Physics with Secrets of the Universe

This year we are focusing on physics, and I found a great series of books to introduce middle school students to the subject.  I am using it with our co-op as well.  The series is Secrets of the Universe by Paul Fleisher.  Originally published as a single volume, it is now available as 5 slim books, perfect for moving from elementary into middle school science.  We have started with Objects in Motion: Principles of Classical Mechanics.

This series has so much to like about it.  Fleisher explains concepts in a clear manner with informative examples.  He tells the story through the scientists who first discovered the principles bringing an interesting historical perspective.  He intersperses experiments throughout the text rather than as a separate section.  The graphics are simple and of a single color, yet effective.  It really is a pleasure to read!

The other four books in the series are Liquids and Gases: Principles of Fluid Mechanics; Matter and Energy: Principles of Matter and Thermodynamics; Waves: Principles of Light, Electricity, and Magnetism; and Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: Principles of Modern Physics.

Our TORCH co-op is now up to 6 families and 21 children.  I teach 3 sections of physics, one for middle school girls (4 of them), another for middle school boys (4 of them), and another for older elementary boys (3 of them).  I plan to blog more about out experiences soon!

Planets and Meteors August 12

This Thursday, August 12, is a good night to have an amateur astronomy party.  Every summer the Perseid Meteor Showers dazzle us with their show, but this summer, they have an opening act.

Venus, Saturn, and Mars will all be appearing in the western sky just around twilight along with the crescent moon.  They will be in tight conjunction and easy to see--you won't even need a telescope.

Just as the planets are disappearing, around 10 pm, the meteors will begin.  And with the moon being but a crescent, they will be very easy to spot.  If you rise early, during the darkness just before dawn Friday morning, you could enjoy seeing dozens per hour. 

You can read about it on the NASA blog.

Versatile Blogger Award

Thank you, Annie, from Learn At Every Turn, for this award! She has a great blog with lots of science resources, as well as stuff for other subjects.

For this award:

• Tell 7 things about yourself
• Pass it on to other versatile bloggers

 Here are my 7 things:

•  I love writing; that's why I am a blogger more than anything else in the social media world.
• I very much enjoy teaching, especially through inquiry.
• I could spend all day working on a new Zome model design.
• I would like an iTouch but not until they come down in price.
• I think the most versatile machine would be a tablet PC the size of a netbook--like a laptop and an iPad all in one--and still priced around $300.
• Streaming instrumental music from Pandora is my constant companion at the computer.
• I am Catholic, humbly faithful to the Magisterium, who thinks Evolution is a solid scientific theory that well explains the origins of species to the best of our scientific knowledge today.  That does not make me a deist; God is very much involved with His creation, and has been from the beginning.

I mentioned a lot of great blogs in the recent Blogger of Substance award.  This time, though, I will pass it on to a few, and simply list some other outstanding blogs I love to read but are not really candidates for award memes:

Rockhound Place
Academia Celestia
LaPaz Home Learning

Unity of Truth
The Deeps of Time
Science Notebooking
Notice the Universe

Review: Secrets of the Universe

This fall, with Ds#1 being of sixth grade age, we are embarking on a year of physics using the Paul Fleisher series, Secrets of the Universe.  This is an outstanding series to introduce middle-school students to the subject.

The books have no color-laden pictures, no distracting side bars; rather it has clear, descriptive, interesting writing that explains the concepts.  He bases the topics on the scientists who first described the principles, and relates the material through common, illustrative examples.  He intertwines the experiments with the narrative rather than putting them in a separate section.  The end of each book includes a timeline and short biographies of the scientists mentioned as well as a suggested reading list and glossary.

The book was originally published as a single volume and then subsequently divided into the five-book series.  Though the experiments are few, the series makes an excellent spine around which you can easily add in more activities and reading.  As science books become more splash than substance, the elegance of this series is a reminder of the good writing that is being lost to the photographs and isolated side bars facts so prominent today.

If your library carries the series and you can wait to purchase these books you may be able to pick them up through the used book market at a reasonable price.

A Blogger of Substance Award

Thank you, Alex, from Serendipity Home School for A Blog With Substance award!  Hopefully this blog will have more substance when I finally fill in those tabs, lol!

Here's how this award works:

• Thank the blogger that awarded it to you.
• Sum up you blogging philosophy, motivation, and experience using exactly 10 words;
• Pass it on to 10 other blogs with substance.

My summation sentence:

Sharing science resources with other homeschoolers returns many more blessings.

Here are at least 10 blogs where I find all kinds of thought-provoking and helpful material on them:

1. Learners at Home
2. Funschooling
3. Books, Links, and More
4. Miss Julie's Place: Art Lessons for Kids
5. Of Great Mind: A Journey in Home Education
6. Talking to Myself that just moved over from Homeschoolblogger, with more great hands-on stuff.
7. Totus Tuus Family & Catholic Homeschooling
8. Maureen Wittmann
9. Abiding Faith: Our Journey of Real Learning
10. Hilltop Homeschool

 I could list more, but several have already received the award from others.  Thank you again.