One of the inevitable questions you get asked as a homeschooler is, "How do you do science???" It does make me smile when this one is thrown my way, as you just know the person has visions of state school being a virtual space station with a galaxy of equipment and understanding not available to mere mortals. The reality, is that a sound foundation in the sciences is entirely accessible for a homeschooler.

Here are a few ideas:

*For the basics for younger children, get hold of a good science experiment book such as 'Kitchen Science' by Dorling Kindersley. It's amazing what concepts can be fathomed with everyday experiments.

*Let 'inquiry and evaluation' be the flavour of your conversations. Developing the discipline of a scientific mind is an important part of a rounded education.It flows naturally from curiosity; just keep the stimulating talk going.

* This is NOT a subject to waffle your way through. Get hold of books/resources  - from the Library if you have to. A number of national curriculum workbooks are available from bookstores.

*Get "hands on" with this subject. I mean really hands on. Get a few insect containers and see what you can find. Measure, estimate, analyse anything that comes your way.

*Get a pet. Animals hold a natural curiosity for children and are a great starting place for biology. We recently bred my boys' hamsters (eeek!) The boys researched breeding endlessly before hand and built the 'breeding cage'. Low and behold, 16 days later (shortest gestation of any mammal)  10, inch long little hammies were born. It was totally awe inspiring. They are now 5 week old, little fluffballs (looking for a home if you're interested in one!).

*Seize opportunities. I read of a homeschooling family who take roadkill home to dissect. Yup, squirrels, badgers and the like. I confess I'm too squeamish, but credit to them!

*Get the foundations right. "How did the world start? What's life all about?" are questions your children might ask when you're in the middle of defrosting the freezer or something. For me, the starting place is Genesis 1. God indeed did create this world and his touch can be seen in every flower, tree and baby hamster. Again the company 'Answers in Genesis' provides great kids resources for the curious child.

* Be brave and consider the long term. Whatever your child wants to do in adulthood, science GCSE's are a good foundation. We owe it to our children not to limit their career choices. Who knows? Your child may one day be a doctor, vet or astronomer.

*Enjoy!

Jane

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Posted by jayfromcleveland

Jane, your suggestions are all great. Generally speaking, I think the best way to approach science is to teach kids (and adults!) to become observers of the natural world. You might start by *actively* reading of the biographies of famous scientists. We started with "Archimedes and the Door of Science" by Jean Bendick.

If you follow the careers of Galileo, Newton, our guy Ben Franklin, or any others, you can see that they started out by closely observing. For example, the young Galileo was bored in church (imagine that!) and noticed the swinging motion of the chandeliers, from which he ultimately discovered the mathematical laws of the pendulum, which led to their use in mechanical clocks. Galileo later studied the rolling of balls of different weights, which led to his laws of motion, which were later generalized by your Sir Isaac. The latter personage cut his teeth on playing with prisms, and thereby made many important discoveries in optics, before discovering his famous "law of gravity."

The problem with science education today is that most important discoveries have already been made, and science textbooks rely on rote memorization and accepting established scientific conclusions on the basis of the presumed authority of mainstream science. Our homeschool kids have a unique opportunity to become true observers of their natural world, and cultivate critical thinking skills. l8r, jay

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