into my writing.   Letting a world flow through your mind until it strikes a chord…using the chord from my life to respond to a simple word prompt.

add in life (making your writing come alive)

Insert My Life in Writing?

Write what you know, it’s an adage that writers are often told.  In every book I read on writing it’s repeated: Write what you know.  It doesn’t mean that you have to tell your life story, but you use your life and what you know into the stories that you tell. 

For instance, today my lad was telling me about a character he would like to create.  A cat, who is a warrior, but is only good with a crossbow.  He doesn’t fight well hand to hand, has no knife, or other weapon, just his crossbow.   He would be about two feet tall but highly effective.  Not a talker, just a crossbow expert.

I told him this character sounds like a fascinating fellow and would love to know more about him.  Is his whole race of people the same or is he an odd-ball?  What causes him to not talk much?  That question caused the thoughts to spiral.  It’s SUCH FUN!

We took the time to explore a bit where such an idea came from: his cats, the games he plays, his friends, his interests in life etc.   All helped him spawn this imaginative creature. 

Warrior cat

Don’t Short Change Yourself

It’s hard sometimes you know, to figure out how the events, thoughts, conversations etc of your life, can add depth to your writing.  The things that we do, the very conversations, and fun, and even the sorrows that we experience, these are the well-spring of our well-written work. 

Regardless if our focus is on poetry, on non-fiction or creative writing.  If you take the time to add in your life, your writing will be full of meaning and experiences only YOU can create, because only you have lived your life.  Don’t discount your experiences in any way. 

Live your life, live it well.  Use your life to make what you do even better.  Take your love of fishing to show the excitement of a child catching their first fish.  Use your confusion over the right outfit to wear to showcase the angst of getting ready for a date.  Apply your laughter over a night out, your disappointment in a movie, your fear at stepping outside of your comfort zone, the smells of campfire and how different that is from burning rubbish.  Growing up on a farm or growing up in town…they bring a richness we can’t always fully grasp.  Choose your words wisely, sift through your memories, and share them well.  Therefore enabling help us see the world more clearly. 

add in your life experiences

Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul

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I remember singing this song as I was growing up, it was also a favourite song in a Baptist church I attended for a while.  Singing it pop up in my folk hymnal brought a smile to my heart, so today I bring you Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul. 

heaven came down and glory filled my soul

Lyrics to Heaven Came Down….

O what a wonderful, wonderful day, day I will never forget;
After I’d wandered in darkness away, Jesus my Savior I met.
O what a tender, compassionate friend, He met the need of my heart;
Shadows dispelling, with joy I am telling, He made all the darkness depart.

Chorus
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, (filled my soul)
When at the cross the Savior made me whole; (made me whole)
My sins were washed away and my night was turned to day,
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul! (filled my soul)

Born of the Spirit with life from above into God’s family divine,
Justified fully thru Calvary’s love, O what a standing is mine!
And the transaction so quickly was made, when as a sinner I came,
Took of the offer, of grace He did proffer, He saved me, O praise His dear name!

Chorus

Now I’ve a hope that will surely endure after the passing of time;
I have a future in heaven for sure there in those mansions sublime.
And it’s because of that wonderful day, when at the cross I believed;
Riches eternal and blessings supernal, from His precious hand I received.

Chorus

Author

John W. Peterson is the author of this fun song.   I found this site devoted to him and his music.  He was a pilot in WW2 who flew the deadly China Hump.  A graduate of the Moody Bible Institute and the American Conservatory of Music.  He launched his song-writing career in Pennsylvania.  Later on he moved to Michigan, and then on to Arizona. 

Over his music career he wrote more than 1000 songs such as Surely Goodness and Mercy.

Thinking Deeper

Think about these words eh?

O what a wonderful, wonderful day, day I will never forget;
After I’d wandered in darkness away, Jesus my Savior I met.
O what a tender, compassionate friend, He met the need of my heart;
Shadows dispelling, with joy I am telling, He made all the darkness depart.

I know that many are like me, growing up in the Christian home, our faith deepening over time.  We are like Timothy… growing up in faith.  

Yet others are like Paul, having a sudden awareness brought to them of the reality of who Christ is. 

Regardless of how your faith deepens and you come to know more of the Lord, the question remains… do you remember Jesus’ compassion?  Do we recall how, in our time of need, Jesus responds?  This song draws us back into the remembrance.  It draws us to remember just who Christ is and what he calls us to be, what he declares us to be.  Justified people, a people won by grace and love, a people filled with hope because we know what awaits us. 

Engineering for High School

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Do you have a child who is detailed oriented and likes to figure out the why of how things work?   Who likes to figure out how to make things, or figures out the most efficient way of doing things?   Well.. I DO.    It sometimes drives me crazy, but I’ve learned (mostly to live with it).    I’ve had more than one person tell me that he’s got a bit of an engineers mind.  Therefore, this week I’m hoping to help others who are looking into opportunities for engineering for high school.

engineering for high school

Places to Go On-Line

The Engineer Guy is a website I am still exploring.  There is much to see and read.  How useful he will be to me and my lad I don’t know.  Check him out.

I find this site Instructables absolutely fascinating.  The things people make.  Sometimes I feel so inspired to try some of them out.  You need to be aware that not everyone is as complete in their instructions as others.  Some have specialized equipment, so pick and choose what you look at.  But wow… browsing is such fun!  They even have lessons just for high school. 

TeachEngineering has some 360 lessons.  Print them off and use them.  Practice out your engineering skills.  Complete a whole unit or dash around trying your hand at different things.   

I’m looking into a program called Engineer Your world. I don’t know a whole lot about it but it certainly looks interesting.   I’ve learned it’s not cheap, it’s three year commitment with materials to store and you need a minimum of 9 children to participate yearly.

If you want more online options, you could go to many of online options I listed here and search out their engineering courses. For instance Alison has all these engineering related courses. 

Real Life Opportunities

As I was doing some researching I discovered that different universities (in the States and Canada) and I’m assuming there are opportunities world-wide for summer learning.   For instance the University of Western Ontario has this high school program. 

The University of Waterloo has these enrichment programs. 

You could job shadow an engineer… there are so many fields for engineers it’s amazing.  SO if you didn’t like aspects of one engineers job you could easily switch to another. Pursue to the type of engineering you would like to do. 

Positions for Engineers

Civil engineer.  These are the most common. Something is being built like a road, a house, a building etc.   You need people to design it, and then you need people to safely construct it.  These people (the designers and the constructors) are civil engineers.   To learn more see here.

Mechanical Engineer.  An engineer who deals with mechanical things.  They work on the design of machines, calibration and more.

Chemical Engineer.  Well you know it has to do with chemicals right?  They use their knowledge of chemistry and chemical to develop and design chemical manufacturing processes. They use this knowledge to develop new drugs, in food production and much more. 

Petroleum Engineer.  These folks finds ways to better utilize petroleum products and to extract it from the ground. 

Electrical Engineer.  “Someone who designs and develops new electrical systems, solves problems and tests equipment.” They apply (after study) physics and math to various systems to transmit energy and to help process information. If it’s electrical, they are involved. Continue reading here.

Aeronautic Engineer.  Think of anything that interacts with the air and space.  Those items/jobs/positions are what these folks fill.   

My son has taken two engineering courses over his middle school years.  Last year Robotics and Thinking like an Engineer.   

SchoolhouseTeachers.com has a few engineering tasks on their site.  Not a whole lot, but perhaps enough the whet the appetite of your students.   Before you know you’ll be teaching engineering for high school!  🙂

schoolhouse

Want to Learn Some Specifics?

Selling Curriculum and Books

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This isn’t going to be a mind-blowing post.. just so you know.  I feel like I’ve been neglecting my blog lately so thought I’d do up a quick post.  Today’s topic?  Selling Curriculum and books.  Why?  Because that is what I have been doing today.

Selling curriculum and books

I’ve been taking pictures.  Such as this one.  I then go to the local buy’n’sell groups (including the homeschool ones) and post things for sale. 

books for sale

Pricing

I don’t charge a lot.  My prices are pretty basic like $1 for chapter books, $2 for workbooks, $5 for new books, $10 for never even been looked at books, still in the wrapping. 

Cause you know what…sometimes you buy stuff with good intentions and then go MEH.. why did I ever buy that???   So you want to recoup SOME of your costs right?  But normally once it’s used and done.. I just want it gone.  I don’t want to keep it in my house. 

picture books

Some books, like the one above are HARD to get rid of.  I LOVE this book.  BUT someone gave me a box of books to sell once, told me I could keep anything I wanted instead of selling it and in that box was a book of all James Herriot’s short tales.  This book is in that (sans the pictures) but the story itself is there and ultimately it’s the story I love not the pictures.   

Ergo… out it goes.  I do hope it finds a home where it will be much loved.  I remember having this same trouble with Explorers.  I just love wordless books, you can do so much with them.

books for sale

Some decisions are hard

Others I really waffle on.  Like The Appleseed Journal.  I keep thinking I could get the lad to do a book study on it.  One where he has to think through some of Appleseeds’ errant beliefs…but then I remember my lad HATES book studies and is the struggle really worth it?  So I waffle and time will tell.  I suppose if it sells that’s my answer right?  And if it is still here when I want to MAKE him do a book study it’ll be available. 

curriculum and books for sale

in this season of my life I’m also selling some books for a friend’s sister. I get a commission which helps make it worth my time.  But hubby wants them gone so I’m trying to get rid of them before I tell my friend…come take these away again.  I can’t have them in the house. 

I sold about 1/3 of them earlier this year at a book sale and was highly pleased by that.  My intention was to have a yard sale/book sale earlier this year but it seemed my fellows always needed me for something or the weather was too wet or much too hot or I had a bad week where doing anything was just stupid.  You know how it goes. 

Either way, come Monday morning most of these books will be gone .. either to a thrift store or back to my friends home and only a select few will make it in my yardsale pile for next year. Won’t that just be a lovely thing… and I will hopefully have just enough money to take my fellows out for supper.  Won’t THAT be a fun?

How about you… what methods do YOU use for selling curriculum books?  Do you use facebook or have a yearly sale you attend?  Maybe you list them on Kijiji or Craig’s list?

How to Save Money on Curriculum

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The school is about to start if you are in Ontario at least, I know that some folks have already started back to school already.  Will the curriculum you picked work out in the long run?  What if you or your children absolutely hate it?  How will you handle it?   Needing to know how to save money on curriculum is vitally important. 

How to Save Money on Curriculum

Curriculum isn’t working

So let’s say your curriculum simply isn’t working.  What do you do?   Do you keep plugging along or do you set it aside?  It depends on what the problem is.  

I’ve run into situations where the graphics caused my lad no end of distress, so we learned to cover them up.   Just do the work, ignore what is under these little pieces of paper and voila problem solved.  Quick problem-solver eh?  🙂 

Sometimes though, the problem isn’t so easy to solve.  The way it’s written doesn’t work for your student, or it’s too difficult or way too easy, or whatever.  The curriculum simply won’t work.  Then you need to find an alternative.  Perhaps the rest of the year you can make use of free math, art, or foreign language programs.  Sometimes your student needs to learn to deal with material they don’t like.  This too is a life lesson. Otherwise, you may just need to buckle down and get a program better suited.  In that situation you may not save money, but hopefully that won’t happen often. 

At other times, simply changing one aspect of a curriculum or revamping it in some ways does the trick.  One year my son and I were reviewing an geography program that was not doing over well.  We changed how we did it, adding extra elements, reducing the disliked portions and by the time we were done with it, it had become a favourite.  Saved us tons!

Finding Curriculum

So you find yourself needing to buy a curriculum to replace a disliked one, or simply because you need something that perhaps you forget or haven’t been able to get ahold of. How can you save money?

How to Save Money on Curriculum

You want to own your curriculum:

  • Used curriculum sales
  • Book Fairs
  • Library book sales
  • Thrift stores
  • Fellow homeschoolers
  • Check through what you have
  • Repurpose another curriculum by adding something to it.

You are okay not owning it

  • Library book shelves
  • Co-op library
  • Fellow homeschoolers
  • Sharing with someone already using it (form a small class).
How to Save Money on Curriculum

Don’t forget the Older Curriculum

My son has used old textbooks, elderly science notebooks, Sunday school material, ratty student notebooks, and more.  Old stuff is a treasure trove of information.  Ignore the natty covers and see what’s actually inside them.  You might need, at times, to update information.  But for the younger years, you want to build excitement in learning… and some of those old materials do an excellent job of doing just that.   🙂

Use them well and because they are old, you can either toss them, pass them along, or thrift store. 

It’s always your choice

At the end of the day we have to remember…. New curriculum is wonderful.  Like really.. the scent of a newly opened textbook.  It is great.   BUT what is even better is being able to buy more books and more curriculum because you stuck with your budget.    Find those budget friendly options and use them well. 

Zonked out Rabbits

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Sometimes rabbits snooze so deeply that you would swear they are dead.  And if you touch one of your zonked out rabbits either you will startle them badly or they will wake up slowly with a somewhat hung over attitude.   

Some folks I know over at backyard rabbits were kind enough to share images of their zonked out rabbits. 

Zonked out rabbits

From Jennifer.  Here is this cutie sleeping on his mom

Jennifer Zonked out rabbits

Bunnies that are sleeping soundly can be found in all sorts of positions.  On their sides, on their back, lying flat on their tummies, and/or wrapped over or under another bunny.  They are completely dead to the world. 

zonked out rabbits
Cher: My main man Hemi TOTALLY ‘Zonked’ out after a much needed “bath”

Zonked out Rabbits – Alive or Dead?

Some rabbits you will never catch sleeping. NEVER. It’s like they are too aware of their surroundings to be caught dead to rights. Those bunnies would make excellent feral rabbits. 🙂 But others you catch sleeping all the time.

It is horrible when you look into your rabbitry and see what you think is a sleeping bunny only to discover that actually no, this time that zonked rabbit is indeed dead.

Most of the time though, that apparently dead rabbit isn’t and often you won’t know until you touch that rabbit. A truly zonked out rabbit has slow, very quiet breathing. So you reach in to touch….do be mindful of startled rabbits though…. just saying… be careful.

More Pictures

sleeping bunny
You will often swear they are dead. says Jeff.

Katie mentioned that “No pic but I went to check rabbits one day and a doe was laying in a weird position I opened the cage and touched her and scared her so bad she bit me 😂”   Mental note: NEVER scare a zonked out rabbit, it’s just not in your own best interest (other than reassuring yourself they are alive). 

Katie later sent me this sleeping beauty. 

sleeping beauty

Savannah of Thistle Dew Ridge says” I’ve had rabbits sleep deeply before but this was the first time I walked in to one sleeping with its eyes rolled like that lol”

zonked out rabbits

Brianna told me this: ”  I had some English Lops, they used to pass out so deeply, I had to physically pick them up to get them to wake up.

They were never too impressed lol! “

babies zonked out
Crystal’s babies

Jolene of The Metropolitan Homestead sent me this harlequin coloured bunny enjoying a well earned rest.

zonked out rabbits

Danielle tells me this about her wee little one,” Zonked 1 1/2 week old. It was pretty warm and I though he was a dead until I poked him “

zonked out baby

Some people shared video which I didn’t know how to share here. If you are a member of backyard rabbits you can visit that thread here.

Others in This Series

abcblogging

Letter Z Link Up

Each week we will be linking up with the hosts of Blogging Through the Alphabet. Please visit some of these other blogs to get things like book lists, vegan recipes, and wonderful places to visit, just to name the topics I can think of off the top of my head.