We have been having a good time adjusting to a more formal science course this year and learning lots! But we (read me) needed some change near the end of the year. So we have added in some other books, some videos, and soon some good hands on outdoor Nature Study.
For our study of invertabrates we really enjoyed Life in the Undergrowth. We read about the various animal kingdoms in our DK Animal book first to put everything in perspective. We did the worm dissection online and observed a worm from our garden. The crayfish dissection was done via the Zoology Colouring book (he also read the appropriate pages in there and they were quite meaty). A. also read through the chapter in our text and skimmed the study guide and we realized that most everything on it we had covered. Now he is reading a Jean Henri Fabre book dealing with insects- he has chosen the caterpillar since we are keeping one presently.
For the study of jellyfish etc. we moved into the Seaside Naturalist and the Marine Biology Colouring Book, also quickly reading the text. A. kept notes on various things he read about in the Cnidarian section as well as diagrams of life cycles and polyps.
We skipped two modules, on evolution and ecology, as I wasn't comfortable at all with the presentation in our text. I think we will study ecology in September along with the sections on the plant kingdom. I figure we will do two more modules, those on the snakes, reptiles etc. and mammals in the next month and call it a year. That sets us to begin Chem somewhere around November which seems good. We might leave it for January if we stretch out the Biology with more Natural History.
Some additional books he has been enjoying are; The Double Helix and The Microbe Hunters.
That's a wrap!
