Earth Science
Earth Science
Geology
Paleontology
Meteorology
Astronomy
Geology
We studied this in 2002-03, 2004-05 and 2007-08.
Cool Geology websites:
D. J. Minerals
Earth Science Explorer
NOVA–Hawaii: Born of Fire
Rainbow of Gems
Rock and Gem magazine
Understanding Our Planet Through Chemistry
U.S. Geological Survey
USGS Earthquake Hazards Program
Virtual Cave
Volcano World
Sustainable Agriculture–It All Starts with the Soil
How Much Water Will the Desert Hold?
Glacier Maker
Volcano’s Deadly Warning (complex sine wave activity)
You Don’t Need a Seismograph to Study Earthquakes (uses slinky, rope, news stories!)
We each enjoy learning from our gemstone placemat! We examined our rock collection, and some family jewelry. We made “earth balls”, an edible science project, and “metamorphic rocks”, another edible science project.
DVDs / videos:
The Wonder of God’s Creation: Planet Earth
Moody Science Classics: Ultimate Adventure
Moody Science Adventures: Treasure Hunt; Animals Move; Eight-legged Engineer
books:
Rocks & Minerals: DK Pockets
Gemstones: DK Pockets
Volcanoes: DK Pockets
The Crust of Our Earth: An Armchair Traveler’s Guide to the New Geology (Chet Raymo)
The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth (Joanna Cole)
Geology Crafts for Kids: 50 Nifty Projects to Explore the Marvels of Planet Earth” (Alan Anderson, Gwenn Diehn, & Terry Frautwurst)
Introduction to geology
We read How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World, a very cute and fanciful story which explains very well the different layers you would have to dig through to get to the center of the earth.
We read How the Earth Works, learning about the inside of the earth, and the moving mantle of the earth
We explored an earthquake-related website, www.earthquake.usgs.gov/4kids/online.html
We read The Big Rock, which explains the rock cycle.
We did a convection experiment using oil and food coloring. It worked somewhat, though it was hard to see the full convection currents.
We did some experiments from Geology Crafts for Kids–explored mountain building (using two lumps of clay), simulating continental collisions, head on, side swiping, and when one continent slips below another one. We also made topographical maps of mountains (clay, again), by using dental floss to cut through the layers so we could trace them. Then we looked at real topographical maps and learned how to interpret them.
We watched the movie, Blue Planet.
Volcanoes and Earthquakes
We read Volcanoes, The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth, and “Volcanoes and Earthquakes”. We discussed the Ring of Fire, Mt. St. Helens, and Pompeii.
We read The Hill of Fire, a true story about the birth of a volcano that occurred in a farmer’s field!
We watched the movie, Killer Quake.
Rocks
We read The Rock, ‘There’s a Pebble in My Pocket”, and Discover Nature in the Rocks.
We read Let’s Go Rock Collecting, then examined our collection of rocks, and discussed each one.
The children went into the back yard and found as many different kinds of rocks as they could. P did some scratch tests on his to determine the order of hardness. J accumulated a huge number, and wants to find more. M and C each found a very large rock in which the layers were clearly visible (we’re guessing they are metamorphic, and used to be sedimentary).
We made (well, simulated) our own sandstone and conglomerate rocks.
Minerals
We explored a virtual cave website, www.goodearthgraphics.com/virtcave.html.
We read Rocks and Minerals.
P & J checked on ebay for pricing on geologist’s hammers!
We watched “Planet Earth”, the first video in the Wonders of God’s Creation series [Moody Science].
Gemstones
We read On My Beach there are Many Pebbles, then the children headed out into the yard and found interesting-looking pebbles. They made pictures out of their pebbles, just like in the book.
We watched “Treasure Hunt”, another Moody Science video. It showed how crystals, and architectural masterpieces, are pieced together.
P did a report on Pyrite (Fool’s Gold). J drew a diagram and wrote about Moh’s Scale of Hardness for rocks.
Erosion
We did a cool experiment from the book, Geology Crafts for Kids–a wonderful book! We built a mountain in a paint roller tray. First we “made it rain” on the mountain of just dirt, and observed what happened. Next we added rocks around the base of the mountain, and noted that this reduced the erosion somewhat. Finally we added trees and “houses” (of rocks) all over the mountain, which almost eliminated the erosion. Interestingly, the day before we did this, Hurricane Jeanne caused major mudslides in Haiti, killing over 1500 people. This was on the news and we all prayed about it that morning. So our experiment helped demonstrate why there were so many mudslides (devastating ones) in Haiti–apparently, most of the trees have been cut down there. It’s tragic.
Cool field trips:
Sculley Family Adventure 2002!
This was, of course, the highlight of our geology studies! It was really good to do lots of study as preparation for our trip, though. All 8 of us ventured west to California, Nevada, and Arizona, and visited many places which were full of beautiful geological wonders! The rock formations were probably the most amazing parts of the whole trip! We were able to see the Grand Canyon, Walnut Canyon, Sunset Crater, Wupatki, several deserts, Hoover Dam, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, . . ., and more, all of which gave us feasts for our eyes (and hands) as far as geology goes!
Vulcan Materials Company Rock Quarry
This was one of the best field trips we’ve ever done! 34 members of our homeschool group (moms and kids) piled into one 7-seater and two 15-seater vans, took along a tour guide each, and got a fabulous tour of the quarry and surrounding area. Even though we have lived within a couple of miles of this quarry for 13 years, we had no idea how huge it is (the company is the largest producer of aggregate in the U.S.)! Not only did we get to witness an explosion (“a shoot”), and drive down *into* the quarry alongside the huge 100-ton trucks with 8-foot wheels, we also saw the many conveyor belts used to transport the rocks out of the quarry and sort them into different sizes. Then we were all treated to drinks, snacks, a funny R-O-C-K video (to the tune of “YMCA”), and everyone got a squeeze bottle to take home. The tour guides (Rick, Vickie, Lamont) were very informative and helpful, and it was an excellent way to see what happens to all that granite around here! (May 2002) 770-923-2532
Meteorology
We studied this in 2003-04 and 2005-06.
General
Books:
Weather (Seymour Simon)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Thunder Cake
When the Wind Stops
Grandpa’s Gizmos
“How the Weather?” (Melvin & Gilda Berger)
“Studying Weather” (Ted O’Hare)
“Hands-on Projects About Weather and Climate”
“Weather Explained”
After reading “Thunder Cake”, we baked a thunder cake 🙂 even though the weather was clear and sunny! It was delicious, and was our first time eating a cake with tomatoes in it, to our knowledge. Borrow or buy the book and bake the cake (it’s chocolate)!
Clouds, Rain, Water Cycle
Books:
The Cloud Book
The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks (fabulous)
Weather Words and What They Mean
Videos:
Moody Science Adventures: Water, Water Everywhere
Thunderstorms
We watched the NOVA videos, Flood and Lightning
Books:
Lightning
Storms
Flash, Crash, Rumble, and Roll (a favorite)
Seasons
Books:
Snow is Falling
Snowflake Bentley (wonderful biography!)
Tornadoes
Videos:
Tornado (NOVA)
The Magic School Bus Goes into a Tornado
We read the book, Tornado Alert (good practical advice)
Hurricanes
We read the book, The Magic School Bus Inside a Hurricane
We watched the NOVA video, Hurricane
Paleontology
We studied this in 2003-04 and 2007-08.
Books we read:
Dinosaurs: DK Pockets
Dinosaurs (The Big Book of Mobiles)
Dinosaur in Trouble
Dragon in the Rocks (Marie Day) – this was fabulous
Dinotopia (James Gurney) – magnificent illustrations!
First Flight (James Gurney) – another in the Dinotopia series
Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara (James Gurney)
In Search of the Amazing Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs (encyclopedia)
Danny the Dinosaur
Dinosaur Fossils
Dinosaur Hunters (Kate McMullen)
Why did the Dinosaurs Disappear?
What Happened to the Dinosaurs?
Magic School Bus in the time of the Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs All Around
Digging Up Dinosaurs
My Visit to the Dinosaurs
Dinosaur Bones
We made two dinosaur mobiles–very fun, and a nice decoration for our school room during the unit.
I gave each of the children a Dover Little Activity book with a dinosaur theme (stickers, stained glass coloring book, activity book, tattoos, paper dolls). Those are a hit every time!
We drew various dinosaurs from the book, Draw 50 Dinosaurs and other Prehistoric Animals
Astronomy
We studied this in 2003-04 and 2006-07.
Cool astronomy web sites:
Astronomy for Kids
Down-to-earth Astronomy
The Constellations and their stars
NASA’s student page
National Air & Space Museum
Nine Planets
StarChild
Views of the Solar System
Windows to the Universe
Books we read:
Galileo (Leonard Everett Fisher)
Starry Messenger
Comets and Meteor Showers
Can You Hitch a Ride on a Comet?
The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System
The Moon and You
The Moon Seems to Change
Stargazers
The Moon Book
Galileo and the Universe
The Planets in Our Solar System
Our Solar System
Destination: Mars
Destination: Jupiter
Mercury
Postcards from Pluto
Black Holes
The Sun, Our Nearest Star
How Far is a Star?
Edmond Halley, the Man and His Comet
Rocket Man: The Story of Robert Goddard
Dear Benjamin Banneker
Astronomy
Movies we watched:
Newton’s Workshop: As the World Spins
Journeys to the Edge of Creation: The Milky Way and Beyond
The Clown-faced Carpenter (Moody Science Adventures)
Flying on the Wings of Beauty (Moody Science Adventures)
The Magic School Bus Gets Lost in Space
Journeys to the Edge of Creation: Our Solar System
Nasa Kids — including cool kids’ club!
We visited the Fernbank Planetarium and Observatory
We visited the U.S. Rocket & Space Center in Huntsville, AL
