Love Bug Homeschool: BOTANY LINKS AND IDEAS

Bailey has really been enjoying Botany (Exploring Creation with Botany). She truly loves anything to do with science, but this year, she tells me every time she reads her book that she really likes Botany. Exploring Creation with Botany is part of the Apologia Young Explorers curriculum and was written for ages 6-12. Bailey is able to do almost all of the reading and activities by herself, but the author emaphsizes that younger children can just as easily learn and retain this material using the Charlotte Mason method of narration and dictation. It was written to be a 1 year study, but we have a plan: do Botany for 1/2 a year and also Zoology 1 this year, then Zoology 2 & 3 next year (6th grade), then start Apologia Physical Science in 7th grade.

Exploring Creation with Botany has natural stopping points, so Bailey reads about 4-5 pages a day and stops at the reviews called "What Do You Remember?" We have printed out Jeannie Fulbright's notebook pages which are great: they already have lines ready to be filled with all that Bailey remembers from what she just read (or could dictate) and there is usually a place to draw or paste a picture as well. Bailey has a great Botany Notebook going right now. And it will serve as a wonderful review for the future!

Other activities in the book are Notebook Activities and Experiments. So far, all of the experiments have been useful and fairly easy to do with common household supplies. We had ordered the experiment kit that was recommended with this series, so any supplies that turn out to not be so "common," we will have on hand. Here is a list of all that is included:

modeling clay (1/4 lb)
syrofoam cups with lids (5)
manila floder
jiffy pellet
lamp socket adapter
magnifying glass
peat moss ruler
safety gloves
basil seeds
lima bean seeds
pumpkin seeds
sponge
string
tape measure
thermometer
tongue depressors (10)
sodium tetraborate (30 g)
glycerin soap base (8 oz)
construction paper (12 sheets)
15-watt flourescent spiral bulb

In addition to the Notebook Activities included in the book, we have been adding all kinds of goodies to her Botany study. We look up neat video clips or interesting pictures on the inernet, cut our extra pictures to add to her Notebook, and do almost all of the Experiments plus a few I found that coincide with her studies.

Right now we are working on a Leaf Collection. With all the fall colors of leaves, it will end up being very pretty. Here is a neat link to help identify leaves. Online Leaf Key