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Struggles with science
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I have been doing Apologia this year and last year with my ds8. Last year we went through Astronomy and this year we are doing Flying Creatures. This is SUCH a struggle! He hates the note booking and I even have the junior notebook. He can’t stand having to fill in all the information. It just isn’t fun to him. And because he doesn’t like it, I don’t want to do it either. The reading is fine, but as soon as I pull out the notebook, he balks. It is taking us FOREVER to get through the book.
I am thinking of just stopping altogether and just doing living books for the next year or so. Then maybe in fifth grade starting back with apologia. Has anybody not done a curriculum for the early elementary years and started later with them? Successfully? I know that this is listed under the curriculum guide, but most people I know use apologia. Or something. If you only do living books, how about experiments? And, it just seems that we will go thorough all the suggested living books rather quickly.
I just want assurance that only doing living books will be enough science for him :). I should add that I was a biology major and chemistry minor, so the fact that he doesn’t like the science curriculum that I picked out . . . Is . . . Disheartening!
Many thanks,
Jenn
It sounds like he enjoys the curriculum, just not the notebook. I wouldn’t make him do the notebook – we use them – they aren’t my girls favorite thing, but they do them. What about if you just do the experiments at the end of the chapter and if writing is involved how about if you do it for him. At that age writing can still sometimes be a struggle because of spelling and learning cursive and just all the things you have to remember and if you’re expecting neatness on top of it, it might be enough to push him over the edge. To me it doesn’t matter if my girls write it, I let them give me whatever information they want and then I’m happy to write it for them – they are more inclined to give more information if someone can quickly write it for them than if they have to do it themselves.
Would he narrate to you for the notebook portions and you be the writer? I think dropping the notebook is totally okay at 8! I don’t ask my 8yo to write notebooking pages, I ask him to narrate and I am his hands. My 11 yo has reached the age where written narrations happen on a notebook page, but even for her it is not in every subject, she still does oral narrations too.
Yes. I might just be the notebooking itself, and he does not like to write at all. I told him how this next year (4th) I would be requiring him to write more. He about lost it! He just HATES to write. He has beautiful handwriting and his cursive is awesome, but if I were to start making him write his narrations, I don’t know what would happen.
Anybody else only use living books?
Thanks!
We do Noeo Science, which also encourages the kids to notebook the information they learn about. I knew that my 10YO DS (now 11) would really hate that part, so I left it out. We talk about the information after our reading (informal narration) and once a week I ask him to update his online blog with what he learned about in science that week.
Noeo incorporates lots of living books and the experiments are built into the curriculum (usually one every other week). Also, the Usborne books that come as part of the curriculum have internet links that give the kids pictures and videos about the topics on that page. My boys enjoy checking out the internet links each week.
Because my son is older, I didn’t feel comfortable without a formal curriculum. I am using Noeo Bio II with both my sons (ages 11 and 7), and am very pleased with it.
Tristan, you posted right before me . . . I don’t know why I have it in my head that he needs to do all the writing. Just another one of those comparisons that we moms do. Comparing our kids to others and what they are required to do in public school. Shame on me. It helps to hear that you don’t require your 8 year old to do the note booking.
And, following the curriculum guide, for 4th grade, it shows more written narrations. I guess I just thought he should be “getting there” a little before . . . Sorry, I can’t seem to get my thoughts down just right. Preparing him a little? Whatever.
I hate that I have to even think about next year so early, but our local convention is in a few weeks and I need to have an idea of what to buy 🙂
As far as the note booking goes . . . If I asked him to DRAW something, he would be all over that. He is very artsy and loves to create. Writing? Not so much.
Maybe I should just make my own notebook? And have him fill it with illustrations instead of words . ..
Jenn
There’s lots of room in the Jr. Notebook for drawing – have him draw the different animals for each section and then ask him if you can write down a couple facts he remembers about each one.
We also did flying creatures when my dd was 8. She too hated the journal and the writing. We dropped the journal and just read and narrated. She’s 9 now and I have already seen a huge difference in her ability to write, not to mention her enjoyment in her writing. From my experience, 8 is still too young to require that much writing. It wears them out, not to mention kills their desire to write for years to come.
Right now we are using the History of Science by Beautiful Feet (mostly just reading the books, discussing each chapter and making a journal of what she has learned.) It is going VERY well. The books are very meaty. Some are narratives, some picture books and some experiments.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask…
This is very interesting to me. We are doing our first year with Apologia (astonomy). My girls are 8 and 10, and they like when I read the chapters to them, but dislike the notebooking. I got the juniors for them, because their writing is not advanced yet. But a lot of it seems like busy work, the cut and paste, puzzles, etc. I’m wondering if there is a different way to go about this. Just the reading and narration, with experiments at the end? Maybe we’ll start doing that.
I tend to get stuck on doing what the creators of the curriculum say to do, it’s hard for me to do my own thing sometimes.
I just asked my ds8 again, exactly, what it was that he didn’t like about science. He said it was the jr. notebook itself. He said that he loves the experiments and the reading is fine. He does not like “all the writing.”
So, melindab72, I think that’s what we will do now too. Just the reading, experiments and the extra recommended books. I was getting worried that I needed to find another science curriculum or something . . .
Jenn
Why don’t you just have him draw something like you said and maybe you can write his narration with it. Or don’t write anything. You might still be able to use the jr. notebook for that.
My two older boys are doing Apologia now. My oldest, who is almost 13, has enjoyed doing these on his own (with the notebook) for the last two years. And, my second oldest, who is 11, just started Apologia’s swimming animals with the jr. notebook about a month or so ago. The 11 y.o. is dyslexic and has had a very hard time with the physical act of writing. So I read him the book and he does the notebooking. He is really loving this course. But, let me encourage you – this is a very recent thing that he really enjoys the notebooking and I think the jr. notebook helps. Last year we tried this program and he was not so enthusiastic. So we dropped it. He just wasn’t ready. Both my boys (and a lot of boys, I think) do not love writing. This is the first formal science they have had and until now we did some HOD and other living books and just exploring on our own. I know the Apologia books are supposed to be for ages K through 6th, but I feel at least for my kids they are enjoying and getting so much more out of them now that they are older.
So, anyway, be encouraged that things will change as he gets older and living books are a great way to keep his enthusiasm for science. Just explore things he is interested in.
Kristen
@junkybird, you CAN just do living books, some experiments, and nature study throughout the elementary years. It IS enough. I used only living books and nature study with all four of my kids in the elementary years. Each one switched to Apologia in middle school because I wanted them to learn to use a textbook and how to study for a test. We started with General Science to give them practice but they could have easily skipped it because we covered just about everything in it with living books. None of my children had any problem transitioning to a more textbook approach from living books.
The living books on the curriculum guide are not meant to be an exhaustive list, just some suggestions to get you started. With your background in science, you should have no problem guiding your son through general science topics. The library is your best friend for finding a good variety of living books on science topics.
However, if your son is enjoying the Apologia elementary books, feel free to keep using those. I would drop the notebooking, though. I have three boys of my own and none of them liked to write at that age and absolutely hated (and still hate) anything that smacked of busy work. 🙂
I agree that the notebooking is not critical. My eldest used Aplologia Elem since K and I was really bad about getting notebooking in. She has done very well transitioning to Apologia General which is a big step up. If he likes the book I would keep it. I wish we would have used more living books that she read herself, now that I see that would have been fine. Leaning towards NOEO for my 5th grader…..
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