Non-Christian hands-on science - 7th grade?

Question

I am using a Holt Science & Technology Life Science book for my son's 7th grade Science curriculum. I am brand new to "homeschooling" and am using this because we're part of a county "Independent Study" program. I go through the Units with him, but I think adding a bunch of hands-on Life Science would be great. Can anyone point me to a non-Christian Life Science curriculum suitable for a 7th grade boy who loves science? We live in the state of California.

Answer 1

physics.......

Answer 2

Library books. Both in the kids' section and the regular section. Ours, in any case, has a TON of books available with various projects and experiments to try.

Answer 3

Janice VanCleave has a series of "experiment" books ("_______ for Every Kid", where the _____ is something like geology or life science or earth science or astronomy or chemistry or physics - you get the idea).  Check to see what your local library has.

Like Glurpy said, the library is a great source for science and history books (as well as literature, of course).

Answer 4

Glencoe has some complete programs that are secular.

http://www.glencoe.com/catalog/

If you are just looking for projects and hands on experiments to do in addition to his curriculum he uses in his independent study program look on these sites for discection kits, reference books, or curriculum. (Both Christian and Secular texts are available on this site.)

http://www.hometrainingtools.com

Answer 5

I subscribe to Krampf's Science email.. once a week or so he sends out great science experiments.  He has some video's on his website and you can also go to the archive and browse TONS of great experiments. Here is an example: (Yes, I have permission to post this.)

This week's science video shows you how to produce beautiful smoke rings, and learn about something called a vortex at the same time. You can find it at:

http://www.krampf.com/experiment_vid.htm...

********************

This week's experiment is a fun science puzzle involving magnets. To try it, you will need:

a strong magnet (available at most hardware stores)

three paper clips

Straighten two of the paper clips, so that you have two long, fairly straight pieces of wire. Get both as straight as you can. Place one aside. Hold the other, and rub one end of the magnet along the paper clip, starting at your finger, and moving to the other end. Move the magnet away from the metal and repeat the process. Keep stroking the magnet along the paper clip, always in the same direction, for about 40 strokes. By doing this, we are magnetizing the paper clip.

Test the magnetized paper clip by bringing one end of it near the extra paper clip, the one that you did not straighten. If your paper clip is magnetized enough, it should attract the other clip. If not, try again with the procedure above.

Once you have the paper clip magnetized, you are ready for the challenge. Put both of the straightened paper clips together. Mix them until you are not sure which is which. The challenge is to figure out which one is the magnet and which is not, but you cannot use ANYTHING else to test with. No fair using the third paper clip, iron filings, a compass, or anything else. You are also not allowed to break the paper clips. The two straightened clips are all you need to figure it out.

So, how do you find out which is which? If I told you, you would just say, "Oh that makes sense." instead of really trying it. If you are really patient, you could wait until next week for the answer, but I bet you have enough scientific curiosity to actually get the materials and try it yourself.

Have a wonder-filled week!

Robert Krampf

Robert Krampf's Science Education Company

www.krampf.com

Answer 6

There is a book called "Hands On General Science" for grades 5-12 that includes Life Science along with other branches of science.  I don't use it because my son's texts (Apologia) come with lots of hands-on activities already, but I've read through it, and it's pretty good (and easy to use).  Here's the Amazon link, though you can get it other places as well:

http://www.amazon.com/General-Science-Ac...

Hope that helps!

Answer 7

go to you local library call your local college they sometime can give you a tour of there labs and stuff