Unschooling Science Ideas, Anyone?…Anyone?

Okay, a question for my homeschool friends: I have a friend who is beginning to homeschool two of her girls, grades 5^th and 7^th, I believe. One of her girls is exempt (in the public schools) from having to learn science and history. It has something to do with a 504, which, I admit, I did not look up, so I have no idea what it is. What I did look up was this: unschooling science ideas. I was going to move to history after that, but I had no luck whatsoever with the science search and became frustrated. I thought it would be cool to give my friend a general idea of what unschoolers do for science and history, so she could work them in somehow even though they aren’t required. All I found where specific activities, mostly written by people who were bragging about what their kid learned on that specific day. I realize unschooling is supposed to be totally based on the interest of the child, but what if your child isn’t interested at all? What then? Surely there are things the parent can do to nudge the child toward learning science. What would those things be? All I can think of are watching documentaries and reading books on specific scientific ideas, perhaps a book about birds or rock formations, etc. Also I thought a book of science experiments might be handy to have around. But other than that, is there something a parent could do to make the study of science more readily available to their child? For history, again, all I can think of are documentaries and books. Luckily, historical fiction would be somewhat educational as well. I’m not an unschooler, so I’m clueless, but I think it would be nice to compile a list and have it available on my blog, so that other clueless people could begin to unschool with history and science, if they so desire. Any help would be greatly appreciated! I will pass the ideas on to my friend, and if I get enough response, I will repost, using all of your ideas, so that we can have a proper list all in one place.

A prompt disguised as making history…

Write about a memory that has stuck with you for ten or more years. But change the outcome. Change it to something more tragic, or witty, or adventurous. Anything you like! It would be interesting to have your change bring about unexpected consequences…

Wayward Son

I recently inhaled a book titled Wayward Son. It was written by Tom Pollack, with Jim Alves and John Loftus. The modern-day story begins with a couple of enthusiastic archaeologists and their discovery of a colossal repository of historical artifacts. As they soon discover, the repository consists of more than mere relics. It contains within its walls the life story of one of the most infamous Biblical characters of all time.

This book kept me turning page after page. It was well-written, entertaining, suspenseful, and satisfying. The story covered significant historical events from just after Creation to the first century AD. I developed a new love of history as I read about ancient Egyptians, the first Chinese emperor, the Romans, and everything in between. The details provided were just enough to whet my appetite for the true stories behind these eras. The modern-day plot was interesting as well, and the authors deftly wove the two together. The conclusion was supremely satisfying, and I look forward to reading more from these authors in the future. As my personal interest grew, I realized that this book would be perfect for parents trying to get their children interested in history.

If you want to find out more, check out the product page for this book. Or you can preview it here.

Note: In exchange for an honest review, the publisher provided a complimentary copy of this book through Glass Road Public Relations.