geology for kids

When I was in freshman in college, I needed {as in, I was required} to take a science class. Since Biology was scary, and general science bored me, I decided to register for Geology.

I mean, rocks for jocks, right? How hard could it possibly be?

As it turns out, I was so very wrong. The professor was scary {as in, yelling at people when they left his lectures early} the labs were confusing… and his tests were impossibly hard. Dolomite is so tricky. As it turns out, rocks are not for me.

I just kept picturing said different rocks displayed on bookshelves and I would get distracted thinking about their contrasting colors and pretty streaks… I was doomed. And I should have dropped the class, and recognized my calling as a design major from that point forward.

If I had actually attended all of the classes, I probably still wouldn’t have scored more than a C as the militant professor was out to dash all of our freshman dreams of fun. The nerve. So a {deserved} C I made.

My dad wasn’t too happy.

But I had an awesome tan. No regrets, y’all.

Christina wrote in recently and said: This is our first year doing Homeschool, and now that the end of the year is near, I’m already looking for ideas for next year. I know you use Sonlight, but we’re feeling limited with some of our curriculum. We were curious about what you’re doing right now with Science? Or if you have any suggestions, we would love to hear. We were wondering what you guys have been up to lately, and if you would mind sharing. Thank you so much!

First things first – I know it’s been a while since we shared anything over here in the world of Homeschooling. We kind of avoided it all together, because we’re still trying to figure things out over here. It was a crazy year, and here’s the thing: we struggled so much {with one child in particular} we didn’t know if we would be doing this gig next year. We honestly still don’t because homeschooling is definitely a full time job and we truly want to do what is best for our children and family in the coming year. So that will be a decision to be made in the (near) future.

But we do know that we’ve used Sonlight as a great hand-holding launching point, for the first two years. If we do move forward with homeschooling next year, we will probably be tailoring the curriculum individually to each child. It’s time to get more specific in their studies, based on their strengths, weaknesses, and interests.

If we’ve learned one thing from all this, it’s not to be so rigid about it all. Everyone views it differently, but while we believe the things like writing assignments and repetition are important in a foundation for their educations and futures, I would definitely let them help choose some more of what they’re interested in.

The most fun we have had, have been with the hands-on topics they’re passionate about. So this year, we kind of ditched parts of our curriculum completely, because that’s the beauty of homeschooling… and let them choose.

And when they started collecting rocks, we were all in. If only my Geology professor could see me now.

He wouldn’t know me from Adam, but still… if he could see me.

So for our little geology starter kit, we decided to get a few hands on elements to work with: Break Your Own Geodes, a Crystal Mining Kit, and National Geographic Rocks and Minerals.

We figured the best way to get started on the topic was to capitalize ons something they already love for a hands on experience, before diving in with the details.

These are two messy projects, but perfect for an afternoon of fun.

First up: Break Your Own Geodes. They recommend putting them in a sock, and using a hammer to smash them.

These guys needed a little assistance, and Dad ended up using a chisel to break them open evenly. {PS like our eye protection? But they had so much fun learning all about them, how they’re formed, and what they look like.

The Crystal Mining Set was a lot of fun as well.

We simply sat down at the table, and opening our “excavation kit” chiseled away.

It took a little work, but once they got into it, they were {joyfully} occupied for quite a while.

They slowly uncovered mineral after mineral.

When they were free we cleaned them up, and put them aside for identification.

From Amethysts to Quartz they learned about each one. I also got to impress myself with what I remembered. Jamin rolled his eyes a lot.

We plan to follow up by reading in our fun book, and using those as a point of reference as we go.

I wanted a place to be able to keep them, so I found this old letterpress drawer {perfect with three spaces each} for them to keep their discoveries inside.

We have some of their geodes, the minerals they found from the “excavation” and even some dyed quartz they picked from a gift shop on a trip recently. The funny part? They once thought those were beautiful, but they love the natural ones even more. They weren’t aware of the stark difference in natural beauty vs. a gift shop find until now.

It’s a great little teaching tool for the topic we’re about to cover, and we plan to follow up with a visit to a local cave, at the end of our little unit.

Emerson informed me after this that she wants to be a “paleontologist”.

I was kind of hoping she might take over the family business when she’s good and ready. But really she can be anything she wants, and in the meantime, I really want her to say that every time someone asks.

It makes us sound like we’re doing something right.

Next up: We’ll be growing a few of our own crystals, and playing around with a volcano, too.

Because why not?

We hope this little peek into what we’re doing right now, helps a little Christina!

The kids are really enjoying it, and I can honestly say we are too. I’m all about the Dolomite. And not so much the tan, because I’m Irish, and because wrinkles, and apparently I was in denial about both, in college.

If we can give a recommendation with all things science, it’s pursue what they love! The rest can come later, and they’ll soak it up naturally. The more hands on, the better.

We’d love to hear any of your ideas! Have an inspired day!