Textbooks

[duboisa]

I have learned over the past 8-10 months in homeschooling my son that he HATES textbooks. He cant learn in them. Do you guys have any suggestions or lesson plans etc etc to teach History and Science without using textbooks. ( i cant remember all this stuff, so just "talking" about it, which he likes to do is hard, because i forget who did what when) I have found cosmeo which has a wealth of information on it, but it does cost $9.95 a month. I dont want him to have gaps or leave the important stuff out, but how do you learn the dates, and all the people without using a textbook. And it is very hard to get him to read a library book on a subject, he says they are all boring.

All ideas are appreciated. I am not buying anything ELSE at all until i get this figured out, I am tired of wasting money and changing how we do things all the time, trying to get him to get interested.

[mary helen]

I read a quote from Albert Einstein:
A group of university students ask him a simple science question that any high schooler should have known. They were astonished that he had won the nobel prize and couldn't tell them the simple science question. His answer to them was:
"Never spend time memorizing what you can look up in a book quickly."

This makes so much sence to me. Dates are not as a big deal as knowing about the events. I'd spend time in library books, disscussions and unit studies.:smile2:

[Dianna]

Angie, for science and social studies, we love the Carus/Cobblestone Publishing magazines. Our favorites are Ask, Muse, and Odyssey for science and social studies, but we also enjoy Spider, Cricket, and Appleseeds. Here's a website to read more about these (and others): http://www.cobblestonepub.com/index.html

If you decide to try some of these, the teacher rate is the best deal, but you have to subscribe to at least four different magazines to get it.

I think you've said previously that your son has trouble reading, is that correct? If so, the library books may not actually be boring - he may just have trouble reading them. If that's the case, consider reading aloud to him until his reading skills improve. Or the books may actually be boring. Do you let him choose his own books?

Also remember that documentaries, educational TV, field trips, experiments, etc., are also learning opportunities that children usually enjoy.

Don't focus on memorizing dates and names, just focus on events. Each year your son will learn more about the events in depth and will get a sense of the timeline and people that go with an event. That's what's important - not specific dates.

I hope some of these ideas help you, but yell if you still have questions. :smile2:

Warmly,
Dianna