Teaching Science Without Textbooks

One of Clarissa’s favorite things to do is to read. It is also one of her favorite ways to learn. If we read about it in a book (or watch a show on TV), she is more likely to remember it. She will bring up facts that we read about months ago that I have already forgotten about.

A big favorite right now is a series of chapter books about Zoey and Sassafras by Asia Citro. In these books, a young girl named Zoey and her cat, Sassafras, meet some magical creatures who ring a doorbell on her scientist mother’s barn office. Each creature has a problem that needs to be solved. Zoey (sometimes with help from her mom) uses the scientific method to figure out what is causing the problem and how to solve the creature’s problem. There are some black and white pictures, so it is a good bridge for kids who are used to reading picture books. The story is so engaging that my five-year-old often makes me read the entire book (95 pages) in one sitting!

With six books in the series, each book has a different creature and a different problem. Since Clarissa is only in kindergarten, we mostly read these books for fun. But there is a website about the book series that also has printables for science and literature activities that go with each book. Those would be great for families or teachers who want to go deeper with the books.

We also really like Magic School Bus in this house, as well as the Magic School Bus Rides Again. We have watched every show, but we also own many of the books. When Clarissa is excited about any science topic, I can usually find an episode or two on Netflix and a few books, as well. The original series has been around long enough that there are picture books, early readers, and chapter books to talk about many topics. So far, I have only seen chapter books for the Magic School Bus Rides Again, but they are well written and have a few pictures throughout the book.

Last year, her favorite topic was the human body. So, we watched all of the body episodes on both series, as well as read the books. Then we spent a lot of time drawing pictures of the different systems in our bodies.

Another of Clarissa’s favorite topics is animals. We have watched many episodes of Wild Kratts to learn about animals. They also have a great website with information, videos, and games for kids to explore more about any animal they choose. Our library also has a few early reader books based on the Wild Kratts series.

Our library has a great section of picture books that are both fiction and nonfiction. Whatever topic Clarissa is interested in, I can usually find both fiction and nonfiction stories to read. Recently, we borrowed My Leaf Book so that we could talk about fall. Clarissa wanted to learn more about leaves, so we walked around our apartment complex one day to collect various leaves. Then we made our own book by drawing pictures of the leaves and looking them up, either in the leaf book or online, to label each leaf. She was so proud of herself.

Suzanne Faust currently lives with her family in South Korea. A former teacher and current homeschool mom, Suzanne blogs at http://nextdoormama.com about faith, homeschooling, travel, and gluten free cooking. She has also published some Bible curriculum and family devotionals available on Amazon.