Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Homeschooling science suggestions?

My 4-yo, soon to be 5-yo daughter will be officially starting homeschool kindergarten this fall, and I am searching for a good science curriculum for her. She's a very self-motivated learner, and I would be hard-pressed to recall a time that I actually set out with the goal of teaching her something - she asks questions pretty much all day and reads books to her heart's content.

So, given that I also have a 2-yo and a baby due in about a month, I am seeking a curriculum that she can take off with on her own, because of my own schedule, and because of her learning style. She LOVES science, especially biology (she studies the Audubon Guide apps frequently, and has a children's anatomy book that has become a recent favorite), so kindergarten-level is probably not appropriate for her in most curricula. Any suggestions?

Check out prufrock press for possibilities....the have a bunch of books by center for gifted education designed for gifted learners grades k-2....

I'll be watching this thread as I have the same question. We will be homeschooling DS8(gr3) and DD5(grK). I was searching the internet yesterday about this but didn't come up with a desirable science "curriculum".

What I think we'll do is get a "curriculum" for Math and ELA, but for science and other subjects, just have a combination of books, videos and activities, and let the kids learn. We'll worry about formal course requirements/expectations at high school level.

Have you considered DK books? Many libraries have collections. To help compose a list of books your child may be interested in, you may wish to visit the dk.com website as it lists titles available for children and also books by subject area such as science/nature.

Another popular resource is the website of Gifted Homeschoolers Forum (GHF) which features a tab of "favorite things" including science resources.

I don't homeschool - but use BFSU for after schooling science (Building Foundations for Scientific understanding by Dr Nebel). This curriculum has a yahoo support group with Dr Nebel participating in it. There are lesson plans, hands on activities and related topic discussion in the support group. Hope this helps!
http://www.amazon.com/Building-Foundations-Scientific-Understanding-Curriculum/dp/1432706101

A few links I bookmarked yesterday while searching this topic. (Just some places to look. I'm not recommending anything.)
http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/resources/favorite-things/favorite-things-science/
http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/Articles_id_10358.aspx
http://www.exquisite-minds.com/gifted-resources-lessons-and-curriculum/
http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations

One of the reasons you may be having a hard time is there is very little science "required" in kindergarten. Here is an example I found describing the 4 science "requirements" for K in Common Core. http://colaborativelearning.pbworks.com/w/page/32112575/Kindergarten%20Science (I just google searched this.) The guide I found of CA requirements is ONE page.

What I would take from this is that you don't have to try very hard to exceed "standards" in Science. And this may be why you are having a hard time finding program. What I would do is look for Elementary Science programs rather than ones specifically for K. Looks like lots of others have many good suggestions.

We're currently enjoying time4learning.com. It's more of a subscription-based service where you pay $20/mth to access content. My science-loving DS8 is enjoying the eighth-grade curriculum right now. It's animated software with parental controls.

I believe Common Core (so far?) just has standards for Math and ELA. http://www.corestandards.org/read-the-standards/

I suppose each state has science standards, and I came across this effort for uniform standards. (I know nothing about it. I just saw it now.)
http://www.nextgenscience.org/

Personally I wouldn't bother with "what you need to know in grade X". And I wouldn't get a grade X science "curriculum".

We're looking for a combination of books, videos, activities (e.g. science museum visits), to let the kids learn. With the right resources I think curious children will learn what they need in science. (But as a parent I will nevertheless watch the standards just to check that in the long run we have it covered.)