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Dr. Keller received her Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry from the University of New Mexico in 1992.
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Posts Tagged ‘elementary’
The real reason I homeschooled my children
Recently, there was a comment on one of my blog posts asking for the real reason I homeschooled my children. I did post a reply, but I thought it was an interesting enough question to respond to in full with another blog post.
Read the rest of this entryConnecting the Dots with Real Science-4-Kids
School is about to start, and parents are deciding which books to use as they write up their lesson plans for the year. As a result, we get lots of questions about Real Science-4-Kids. Many people ask about the sequence RS4K books follow or about the materials needed to teach the curriculum.We also get specific questions about how RS4K deals with evolution and creation. “Is RS4K a Creationist curriculum?” many will ask. “Does RS4K teach evolution?” or “Does RS4K say ‘God created’?” people inquire.
Read the rest of this entryEvaluating science textbooks
When it comes to selecting science books, many parents find themselves in unfamiliar territory. They may have taken very little science during their formal education and may have no advanced training. In fact, science might have been one of the subjects they hated in school, making it all the more difficult to evaluate a curriculum. Having little expertise, many parents rely on “experts” to tell them what they should be teaching. There is nothing wrong with asking for advice from “experts” but it’s always a good idea to gather tools to evaluate a curriculum for yourself.
Read the rest of this entryReal science in action: Open Inquiry
Last week I discussed one of our two first place Pre-Level I 2010 Virtual Science Fair winners. In that post I explored the concept of “learning pegs” and how a six-year old user of Real Science-4-Kids has already begun to build a solid science foundation. In this post, I’d like to discuss our other first place 2010 Virtual Science Fair winner in the Pre-Level I category. This project demonstrates another important aspect of real science in action: open inquiry.
Read the rest of this entryReal science in action: Learning pegs
Last week I announced the winners for the Real Science-4-Kids Virtual Science Fair. All of the projects were great, and it was rewarding to see so many young minds engaged in science.
This week I want to showcase our winners and point out how their projects demonstrate real science in action. (There were two winners for the Pre-Level I age group. In this post I will discuss one of the winners and in the next post discuss the other.)
Naomi is an inquisitive young scientist and at six years old already has a grasp of several fundamental chemistry concepts.
It is the joy of every educator to listen to students explain what they have learned, and Naomi explains atoms and molecules very well. As I watched her video, I thought not only about what she was saying, but what she was doing. In this video Naomi demonstrates that she has acquired the first “learning pegs” for chemistry that will begin to shape her science foundation.
Recently, I had a concrete patio poured in my backyard. I hadn’t seen a patio poured before, so I found the process interesting. On the first day the workers cleared out a space in my backyard and then smoothed and pounded the dirt. They then took a flexible piece of wood, about 4 inches high and several yards long, and shaped the outline of the patio. In order to keep the wood in place they strategically placed pegs on either side of the flexible wood. These pegs are essential for holding the contour of the patio as the concrete is poured.
In the same way, Naomi now has “learning pegs” to shape the foundation of her science education. The “learning pegs” are the concepts and images of atoms, molecules, chemical reactions, acids, and bases that she has learned about by studying real chemistry. Strategically placed pegs are as important to creating a solid science foundation as the strategically placed pegs are for shaping a concrete patio.
And just so you aren’t left hanging, here is Naomi’s second video where her sister Abigail helps her launch an acid-base “outer-space rocket!”
If you need a science curriculum that will give your kids the”learning pegs” they need to lay their foundation for science, visit our website. Naomi used the Pre-Level I Chemistry Student Textbook to learn about atoms, molecules, chemical reactions, acids, and bases.
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