Fun with Science- Astronomy

This year we are doing something radical with science – we are only studying ONE subject in science all year round! Not weather and geology and anatomy and plant life, but one subject all year. This year our topic is astronomy.

We are using the Exploring Creation with Astronomy by Jeannie Fulbright. There a couple of things that I find very refreshing in this approach. First of all, my kids can get totally immersed in the topic! They think about the solar system and the stars whenever we are outside at night. The pick up on news items related to outer space (like the eclipse last weekend) because they are totally focused on that one topic.

Focusing on one topic has also given then a chance to develop some skills. They learned about the constellations, and now they have more time to practice seeing them in the sky (which is great because in NE Ohio, we don’t have too many clear nights this time of year). It also gives me more time to space out field trips. Last year we went to NASA and I want to go again. But we are also going to meet with the local astronomy club on Saturday night and visit our local planetarium.

It has especially been nice for me to have three children around the table discussing one topic together. Izzy gets what she can (and she surprises me with what she actually has picked up!) while Noah and Gabe are gobbling up the facts of time and space!

I have found a few things to be very helpful. Ms. Fulbright has FREE notebook pages that can be used with her book for keeping notes, drawing pictures and making the learning experience more fun.

There’s a Yahoo group for parents using these texts.

Here is a real fun find! This is a link for actually keeping track of the night sky in your area and the subtle changes you can see every day.

We are really enjoying our study of space. I supplement with books and films from the library too. By the end of the year all of us will have a good grasp of the celestial bodies above us and how our home on earth fits in with God’s overall design and plan.

Exploring Creation With Astronomy (Young Explorers)

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