Science
Charting Your Course
Preschool to Middle School
Recommended Course
Experiencing Science
KEYS TO SUCCESS
Whatever science curriculum you choose, the following will help you to be more successful
Utilize a Wide Variety of Resources
You don’t need to rely on a single science curriculum. Once you have an overall outline of topics, draw on the best of everything you find—books, videos, activities, internet searches, available classes, subscription crates, field trips, etc. Simply Smart’s list of recommended resources for each topic makes it easy to find a wealth of great material that helps keep learning engaging and fun.
Track Progress with a Master Plan or Outline
When learning comes at random times and from various sources, as learning about science often does, you need to have a master plan or outline that tracks what your student has studied and assures they have covered all topics. Simply Smart provides a free chart to help students and parents track topics studied & reviewed. Simply Smart’s Student Notebook and Jeopardy Games also are great ways to assess mastery of topics.
Focus on Hands-on, Experienced Based Learning
Children learn best by seeing and doing. The more involved and interested student are, the more likely they are to remember & understand what they have learned. Use as many hands-on activities and experiments as possible. Teaching science in a “co-op” setting greatly facilitates this hands-on approach. Lots of activities can be found online. Simply Smart also provides a list simple fun experiments illustrating concepts.
Help Children Develop a Scientific Mind
Science is more than memorizing facts. Students should learn to think like a scientist and develop the ability to effectively present their work to others. In addition to science experiments, nature journaling is a great way for students to practice observing, comparing, asking questions, creating hypotheses and finding answers to questions. Encourage children to regularly write on scientific topics, present research to others and participate in science fairs. See the Simply Smart Experiencing Science program for more ideas and information.
Create a Student Science Notebook
Science is all around us and children can learn through a wide variety of mediums. Have children keep a science notebook summarizing the information they learn. Keeping a well organized science notebook can be an invaluable reference for children as they get older. It also helps teach them good organizational skills. The Simply Smart Student Notebook helps children keep a concise summary of information learned. Children may also wish to include nature journal pages, a historical timeline and any notes or papers they write.
Middle School to High School
Optional Courses
As your child starts middle school, they may want to transition to a more structured approach by selecting one or more of the following courses. Physical science or earth science are often taken as a freshman in high school.
Strongly Recommended Courses
The following courses are often considered standard for a college-bound student.
Independent Exploration for Kids
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Subscription crates are a great way for children to have fun exploring science on their own. With subscription crates, the child receives a box in the mail with all the materials needed to build fun projects and engage in hands-on activities. Click to see our recommendation for subscription crates.