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.

Post from the Past: Do we truly believe that God is in control?

If you study biology, chemistry, astronomy – well, just pick a science – you will gain an appreciation for God’s ingenuity and power like never before. For instance, the human body is a fearfully wonderful thing. When it’s working properly, every tiny cell is serving a purpose. They all work together to keep us alive. I have begun to mentally apply this awesome microscopic design on a larger scale – to the workings of every living person on earth. Does God have enough power to direct every detail of every person’s life in order to accomplish His will? He does. It seems to me that every person on the earth is like one cell in the body of God’s design. He is winding things up in preparation for The End, and we are all a part of that.

My way of looking at life has changed over the years. I used to believe that God only took a hand in the big events in my life. I used to believe that He just allowed some things to happen on their own – without any consideration from Him. I think I was making excuses for Him in my mind. I didn’t want to believe that people could suffer and die because of a decision on His part (tragic deaths, natural disasters, etc). The events of September 11, 2001 really bothered me. Why would God choose to end all of those lives? At the time – one thing never occurred to me: God loved those people more than I have ever loved anyone. God wanted a relationship with each of them. Do you think He allowed even one to die that, given one more chance, would have accepted Him? I like to think that the entire population of those who died that day were either already saved, or had made up their minds already against God. I know that’s radical, but I believe that God is just that powerful. And if that’s not the way He works, then I trust that His way is even better, and makes even more sense.

I don’t know when it happened or what caused it, but my perspective has changed a lot over the past year or so. I now believe – wholeheartedly – that God is in direct control of every tiny thing. I believe that He is telling the literal truth when He says that, “All things work together for good [my own emphasis].” The question is, do we really believe that He has that much power? Do we believe, for instance, when it rains, that it is exactly what every Christian needs on that day? When we get a new job, or when our dryer stops working, do we believe that He is blessing and/or molding us into something better? I’ve finally stopped worrying about things I can’t control. I figure that if I have sinned (say, for instance, that I’m a lazy employee), then I can take myself out of God’s will for my life. If I lost my job at that point, I would blame myself. However, if something happens, and I know that I haven’t had anything to do with it, I assume that God wanted it to happen. I assume that it’s in my best interest. In other words, my own sin is the only thing that can hinder God’s perfect will in my life. I know that a lot of people won’t agree with me. I just believe that He has enough power over our lives to work every tiny detail according to His will. Now, when something “bad” happens, I think, “What can I learn from this? What is God trying to tell me?”

Challenge: Obey God in every small detail. Trust Him to take care of everything else.

Do we truly believe that God is in control?

If you study biology, chemistry, astronomy – well, just pick a science – you will gain an appreciation for God’s ingenuity and power like never before. For instance, the human body is a fearfully wonderful thing. When it’s working properly, every tiny cell is serving a purpose. They all work together to keep us alive. I have begun to mentally apply this awesome microscopic design on a larger scale – to the workings of every living person on earth. Does God have enough power to direct every detail of every person’s life in order to accomplish His will? He does. It seems to me that every person on the earth is like one cell in the body of God’s design. He is winding things up in preparation for The End, and we are all a part of that.

My way of looking at life has changed over the years. I used to believe that God only took a hand in the big events in my life. I used to believe that He just allowed some things to happen on their own – without any consideration from Him. I think I was making excuses for Him in my mind. I didn’t want to believe that people could suffer and die because of a decision on His part (tragic deaths, natural disasters, etc). The events of September 11, 2001 really bothered me. Why would God choose to end all of those lives? At the time – one thing never occurred to me: God loved those people more than I have ever loved anyone. God wanted a relationship with each of them. Do you think He allowed even one to die that, given one more chance, would have accepted Him? I like to think that the entire population of those who died that day were either already saved, or had made up their minds already against God. I know that’s radical, but I believe that God is just that powerful. And if that’s not the way He works, then I trust that His way is even better, and makes even more sense.

I don’t know when it happened or what caused it, but my perspective has changed a lot over the past year or so. I now believe – wholeheartedly – that God is in direct control of every tiny thing. I believe that He is telling the literal truth when He says that, “All things work together for good [my own emphasis].” The question is, do we really believe that He has that much power? Do we believe, for instance, when it rains, that it is exactly what every Christian needs on that day? When we get a new job, or when our dryer stops working, do we believe that He is blessing and/or molding us into something better? I’ve finally stopped worrying about things I can’t control. I figure that if I have sinned (say, for instance, that I’m a lazy employee), then I can take myself out of God’s will for my life. If I lost my job at that point, I would blame myself. However, if something happens, and I know that I haven’t had anything to do with it, I assume that God wanted it to happen. I assume that it’s in my best interest. In other words, my own sin is the only thing that can hinder God’s perfect will in my life. I know that a lot of people won’t agree with me. I just believe that He has enough power over our lives to work every tiny detail according to His will. Now, when something “bad” happens, I think, “What can I learn from this? What is God trying to tell me?”

Challenge: Obey God in every small detail. Trust Him to take care of everything else.