Susan Wise Bauer is a minor celebrity in our household. We have every book she has written thus far, including two excellent works of fiction that are more for me than for my kids. Several years ago the kids began a timeline that stretches around our dining room wall near ceiling level which includes notes, events, drawings, and even bits of origami all to help them learn and classify the major events of history (per suggestions in Susan Wise Bauer’s how-to homeschool tome).
Yesterday our copy of her newly published “The Story of Science” book arrived in the mail and we jumped in with both feet (six feet total actually, unless you count our faithful standard poodle who usually happily snores through reading time so I think he shouldn’t really count). My daughter thought it would be a great idea to add the major scientific figures from the new book into our overall history timeline as 3×5 cards that include summaries of major accomplishments and ideas that really grabbed the imaginations of my kids. My inner homeschool mom geek was delighted at building on the past – especially since the process of hanging the cards causes my kids to reread the sections of the timeline that they worked on years ago and that they don’t spend much time looking at anymore (unless dinner is especially boring and in the process of the preteen patented eye-rolling they happen to glance at the timeline).
As always, Susan Wise Bauer does not disappoint with her new book. First we are reading it through a chapter or two a week. After the first reading is complete, we will go back and read each chapter again followed by the scientific texts she recommends for each chapter. It is a wonderful approach to science and will form the basis and guideline for us to continue science studies through until the end of high school, in conjunction with lab work and practical studies.
Happy Science Day!
