I'll talk about high school science resources at the end of the page but first :      For science and social studies in the under-high school grades, we pick topics and integrate ideas.  For example we did a study of the Renaissance before we started a study of the European colonization of the Americas.  While studying the Renaissance we learned about the Reformation and science discoveries so we weren't boxing science or religion in one part of the day and social studies in another but integrating them together as the concepts came up in the historical timeline we were studying.     When my middle son first studied chemistry I had him read a book written by his great-great-grandfather, The Romance of Chemistry, which is a review of the history of how the science of chemistry came about, how atoms were discovered, how formulas were standardized......  This is an example as to how history and social studies can be blended.  If you study Australia, you'd likely study botany and biology too, right?  I also threw in a bit of environmental science given the problems I've read about salt flats and coral reefs.  We studied the Appalachia area and learned natural science too.  We read that the Appalachian mountains were x times as high as Mount Everest at one time. This led to a study of plate tectonics.   Once our children progress to high school, we use standard texts rather than library books but I can still pull off some integrated ideas when I have time :) Very importantly, we use forest, fields and streams to teach science. For more ideas about how to do this, go to http://home.att.net/~ekyorigins/nature.html       I like to use reproducibles for teaching concepts like parts of a cell, the human body, machines, work and force where pictures and diagrams can be labeled.  Otherwise, I help my child choose library books on the topics we're studying and read these books together. Nature, wildlife and ecology are topics covered by My Side of the Mountain,  Rascal or Wolfling (Wofling fits right into the time just after pioneers as well).          The magic school bus books are great for the younger ones.  My little little was five when she took her Magic School Bus in the Human Body  book to a pediatrician's appointment to be read to while we waited for her to be seen.  Our pediatrician had never seen the book or any Magic School Bus book before (  ???!!!!!)  He was tickled with the book and said "yes, that's right.  Yes, that's how it happens" as he read it.  He commented that it was an amazing resource.  It is.  My youngest son read 20 of the books before he turned 8.  He said he just coulnd't put them down.  High acclaim!       School doesn't have to only take place at the kitchen table.  My kids tease me about the mini-lectures they get while I'm driving... I especially tend to rant and rave about sustainability issues and genetic engineering : ) School is "in" all the time... its a life style.  We find microbiology and ethnobotany in our garden; we find math when we measure a field to run in for the fitness merit badge in scouts.  The schooling comes in all shapes and sizes.  I think the one thing that helps is that I sit down and read National Geographic, Discovery, and numerous library books each night so that I keep up with new ideas and have something new to show my children.     Though I strongly disagree with the author's stance on environmentalism, I use the Apologia Science series for high school science. I'm going to be completely honest though it won't win me many fans.  I feel so strongly that the author's ideas about the environment are harmful, I try to buy used materials so that the author gets little of my money.  I'm pleased at the quality of the books though and using them has been a  dilemma (as is recommending them!)  The boys have liked using them; they have even looked forward to using them. My kids have been motivated to learn quite a bit as a result.  The books are thorough, clear, readable, and rigorous. The parts of the text I disagree with, we either skip or read and talk about. I add my own unit on evolution vs Creation which we also discuss as my ideas and the authors do not conincide on this topic either.   When my middle son was a junior he did Biology II, Chemistry II and Marine Biology using this series, all at once and with a 93% or better average on every test.  I suggested he save the Marine Biology until he finished the other two but he said that the book was so good that it he had more trouble stopping reading it than finding time to read it.  Once finished with those topics he went on to use the series' physics book. He is now majoring in science in college at a very rigorous school and got an A+ in his first biology class.     Friendly Chemistry is an chemistry program that I've used as well. [ FRIENDLY CHEMISTRY ] The set contains manipulatives for helping learners visualize how chemistry works. I think its a terrific resource!      Now that you've read my suggestions on science resources, I hope you'll find what I have written has clarified some thoughts you have on teaching science.  You might not agree with mine but perhaps I've given you new ideas or topics to ponder on.

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