Bigger's science

[jenntracy]

Are all the books used in science incorporated into the notebook somehow? i ask because i was thinking of using parts of HOD science for that year. I was not planning on using the one small square books and Edison book.

would it mess up the notebook if i only used the 3 other books.?

Also, are the books used in the order they are represented on the site.... one small square, etc . ?

I may just use the books and not even do a notebook for that guide.

We have been doing our own science this year along with some of HOD and next year we are doing our own for Beyond.
I am a little picky To each his own.

thanks

Jenn

[Kathleen]

All of the science in the "science box" in Bigger is based on the books that are reccommended. The experiments, the notebooking, everything. Is that what you want to know? I don't think you could do the assignments in the box without the content from the reading that's included to be read. I think you either need to do your own science or do HOD's with the books reccommended.

We LOVED the science in Bigger last year. I loved the way that it got my son thinking scientifically. He has learned way more and retained it than he was when we were using textbooks! John Audubon was inspirational - he found everybird nest within a mile of our house, and the dairy farm. He know what kind and how many eggs each had. He collected eggs. (And he's eagerly awaiting nesting season this year as it warms up! ) This year, he became an expert on constellations and loves that he can find and identify them and their 1st magnitude stars at night.

Kathleen

[my3sons]

Kathleen did a super job of answering your questions already, so I'll just agree. I'll also add that we not only loved the science, but also thought it not only taught us science, but made history come alive even more as well. All of the science is connected with the history, and that just made it that much more special. We are doing Bigger a second time around now with our middle ds, and finding it to be just as delightful. While we are reading about explorers such as John Cabot and Henry Hudson, we are learning about the seashore. The tie-ins are so neat. Other sciences are just such a separate entity otherwise. The inter-connectedness of the history and science in HOD is kind of a special thing that's rare to find, and it's something we've grown to love. The notebooking and lab reports for the experiments are also excellent. Just something for you to weigh as you make your decision.

In Christ,
Julie

[Tansy]

We had a science guy come to talk to our Homeschool co-op. Someone asked what are the best science books. His answer was surprising.
1. They should be illustrated as an illustrator can make the identifying marks on a bird or plant more visible in a way photos cannot.
2. They should have lots of information but not too dry.
3. They should teach scientific method (HOD does this in the note booking).
4. They should be fun and filled with fun activities, that teach observation and exploration.

Then he said "I have no specific recommendations. " (he was a scientist not a teacher). But I was really happy it was a confirmation to me. The small square books (Carrie has chosen) really fit this criteria. I had as much fun or maybe more when I did this with my DD1 a few years ago. I can't wait till next year.

[jenntracy]

o.k. you all may be convincing me to do ALL the books. i just remember some posts sayiing they did not like the small sqaure books and i had taken a look at them. Maybe i should take another look.
i do know i really liked the looks of the Pioneer sampler and the Colonial science and James Audobon. My kids already know that name since we live close to Birdsong Nature Center and we plan to make that a regular "nature walk" in the near future.

Jenn d.

[Mom2Monkeys]

I know what you mean about the One Small Square books. I like them okay on their own, but with HOD's plans...WOW! They are awesome! We LOVE the science in Bigger. It's amazing how it ties in with the history and makes so many more connections. DD has been able to retell about our experiments to others weeks and months later and usually has the history and science stories to go along with it! She started a new homeschool enrichment class yesterday close to the end of the who thing. The teacher was so pleased with the knowledge she had of American History and the states themselves and decided she'd have no problem picking up so close to the end. DD was actually able to ADD to the class! She was able to tell history and science info that tied into what they were learning about. I can credit that retention and understanding to HOD!!

I hope you decide to use the HOD science! I think you'll be quite pleased

[DHT1999]

Jenn, we love the One Small Square books here. We haven't done Bigger Hearts yet but we have been using the OSS books for many years. My oldest son devoured many of the titles way before we found HOD. Now, he is even repeating a couple of them with Preparing Hearts. He is ten and loves science. The OSS books really got him interested in natural history at an early age. He has several one small squares of his own. He has one way out in the woods behind our house and we go there every couple of weeks to see how the area changes.

I guess everyone is different. You may not like the books. But, I'd atleast try one with the HOD plans before ruling them out.

[my3sons]

This is such a great discussion, so I'll throw one more thing out there. The OSS books are very living. It is near to impossible to find living books that fit within the science subject area. Because the science resources HOD chose are living, they are easier to narrate from - and definitely more enjoyable to narrate from. Other science books that are not as living tend to sound dry when a child tries to narrate from them, as they sound like a list of facts being stated, and often jump from thing to thing with little continuity or storyline. By doing the science HOD has planned, I'm able to make sure my dc are getting the LA skills they are to be learning too, as narrating well is a huge part of LA in general. In fact, just this morning, I was so pleased with how much my ds was able to narrate about his OSS reading. He remembered soooo much, even the names of things which were difficult, and he was so animated with his narration. It was fun to listen to, and my older ds (who did Bigger Hearts 3 years ago) chimed in with things he recalled at the end (though he was supposed to be working independently ). Just one other thing to ponder as you consider science.

In Christ,
Julie

[lmercon]

We are doing Bigger right now and absolutely LOVE the science! I'm a science-lover as well, so I get it when people peruse the plan and scan the books and think the science is light. BUT, can I just suggest that you go with HOD and the way it is written and see if it fits the bill? I really think you will be pleased to see the natural (not forced) connectedness of the history and science. It really is a delight! You can always supplement a bit if you wish, or do more in the summer months when you aren't doing HOD. I think you will find that it is a wonderful, rich way to teach science. You will be stunned at the way your child looks at the world around him/her and the ability to observe and draw and think scientifically. I think you should give it a couple of months and see if you aren't pleased as it is.
Laura

[kvmck]

My children and I have read and "done" parts of the one small square backyard book and the pond book (I think that's what its called!) and they LOVED them. The pictures are great and they really kept my kids' attention and helped them to identify different things. Last year we started Bigger (after 11 weeks we decided to do Beyond instead so we're getting ready to start Bigger again soon..) and my kids were very frustrated with the seashore book because we don't live anywhere close to a seashore and while we've visited the seashore once, we weren't able to go out and "play" in it! I found videos and some good stuff on youtube so they could try to "exerience" the seashore but they were very frustrated because they didn't have a "small square" to go and investigate. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when we start Bigger again because we know next to nothing about the seashore so it is good for us to learn about, but there is the frustration of not being able to do what the book says. I've been considering reading The Burgess Seashore book for Children to them while we are doing the OSS book. I think HOD also uses the Tundra book and we have no plans to move close to the tundra so I'm wondering if anyone else's children experience this frustration and how do you help them?

[my3sons]

Well, I guess I tell my dc that God's Creation is so vast, that as much as we'd like to, we will not be able to visit all of the places we so wish we could. But, the next best thing is to visit them with books! The OSS books make you feel like you are right there even if you can't be. We are in the middle of prairie grasses, so the Seashore is a far cry for us too. But, when our aunt came to visit from CA, the boys could enjoy a good conversation with her about the ocean anyway, because they'd learned about it in the OSS books. She has now begun sending newspaper clippings in the mail of the CA coastline. Anyway, I guess that's just the way we approach it. I just let the dc know that if we wait to study only what we can see, it will severely limit what we can study, so why not enjoy imagining drawing our OSS and using our imaginations to transport ourselves to the Seashore? I've grown to love this so much more than the dry fact-driven science texts I grew up with.

In Christ,
Julie

[kvmck]

Julie,
Thanks. I think those are good ideas, and I don't think we would've had this problem except the first two OSS books we did were very hands on so that was their expectation with this one as well and I didn't do a good job in changing their expectations--before finding HOD a lot of our habitat science was "nature walk" related so we haven't done any in depth study of habitats that we can't go and visit. And hopefully someday we'll get to take a "field trip" to the sea shore!

[my3sons]

Thanks Kristen - I know what you mean here. I hope we can take a trip to the seashore someday too. Maybe when our dc are older? That's what I'm telling myself at least.

In Christ,
Julie

[Shawneinfl]

Julie,

We feel the same way when it comes to visiting the mountains and prairies. I would love for my kids to know what it is like to be able to see an unobstructed landscape or a sky full of stars. We actually live at the edge of a cypress swamp and are surrounded by trees - we're pretty close to the ocean - if you ever make it down this way I know a great little beach house to stay in that's fairly inexpensive. It's getting here that's the hard part.

Blessings,

[my3sons]

Shawne - It is nice to know someone would be longing to see our landscape as much as we are longing to see theirs. I guess all of God's Creation is so wonderful, we have the desire to see every inch of it! I have an inspirational calendar that shows beautiful landscapes with Scripture captions. It is so amazing to think our God made them all! It would be fun to visit someday - thanks!

In Christ,
Julie