Oh, how I wish this book had room for … well, everything. But especially visual diagrams, images and how-tos. Then again, that’s what we have the internet for, and the internet is really great at stuff like that. Use this brief list as a guideline for further scientific study. If I were you, I’d use this list like a to-do list, checking off items as I went.
For this list, I tacked on science projects and history discussion questions. These are non-essentials, but good ideas.
ESSENTIAL SKILLS: SCIENCE
- Interpreting the Periodic Table of the Elements
- Drawing a simple diagram of an atom
- Drawing simple diagrams of molecules
- Drawing simple diagrams of plant and animal cells
- Visually identifying parts of the body and body systems
- Using a telescope
- Using a microscope
- Using a map
- Calculating time zone differences
- Making and testing a hypothesis and using the scientific method
- Identifying local plants and animals (daisy, bluebell, iris, crocus, pansy, lilac, rose, marigold, tulip, daffodil, buttercup, lavender, juniper, oak tree, maple tree, ivy, blueberry bush, apple tree, pear tree, palm tree, raspberry bush, blackberry bush, cedar, pine)
- Identifying rocks
- Classifying animals into major taxonomic groups (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, arthropods, vertebrates, invertebrates, those having live births and those which lay eggs)
- Making a sun dial
- Identifying important cities, states, countries, and bodies of water on a map
Science Projects
- Building science-related structures and models with Lego and/or other media (such as animals, vehicles, etc.)
- Block building
- Train set building
- Playing with magnets
- Breaking open and identifying rocks
- Building circuits
- Taking nighttime walks
- Watching astronomical events (such as a lunar eclipse, shooting stars or the Aurora Borealis)
- Making homemade environmentally friendly house cleaners (using borax, lemon juice, baking soda, vinegar and more)
- Learning computer programming basics
- Growing crystals
- Making a balloon rocket
- Making a volcano using baking soda and vinegar
- Making a bottle submarine
- Making invisible ink
- Hunting for fossils
- Making a rainbow
- Making a bat house
- Making a birdhouse
- Making a birdbath
- Making a bee house for honeybees
- Making a foam-and-cardboard planetarium
- Growing coral
- Comparing rates of decomposition
- Going on tidepooling and nature collecting excursions
- Watching sunsets and sunrises
History Discussion Questions
- What are some of the important similarities between various historical cultures? What are some of the important differences?
- Were there any good civilizations in history? Were there any bad ones?
- What part did ethnocentrism play in various historical cultures? What part did racism play?
- What are the main reasons nations and states waged war? Why did smaller tribes and peoples wage war?
- How was history influenced by various technological discoveries, including farming, the wheel, metalwork, gunpowder, the printing press, the train and many more?
- What are some examples of religious wars? To what extent were they motivated by the spread of religious ideas and the quashing of other religious ideas and to what extent were they motivated by other desires or needs?
- What are some possible reasons towns and civilizations spring up independently in so many different parts of the world within a few hundred years of each other?
- Why did relatively safe, prosperous nations, like Rome, continuously try to grow larger? Was this a wise strategy?
- What are some of the historical reasons for poverty?
***
Babies come. But babies don't go. Get Fights You’ll Have After Having a Baby: A Self-Help Story on Amazon now.
***