Living Science Series: One Small Square

One Small Square series
by Donald M. Silver, illustrated by Patricia Wynne

This is a great series for biome and nature studies. In each of the twelve books you are observing a “square” (a cube, really, except for Night Sky) over time to watch all the happenings there. The books collectively cover a wide variety of biomes, like the African Savanna, Cactus Desert, and Arctic Tundra, as well as areas near where we live, like Backyard, Night Sky, Pond, and Wood (for our family, anyway.) Each book shows many of the common flora, fauna, and changes that are likely to occur in the square if you were you able to observe it over time. The books also include activities in the margin (which I like because they don’t interrupt the flow of the story) to gain a better understanding of the environment. The illustrations are colorful, if not highly detailed. I have my son choose one or two to draw in his notebook each week. So far we have only studied distant biomes, but I plan to do a live exploration of a local small square this summer.

Teachers' Domain

Teachers' Domain is a great free science resource from PBS I found. It has a wealth of animations and lesson plans. You can create folders and put both Teachers' Domain and internet links in them. You need to register, and you need to have an organization, though you can enter your homeschool organization (they ask for name, address, and telephone.) The site has a built in "trial" where you can view 8 resources without registering.

Each animation can be viewed at the site or even downloaded, and comes with discussion questions. They are linked to state standards (if you like to look at those things) and to a variety of lesson plans. Most of the animations I've viewed so far have both audio and visual components, and some are interactive.

Science notebooks

Science notebooking does not need to be complicated. We use a sheet of paper with a blank box at the top and ruled lines at the bottom for my sons to draw and take notes about something we read or saw. My 8 year old fills out his own sheet while my 6 year old tells me what to write. In Charlotte Mason terms, this is narration in all 3 of its forms. For "experiments" I have another form that has What I did at the top, What I saw in the middle (lined for writing or blank box for drawing), and What happened? at the bottom. Noeo Science comes with similar reproducible sheets that can be downloaded from their site, but I just made my own. I can decorate them as I want that way. They all get placed in a 3-ring binder throughout the year. You can easily add photos of your science adventures and creations. You can do lapbooks as well, something our family is starting to get into. It's all so much more beautiful to look back on than test sheets!

At Home Science links on Del.icio.us

Del.icio.us is a utility that lets you bookmark, tag, and share web links. The sidebar now shows the latest 5 science sites that I've bookmarked, as well as a link to the RSS feed, called "updated links." I added a link to the full list of science bookmarks under "Permanent Links." I hope you find a lot of great resources!

Microscope fun

Certainly by the time your child is doing high school level biology, you're going to need a microscope; I wouldn't wait until then, though. Originally I bought my microscope when I was teaching a high school biology for our homeschool co-op, but my children have gotten so much fun out of it that I would suggest you get one sooner. Getting out the microscope is a guaranteed afternoon of fun in our house.

Be sure to have plenty of slides and cover slips, available at Home Science Tools. One thing that make exploration easier for novices is prepared slides. The Complete Elementary Slide Set has a great variety of specimens.

Two great beginner books to go along with your microscope are Greg's Microscope and Janice VanCleave's Microscopes and Magnifying Lenses. (Enter micoscope* in the Search My Books at LibraryThing box in the right sidebar to display these books. You'll also see The Usborne Complete Book of the Microscope, which is visually beautiful but without many more home microscope activities than Greg's Microscope.)

A very simple (and smelly) activity is stuffing a handful of grass into a jar, covering it with pond water and a lid, and letting it sit for 3 to 5 days, making sure to open the lid daily. Put a drop of that water on a slide, cover it with a cover slip, and check out the active microorganisms.