As someone who values insects in my garden, I can personally testify to the stunning beauty of insects. This slide-show from Planet Green will show you that once you get past all those legs, insects are not only beneficial, but gorgeous as well. Check it out! Insects: Up Close and Really, Really Personal
Blog
7 Billion
Science at-Home; Not Just for Homeschoolers
Everyone agrees that parents play a critical role in their children’s education: research shows that when parents are actively involved in their child’s life he will achieve greater success as a learner. It is also generally agreed upon that a scientifically and technologically literate society is crucial to America’s future success, yet much of the…
Unschooling Update
We’ve been “unschooling” for a couple of months now, and I’m embarrassed to admit that my boys are still obsessed with their video games. I even hesitate to share this news with you, but in the fairness of full disclosure I want other parents to know that the road to unschooling success has it’s own…
Establishing Somerset Beekeepers
Faithful readers of my blog might be aware of the plight of the environmental activist in central Maine–which is that the clubs and programs to encourage participation and education among the community are all but non-existent in this area. This is true of the Maine State Beekeeper’s Association as well. As an extension of my…
The Science of Winter
Now that the first day of winter is just around the corner, I have found myself standing at my picture window gazing longingly outside and wondering what I can do to encourage participation with nature despite the cold. And how can I stimulate inquiry into the science of winter? What are the sciences of winter…
How to Teach Science Every Day
Why is it that science intimidates us? I’ve heard it more than once–I even used to feel that way! That science was just too hard to teach, since I really didn’t understand it myself. Science is so all-encompassing, and so critically important–as homeschoolers it’s daunting to think about teaching our children any part of it,…
Putting the Garden to Bed
It’s mid-November and I’m feeling an increased sense of urgency to finish my winter preparations. So after nearly a week of rain and drizzle, wind and cold, I’ve enjoyed this weekend’s golden autumn sunshine and the opportunity to work outside. I’ve been focused on tucking my gardens in for their long sleep, this means doing…
Great Migrations on National Geographic Television
As the Scientific Homeschool we love our science channels. We watch Mythbusters, How It’s Made, Planet Earth, Destroyed in Seconds (is that really science? or just the male desire for destruction?), Dirty Jobs, Bugging Out, Head Rush, Meteorite Men, Through the Wormhole, even “Punkin Chunkin” and more. I even consider watching “Phineas and Ferb” on…
Darwin’s Darkest Hour
I’ve been looking forward to watching this particular film for a long time, unfortunately in our area there’s not much in the way of video rentals, so we wait for movies and documentaries to be available to us online. Finally today, I found Darwin’s Darkest Hour at the NOVA website. Written by the Brittish screenwriter,…