To Use the Scientific Method is Natural

 One of my children began reading a Christian Liberty Nature Reader this week.  So far I highly recommend this for early readers. One of the difficulties with a Charlotte Mason education is the necessity of finding very good beginning readers.  Our children have been hearing such high quality books from such an early age, so early readers have the potential to bore them. Thankfully there are good readers available, and it turns out that this is one of the gems. An added bonus is that it has a nature study focus.

The first chapter told how a mother Mud Wasps set up each of her eggs in a walled in nest. She puts several spiders within the nest, so the baby will have food when it hatches.  In the book there is a little sketched picture of the nest that really isn't very clear, but my daughter found the description very interesting.

The morning following this first reading, she and I ran an errand, and out of the blue she made this sound of awe and disbelief.  I had missed whatever she saw, and had to wait until she could gather herself to explain. She spoke with amazement in her voice. "I can't believe it.  I just saw it. There was a Mud Wasp nest on the wall in that tunnel. Will you go back?" I wish you could have heard the awe in her tone. It was like it was a gift set out just for her.  Of course, I went back and there is was. Just like she said.  I'm not sure I would have known what I was looking at, after all, the sketch had not been all that clear, but she could tell.

Once we returned home she looked up images of Mud Wasps nest, and sure enough, that is exactly what it was.

Now comes the good part. Sure, that was a pretty good part, but this is the science-y-blog good part.  After making these observations, she began asking questions: How does that mother Mud Wasp catch those spiders without getting stuck in the web? Does she have some kind of oil on her feet so she doesn't stick, or does she swoop in like a helicopter, but not actually land? How does she collect several spiders and wall them in without them getting away? There were holes in those nests - is that from the baby wasps getting out? Are they little when they are born?

That right there is what we call the formulation of a question. (Well, several questions!)

A little later she said, "She might sting them, the spiders." And another child said, "To paralyze them maybe."

And there's a hypothesis!

I was so good, (if I do say so myself,) because I casually responded by saying, "That's a good hypothesis." It's so great when we can slip in correct terminology. Unfortunately, it requires knowing the correct terminology, and it's better to say nothing than say the wrong thing, but I think I pulled it off this time.

So far there has been no testing or analysis, but just give it time!

I've been thinking lately that we really do a lot more experimenting than we realize, and if we are naturally experimenting, we are likely naturally using the scientific method.

To Experiment is Natural

Recently I purchased some grass-fed beef gelatin to make homemade jello. A friend told me that the best way to sweeten it is to use pineapple.  I thought pineapple was a no-no when making jello, but she was certain that it works great.  I gave it a try, and guess what - it didn't set up. (It was yummy incorporated into a smoothy however!)

This made us ask why it didn't work, or more precisely, why it did work for my friend. It turned out that the key was to use canned pineapple, instead of the fresh pineapple we had used. Canned pineapple is heated, which inactivates the enzymes that will prevent the jello from setting up. We read more about what precisely is happening when we make jello, and how fresh pineapple inhibits that. (If you are interested you can read more about it at chemistry.about.com)

Once we knew a little more, we tried again. We used the rest of the same fresh pineapple, but this time we heated it to 158°F first.  Good news! It worked great and we enjoyed a great dessert!

I share all of this because I've been thinking that we really do a lot more experimenting at home than we realize. We think that if we have not pulled out a book of chemistry experiments for young people, then we aren't doing it right, but I would like to suggest that the opposite is true.

The first step in using the Scientific Method is to formulate a question. How better to start this process than to actually HAVE a question that you want to answer? When we open our book of experiments, we don't have a question, we are just looking for an activity.

Start paying attention to the questions that arise while you cook with your children, clean, do nature study, play, whatever. Then notice how those questions get resolved.  Did anyone do any brainstorming or research that cause them to come up with a theory? (A hypothesis.) Did they do anything to test that theory? (An experiment.)  Did that confirm their theory or send them back to the drawing board? (Analysis.)

If you aren't seeing this happen in your home, maybe it's just because you're not watching for it. It's not necessary that you notice, but it might encourage you. However, if it really isn't happening around your house, you may need to prompt things somewhere along the way. For instance, if you see that your child is left with a lot of questions, but never looks to find an answer, you might prompt him to research things he is interested in. If you see him looking for answers, but then always taking the "expert's" word for it, maybe you should challenge him to test out these theories on his own to see if he gets the same results.

One last note. Please don't take what I'm suggesting to the extreme and zap the fun right out of the adventure by forcing the process. This should be fun, inspiring, life.  Not another thing to check off their list.

Do You Fear I Am Dumbing it Down?

A thought came to me recently that maybe we have a communication gap.  Don't you love it when you have been struggling to explain yourself, and finally you realize that a small clarification might do the trick?  It might be wishful thinking, but it's worth clarifying:

Not all living books are easy. 

Really you already know this, because after all, you probably read Plutarch to your children each week.  If you are at all like me, there are even times when you are thrilled that your children can narrate so beautifully, because otherwise you would have no idea what you just read!

It is possible, however, that not everyone realizes that there are advanced living books available for science too.  Thankfully, we are not stuck with choices between easy stories or text books, fiction or dry facts. We also are not limited to the history of a science or a list of biographies. (Although, please don't miss those!) More technical books can still be living, while utilizing the hard language needed for the field. For example:

The Elegant Universe
Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
by Brian Greene
In a rare blend of scientific insight and writing as elegant as the theories it explains, Brian Greene, one of the world's leading string theorists, peels away the layers of mystery surrounding string theory to reveal a universe that consists of 11 dimensions where the fabric of space tears and repairs itself, and all matter-from the smallest quarks to the most gargantuan supernovas-is generated by the vibrations of microscopically tiny loops of energy.


I'm giggling, and I hope you are too.  Clearly this isn't the place to start, but can you just image how passionate this author must be about his field? Passionate writers are bound to be inspiring. They are going to engage you, make you think, make you wonder. A text book is not going to do any of those things.

As exciting as that it, we still must start from the beginning, because of course you didn't start your little one out on Sir Walter Scott or Winston Churchill.  Instead, you probably read books like The Red Fairy Book and An Island Story. But be encouraged that the beginning is only that, the beginning. Not only for literature and history, but for science as well.

A Mom's Habit of Attention

This afternoon I was trying to compose an email to a group of friends. It did not need to be long, but I wanted it to be just right, and therefore, I was considering my words very carefully.  All the while my kids were interrupting my train of thought by asking me questions and pushing me to hurry up so we could go play with their cousins.


I was getting so frustrated, and finally I thought, "What makes these kids think I can multitask like this?!" Hmmm. Let's see. That would be my fault. How often do I multitask in their presence: while I'm doing school with multiple children, checking email while listening to them ramble, directing one of them while talking on the phone.  Good grief! I've taught them that I can do multiple things at once, so how can I blame them for interrupting a task I'm involved in? 

It's humbling when you realize you are responsible for the building up of a negative habit in your children - through your own negative habit.  However, the first step in fixing a problem is usually to at least acknowledging the problem exists, and I am determined that it must STOP!

For the most part I just have to stop multitasking. I have to give my full attention to one thing, one child, one phone call, one email. I also must teach my children to respect my desire to focus on one thing. They know not to interrupt a conversation where two people are face to face, but now it seems I need to set some boundaries in other areas as well. 

Might they also feel more valued when it's their turn to get my full attention? I think so. This is important I think, so I'm going to give it my best effort. Old dog, here comes a new trick...

Christmas Handicrafts - Climbing Kid Bookmarks

I have changed the name of these wonderful little bookmarks, but just look at them and you will agree that the name fits. They are bookmarks that look as though the child is climbing up the book. Just too cute!

The idea is from Heather at the Creative Family Moments blog, but was published in the Family Fun Magazine, which is where I originally found them. I knew when I saw them that I had to do these as part of our Christmas gifts that the students can make theme.

Heather's instructions for Awesome Homemade Bookmarks were very helpful.

I started by taking each child's picture at the very start of co-op. I brought a rope with me as a prop, and Mitchell stood on a half wall to hold the rope as the children posed. I'm sure this was not necessary, but I did not have an example to show them, so I thought it might help them with their pose.

Here is my Alli is posing. 

After I had taken a picture of all of the kids, I jumped in the car and headed for the nearest Walgreens to developed the pictures with their one-hour service.

When I returned the parents helped their children to complete the steps. I set Lizzie and Britany up as the "tassel station", and they helped the kids learn how to make a tassel for their bookmark.

My little crew climbing up the kitchen door. 

I love how they came out, and I can see how it would be easy to make a lot of these as Christmas gifts. You could have several of one picture printed out, and the kids could just cut out a few each evening, then make several tassels the next evening, and so on.

Another idea would be to use a picture of the cousins to make the bookmarks. They would never guess what you had in mind to do with it!

I hope you will try these little Climbing Kid Bookmarks. Kudos to Heather for dreaming them up! I think I might try her refrigerator magnets next! Super cute!

Check out the rest of the ideas I've collected for Christmas gifts the students can make.