Year end assessments are a requirement for homeschoolers here in Ohio. Little C had hers a couple of weeks ago and the results are: I'm in her way. I've known she's a good - and voracious - reader. I've even seen evidence of precociousness. But it looks like I've underestimated her. I was told to give up on the curriculum, give C the library and hang on.
I'm in the way. I see now, that in some ways I have been holding her back and that is, perhaps, why she seems to be "cruising through life at 80%" - I'm not letting her take the brakes off. And this is funny to me - because its a part of why I homeschool - I wanted the freedom to dig deeper, drink freely, explore more...
Of course, I'm a control freak. And she's not - in my opinion - old enough to have absolute and complete free reign over her education. Which means next year we will still rely heavily on Ambleside Online and Mater Amabilis but I will need make room and put those aside when need be. Melissa Wiley's Tidal Homeschooling comes to mind. I think we'll have to go tidal.
With that in mind, I brought this book, Exploratopia, home from the local library and...well...it's going to have to be - was requested to be - purchased. It's the summer must have book. Truly, it is. It is fantastic. It's a series of experiments - but not the gimmicky over done ones I've seen every where else. These experiments are the important ones that speak right to the heart of the seven year old who lives here. You know, things like looking in the mirror and noticing your pupils dilate/shrink as you play with the lights; finding magnetic sand; or making your own roller coaster.
The book starts out with a common sense, no-nonsense, kid friendly explanation of the scientific process. This explanation, of course, is just a teaser for what comes next: THE FUN, divided into three parts: Exploring Yourself (eyes, ears, nose & tongue, hands, brain); Exploring Interesting Places (kitchen, bathroom, backyard, playground, amusement park, beach); and Exploring Interesting Stuff (language, music, math, money, paper, optical illusions, light, color, electricity & magnetism, sound). So many options! So many things to be explored! I can say, though, that while I will allow the building of the roller coaster - it's going to be more difficult for convince me to ride one (calling my friend Kathy here). Umn...and I'm thinking "no" to the experiment that has this on its list of supplies:
- A working Drop Zone ride
- A watch with a second hand or a stopwatch
- A lot of nerve
But we have plenty of time before we get to that one. Up next for us? Mummifying a hotdog!
