Buy used textbooks!

One of the Co-op moms stopped by to borrow a few textbooks. We always have extra copies because  we keep class sets of textbooks for the classes we teach regularly.  I don’t mind lending them.  The reason I have class sets is to contain costs for families.  We do charge a lab fee for the science classes.  But, we do not charge to borrow the textbook or a graphing calculator; families return both after the class is over.  (Families often give me textbooks they bought when they finish to add to my class sets.)

We’re sticking with the second edition of Apologia’s Chemistry and Physics textbooks.  I use the most recent editions for Biology and Advanced Biology.  However, I bought those used, too!  Moreover, when switched to the third edition of Apologia’s Biology, I donated my set to local Co-op.  

Why buy used textbooks?  I want to save money. I have friends who insist on buying new textbooks to pass down to their younger kiddos.  Hardback textbooks can take a beating.   Most of the time, the content doesn’t change substantially between editions.  I switched to the third edition of Biology because more and more families were switching editions and had already purchased the textbook.  I don’t see anything wrong with the older edition.  Chemistry is different.  Early publications of the third edition of Chemistry were rife with error.  Families would need to buy the new to avoid loads of errors in the third edition.  I’m sticking with the second edition.  (Truthfully, kids who have and use the first edition of Chemistry are usually fine in class.)  I’m sticking to the second edition of General Science because it has anatomy, which families want me to include. Physical Science?  Second edition.  Why? How much do you think the content in Chem or Physics changes?  Exactly.

BTW even the work books or anatomy color books I issue are used.  Is there some writing or high lighting in the book?  Sometimes.  You would be surprised how many are in excellent condition.  Below are current listings.  I have had to pay more for copies of the Young Explorers’ series, Advanced Biology, and 3e Biology textbooks.  Additionally, the student notebooks are always pricy, new or used.  I bought notebooks for the Young Explorers Chemistry and Physics class, but not for the upper classes.  The high school textbooks have study guide questions; the student study guides are generally outlines.  

Show and Tell!

 Often I show kiddos something and ask them to tell me what is happening; ideally, the activity is germane to the lesson.  Right now, this approach is an example of phenomena.  Educational jargon changes.  For awhile, discrepant events were all the rage in science education.  Even earlier, every lesson had to open with a hook.  (Save these ideas and terms for your portfolio.)  These are useful thinkers and add spice to lessons.  

1. Levels of Organization is a good example of ‘show and tell’.  Teens are given a stack of cups and expected to put the cups in order from smallest to largest, cell to the biosphere. After the kids finish stacking cups, we review the layers of organization.  Lesson sorted!

2. Poly Density Bottle is a discrepant event I use to introduce density.  It’s so popular, I had to order another one because mine disappeared.  We’re going to try to make Density Bottles again this fall.  Only one child has success at science camp.  

3. Liter Cube Set is a tool to show my teens just how one cubic centimeter is exactly one milliliter.

4. Disappearing Beaker is really a Physics demo about the index of refraction.  It’s a good thinker.  Why does the beaker disappear?  The beaker and corn oil have the same index of refraction.

5. Ghost Crystals really are another thinker.  Why do the crystals disappear?  The crystals have the same index of refraction as water. (I find tap water is fine.  You might need spring or distilled water.)

6. Lost Volume is another thinker.  The water molecules slip between the alcohol molecules.  The second video explains the concept.

7.  Can Crush is an air pressure demo.  Yes, we do spend most of the class crushing all sizes of aluminum cans.  For this demo, the teens both show and tell.  It’s not that clear to kids initially that the small amount of water in the can becomes steam and drives out the air in the can, which allows air pressure to crush the can as the steam in the can condenses in cold water.  Add ice.  Lots of ice.

8. Sink and Float with cans of Coke uses different temperatures of water.  Cola vs. Diet Cola has two cans with different densities.  (Use ice water!) Both are good demos for density.

9.  Below is a homemade video from two students with a disappearing penny and a dancing penny.  The video was part of an alternative assessment.  Teens demonstrated and explained a discrepant event with a video or photos.  More show and tell.

10.  Here are several discrepant events.  Have your kiddos do a show and tell.  Record it.  What is the trick? Can you reproduce it?  (The balancing hammer is hard.)  Can you explain the underlying science? Just like that, you have another science experiment for your portfolio! 

Want to learn how to code? Try SCRATCH!

Want to learn how to code?  I tried An Hour of Code.  It was okay.  We found MIT’s free programming, SCRATCH to be a winner!  Here are starter projects.  We couldn’t navigate from the MIT site initially.  What worked was a book.  We use Code Your Own Games.  We followed the instructions step by step.  In no time, the kitty could jump! 

Reliable Thrift Store Deals

I like a good thrift store and shop Good Will regularly.  What are some of the best deals?  I’m so glad you asked!

1. LEGOs: Are you planning to try to build elements and molecules with LEGO bricks?  Buy them by the pound.

2.  Prepared Slides do not expire.  I have NOT had much luck buying used microscopes.  In fact, avoid any used electronics.  

3.  All manner of MEL kits.  Below is the MEL Chemistry starter set.  Used kits are missing the VR viewer.  

4.  Snap Circuits sets are another bargain.  These sets work as an introduction to electrical circuits.  Here is the instructional manual for the Home Learning Kit.  The motor may be burned out.  ELENCO sells replacement parts.

5. Graphing calculators can be good deals.  First, make sure the calculator has been tested and powers on.  Buy either TI 83/84 calculators; other models, such as TI 89 can be impossible to operate.  If the screen has streaks or bruising, it means it’s about to die.  My target price is $35 for a TI 84.  I will buy TI 83 models to lend to the teens.  I prefer to buy two or three TI 83s to save shipping; my target for a TI 83 is $15 each.  I bought one used calculator from Amazon and one from eBay; both were duds.  

Metrics and Measures

 Let’s collect several metric measures activities for fall.  The activities are all upper level.  Whenever, Rob and I teach Chem or Physics the teens have an enormously varied background in science.  Some families do not teach any science before high school.  (These kiddos don’t have any bad habits to unlearn.  Generally, the teens catch up quickly.)   Metric measures are reinforced ALL YEAR!  

1.  Start with Sort It Out! This card sort addresses relative size.  We use this type of activity to see what kiddos already know or remember.  (Yes, we will point out that the topic WAS JUST TAUGHT LAST YEAR IN GEOMETRY CLASS!) Note that the answer key is expressed in scientific notation—part of metric measures—at least for our classes!  Additionally, there are metric prefixes.  Start with the relative size card sort and hold on to the other activities until the kiddos get more practice.

2. You need a mnemonic for metric prefixes.  We use Many Kids Have Dropped Over Dead Converting Metrics: Mega, Kilo, Deka, base (meter, gram, liter), deci, centi, milli.  This mneumonic covers metric units more frequently used in high school.  (Sure, there are others for you over achievers.  Try this one.)

3.  Texas Gateway offers Measurement, a complete unit with a video and some basic instructions for measures, such as reading a ruler or thermometer.  

4. Do Measurement Labs: Introduction to Measurement (pennies), Metric Measures Lab, and Metric Measurement Lab.  Yes, chemistry and physics instructors tend to combine lessons about equipment with a review of measures, accuracy, etc.

5. The upper level classes combine a review of metrics with accuracy, measures, scientific notation, conversions, and percent error—even equipment!  How?  I use It’s All About Density.  I use blocks, corks, metal cubes, glass marbles, etc.  (The metal cylinders and cubes are used for Specific Heat Lab, too. I use both metal cylinders or density cubes.  Surprise!  Free of charge is another review of metrics, measures, accuracy, conversions, etc.)  Most kiddos are familiar with density; if not, it’s a quick lesson about Archimedes.

6.  Tutorials: Khan Academy: Unit Conversion and Crash Course Unit Conversion and Sig Figs.

7.  Metric Worksheets for Practice: SI Units, Measurements, and Metric Conversion Worksheet.  TOPS has several metric measures books.

One concept which is hard to understand is that 1 cm3 = 1 mL.  Each cubic centimeter is the same as one milliliter.  Use a base-10 cube with this volume activity.  This explanation may help.  Follow up with the video below.

Starting cutting kits for fall!

 There are several good science kits you can assemble yourself.  However, they usually involve cutting, which can be time consuming if you need several sets for Co-op. Print these now.  When your kiddo complains just how bored she is, enlist her help cutting. I have stacks of diy Instructional Kits for my science classes.  

1. Biology: The Lynx Eats the Hare is described in this blog post.  Copy several sheets for each set.  Cut out the tiny hare and mount the Lynx on to a bigger card.  I stuff sets into smaller envelopes contained in large envelopes, marked in large letters.

2. Biology: DNA Sentences can be cut into strips—which are much less intimidating!  Here is another version of DNA Sentences—with an answer key.  Say it with DNA is very detailed and has several keys.  The goal is to transcript and translate DNA into proteins.  

3. Biology: Create concept maps.  Here are the ecology terms used to create the concept map below.  Yes!  Writing the same terms over and over is a big pain!  Same money and cut the index cards in half.  Below is random card stock I had on hand and cut into squares.

4. Biology: Food webs!  Use pix (the one below is from the biology group on social media) to create food webs.  HHMI’s Bioactive Creating Chains and Webs has pix (and a strong political bias).  No, I do not laminate cards or pix in my kits.  

5.  Chemistry: Putting Ions in Their Hands is the best means I have found to teach ionic formulas.  I printed the ions on red and blue card stock (just like red and blue litmus paper).  Cut away! 

6. Chemistry: It’s in the Cards!  I print the cards on card stock because I reuse these sets for Co-op classes.

7.  Chemistry: Concept Maps!  Here is the Properties of Matter vocabulary list.

8. Chemistry Card Sorts:  Sort it Out!, Isotopes, Physical and Chemical Change, Types of Reactions, and Balancing Equations.

Science at the Beach!

Hey, it’s July!  Are you struggling?   Could you combine a little science with your trip to the beach?  You’re taking photos anyway!  Add a little science before, during, or after your trip to the beach!  Enlist your kiddos.  What looks like fun?  Which experiment would be interesting to try before the trip?  Is there a project you might do after you get home?  I’m betting on sandcastles to spur a bit of interest!

1. The Homeschool Scientist has 20 Awesome Beach Science Ideas for Kids.  Some of the ideas do require a subscription.  There are several interesting ideas, such as Beach Sand Under a Microscope and Sea Shell Identification.  Collect materials while you are at the beach to study later—such as Shark Tooth Identification.

2. Try these three activties from Phys.org: observe small animals and plants in rock pools, watch waves, and compare wet and dry sand.  Follow up with the fun at Beach Science for Preschoolers when you get home and make waves and sand slime.

3.  How about Sandcastles?  Make them at the beach.  Follow-up with their guide at home and play with sponges, magic sand, and a wax resist.  

4. Before you go to the beach, do some research in sand sculpting, which is more sand science than I realized before I read this article.  Sand sculpting is competitive!  Just look at these rules!

5.  Before you go to the beach, experiment with sun screen and UV beads, Spangler’s version, or NASA’s Experimenting with UV-sensitive Beads.  Spangler’s version uses baggies instead of Petri dishes.  The NASA version is more open-ended.  

Go ahead and do all the labs this summer!

 Every time I see a pristine science kit listed for sale I sigh.  It usually means a family worked through the course without doing any labs, activities, or dissections.  What can we do differently?  Do all of the labs before you begin the course.  Really.  Does this sound radical?  Years ago, my home-school friends asked me to host science camps.  Why?  The families wanted more science for their kiddos.  (BTW any child who wanted to come to science camp was welcome; about half were home-schoolers.)  Yes, for many families, science camp was the extent the kiddos did labs or experiments.  (Later, the same families asked me to teach Co-op classes—likely for the same reasons.). I pack loads and loads of activities, labs, and experiments into a week of science camps.  Treat the textbook’s experiments like a camp.

Why not create your own lab week?  Get out the textbook and start doing the labs or Try This! activities.  First, set aside two weeks.  Here and here are table of contents for the second editions of Apologia’s Chemistry and Biology textbooks; each has roughly 30 labs. (The Young Explorers’ series’ textbooks are laden with activities called Try This!  You’ll be looking at two, very full weeks.)  That means your family would do three labs each morning for ten days, five days each week.  I’ve done all of these labs.  Some take longer than others.  (I’m quaking over Chemistry’s Experiment 5.1, Measuring the Width of a Molecule and Biology’s Experiment 7.1, DNA Extraction, or the dissections. They take an hour each, minimum.)  Other experiments are much quicker.  What if you don’t finish all of the textbook’s labs in two weeks?  Well, you will make a big dent in the labs.  I don’t care if the kiddos learn anything while they do the labs.  I know!  Heresy!  Just do the labs well!  (Although, summer is also a good time for a writing clinic!) Be sure to take loads of photos.  Write a few memorable captions.  Save these photos where you can find them—not somewhere safe.  Make a few videos of interesting moments.  You can use all this information when you actually learn the course material.

Will doing all of the labs impact the quality of instruction?  My kiddos remember almost everything they do and nearly nothing I say.  I have to point out specific material which is actually in their textbooks.  Your children may want to redo the lab to make improvements when you come to that topic.  I’m betting your family will try to make connections between the lab they did and the material in the textbook when you actually teach it this fall.  What happened in the experiment? What was the point?  So, what is osmosis and diffusion? Does the specimen resemble the diagram?   Select four of the experiments and write formal lab reports.  Do more labs instead of selling another expensive, untouched science kit.

Did you know Hoopla has Apologia science textbooks?

Are you familiar with Hoopla?  Hoopla has ebooks and audiobooks—including Apologia textbooks on audio!  Yeah!  Some of my students need to listen to their textbooks!  In fact your kiddo can listen to their textbook using Hoopla in the car, just like any audiobook.  Many libraries offer free Hoopla memberships.  Yeah!  

Instant Science: More ‘Just Add Water!’

I am all about easy experiments.  Some of these require more time than others.   Just Add Water has 18 experiments, including a turbine and water click.  The Homeschool Scientist has an excellent guide for this  Water Quality Experiment.  Test your well or tap water.  There are many water quality test kits.  The strips are accurate.  The kits can be pricy: LaMotte and Hach.

Heat up, Cool down!, Walking Water, and Rising Water are more water classics.  Let’s do more science—especially easy experiments where you just add water!

Create a Digital Portfolio!

Right now, while you are thinking about fall classes, let’s create a digital portfolio.  How?  You could write a blog or post to social media.  Many families do not want that kind of exposure.  No problem!  Create a file in Google Drive.  It’s likely to already have digital storage.  You might as well use it.  Start collecting all sorts of material—ideally in separate folders for each kiddo.  Make short videos.

Take photos of activities.  Include links and worksheets, too.

Take pix or scan completed work.

You are going to be in great shape when you work with the online school’s consultant, an evaluator, or go to assemble a transcript.  Take an extra minute and get a photo!  Better still, encourage your kiddos to document all of their work!  It’s going to be a great year!