Doing Science

A couple years ago when I asked Rich what he thought we should do for science, he said "teach them the scientific method" without even blinking. So not having a clue where to start, I went to the library and typed "scientific method" in the card catalog search. I found a neat book for teaching the scientific method: Science Fair Success Secrets: How to Win Prizes, Have Fun, and Think Like a Scientist by Bill Haduch.

In the first 5 chapters he explains the scientific method in depth for kids to understand. Granted, there are some wise crackers with endless jokes about shrimp, but the kids giggle & get it. Chapter 6 contains 20 winning projects from nation science fairs to reproduce. So first we studied the nuts and bolts of the scientific method and then we spent the next several months doing experiments. The kids had a blast.

I Googled a bit on the scientific method as well. I came up with howtoteachscience.com She's a disenchanted ex-public school science teacher who is now homeschooling her children. She has a great introduction to the scientific method lesson that we did to get our feet wet.