Our Science Studies

This year we are all working together on Nancy Larson® Science 2 {recommended for ages 7-9} and have been studying a range of topics. At the moment I’m rather anxious to get into the bird section of the program {since we moved our birdfeeder up onto our porch}, but we are definitely having fun and learning a lot this year.

We are a little more than halfway through the Science 2 program and are working through the fourth of the six units. We’ve already covered:

~ The Physical Properties of Matter: solids, liquids, and gases; measuring the mass of a solid; the transparency of matter; exploring magnetic attraction; naming magnetic poles and the states of matter.

Needless to say, the scale has been a big hit. Whenever the science bin is pulled out, I’m sure to hear “Can we play with the scale too?”

~ Observing Rocks and Minerals: classifying rocks by size {sand, pebble, cobble, gravel, and boulders}; comparing the hardness of minerals, and identifying the minerals in granite.

The rock collection that we used to talk about the hardness of minerals has also much fun. We went on several walks during our time learning about rocks and minerals. One of the best parts of those walks was listening to Zachary and McKenna point out the various rock sizes that we saw along the way. :)

~ Investigating Forces and Work: learning about gravity; demonstrating how lubricants affect friction between objects; learning about wheels/axles; observing how rollers make work easier; and inclined planes.

This unit involved several of our small race cars, a lot of our blocks to build inclined ramps and the involvement of all of the kids as we raced cars, used the coveted tape measure to see how far vehicles traveled with/without friction and more.

~ Examining Simple Machines: so far we’ve talked about how inclined planes work make easier; characteristics of wedges; identifying the functions of screws; and the characteristics of wheels and axles.

Our last two units will be exploring light and sound and then investigating birds {just in time for the warm weather!!}. In the meantime I’ve been snapping pictures of the many birds in our area and getting ready for that unit!

The Nancy Larson® Science 2 has been a step up in work level for the kids, but what I really love most is Zachary’s desire to participate in the reading of the text and seeing his study skill improve dramatically with this level. The Science 2 has added bolded words and has children highlight important text ~ and we have a little boy that is giddy to use his highlighter and find the important info in each lesson {and I definitely won’t complain about that!}.

While Laurianna falls on the older end of the age range for the curriculum, she still is learning things that we haven’t covered in the past and enjoying the ‘hands-on’ parts of the program too…and even Kaleb is having fun with those parts {especially the ramps and the racing!}.

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