HS Comments on the Fly

I wish I had known about this book sooner; we did not run across it until my oldest was in high school. It is Next Time Questions by Paul Hewitt. It is one of the supplementary and optional books to be used with Conceptual Physics.

Next Time Questions are little daily doses of physics principles presented specially for the uninitiated. Hewitt has illustrated each brain teaser engagingly and humorously. These simple Next Time Questions are supposed to be used by the high school or college instructor to introduce the next day’s physics topic, so they are not as technical as the actual lesson. So most of them are just right for any beginning physics student.

Example:

Who knew that candle burning was dependent on the effect of gravity and convection? Well, physicists, of course, but if kids learn that and the other physics principles early, then it’s like second nature to them when they’re older. Many of us don’t think scientifically, but little brain teasers like these will help students to understand simple natural phenomena while they’re younger providing a foundation to build on when they’re older.

Originally, when we were using these here at home, I was copying these pages (because the answer is on the back) and then taping the two sheets (question side and answer side) up on the tv screen each morning. Then when we were done discussing, I would just toss them. However, once I got through the first 20 or so that I copied, I didn’t make more copies and this little exercise fell by the wayside. A regret.

The way I would do it now, looking back, would be to tape one of those page protectors up to the fridge with Scotch tape. I’d just tape the back side of the pocket. Then I’d just use the page from the book (mine’s perforated) and place it in there. Once everyone had come up with an answer (many of the questions are multiple choice or yes/no), I’d just turn the page over in the page protector for the rest of the day.

I would keep the Next Time Questions book and a 3-ring binder (my book is 3-hole punched) right on top of the fridge or in a cupboard right next to it so that I could put the used lessons away immediately … even if it meant giving up a shelf. For me, unless the system is set up to be completed easily, I won’t be able to effortlessly stick with it. So I would have a system for this. This is the same system I used with the art photos, except the art photos I kept up longer so that the kids became familiar with them–you know, they looked at them every time they opened the fridge for a couple weeks.

But, yeah, I think that these physics principles are definitely worth this effort. If I had to do homeschooling all over again, I would hope that I would do this when the kids were in their elementary or middle school years. It’s no substitute for a science curriculum, but it is a quick thing to do and can be discussed over breakfast. And you get a lot of bang for your buck education-wise. The time investment:educational value ratio is high.

It really doesn’t matter which version of Next-Time Questions you get. Here are links to the less expensive ones at Amazon. You need to buy used because as far as I know, the publisher doesn’t sell new books to homeschoolers. They’re all less than 10 - 15 years old, and I doubt much physics stuff has changed in that amount of time.

Next-Time Questions 3rd Ed. or Next-Time Questions 9th Ed. (Don’t worry about editions. I’ve got the college and it’s easy enough to understand.)

Don’t save even one important class or book for grade 12. Plan to get everything that you and your student feel is significant done before the end of grade 11.

Impediments to getting much of anything done in a student’s senior year could include:

• part-time job
• owning a vehicle which necessitates it being driven, etc.
• romance
• lack of interest
• desire to “just be done with school”
• college application process
• friend(s) with their own places who need to be visited
• friends with crises
• etc.

Don’t plan on your student having time/desire to learn how to make pesto, read a book just for fun that you’ve picked out, write a term paper, etc. So if it’s important to you or your student, get it done in grade 10 or 11. Don’t wait. Even if you find the time to do it in the last year, the ability to learn (and enjoy it) is affected by the items on the above list.

And I know that doing things too early is also not good. But not doing them at all is sometimes worse.

Timing. So much in life homeschooling is all about timing. Okay, life, too.

Now that my students are nearly all grown and we’ve got such a short amount of time left for homeschooling, I look at some of the books I bought and mourn.

Why? Because they’re still in perfect or like new condition.

Why? Because I told the kids when they were 4, 5, or 6 that they had to be really careful when they looked at this book or that book and to have me get it off the shelf for them. I told them that the book was expensive and that we needed it to last through all the years that we were homeschooling.

That was a bit of foolishness on my part because the books didn’t end up getting read or used.

And now I am sad when I run across the really nice books in our bookshelves that haven’t been used.

If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t be so worried about the books. If a book started looking a little ratty, I would smile with satisfaction. Books in a homeschool are meant to be read and used and loved. I’ve got pristine museum pieces instead.

Bring on the grandkids! I bet they’ll be able to make these books look a little more loved. I’m going to insist that these book are taken to bed, taken along in the car, taken out to the treehouse or hammock. These books will be enjoyed!

Just a few examples of the lovely, pristine books on our shelves that are waiting for grandkids:

• Random House Children’s Encylopedia
• Pirate (Eyewitness Books)
• Minn of the Mississippi
• The Body Atlas
• The Great Atlas of Discovery
• Wall Chart of World History

Amazon.com has a rating system based on 5 stars. I know you probably already know that, but just in case one reader out there doesn’t, I mention it.

It’s not often that a book can maintain a 5-star rating through 14 reviews. But I found one!

It’s a really cool book because, if a parent reads it, they’ll be able to answer all those pesky science questions that little kids come up with about the world we live in. Okay, it probably doesn’t have all the answers, but it sure has a load of them. And it’s got helpful illustrations to go with the explanations. It’s a fun book for higher levels, too, because the questions seem easy to answer, but often aren’t. Truly cool.

What book am I referring to? Thinking Physics.

We’ve had our copy for about five years now and thoroughly enjoy it. I wish I’d had it when the children were little so that I could have laid a better foundation for them for higher-level science, but, oh well. Anyway, even through all the book purges we’ve had, we’ve kept this book and will continue to do so because the information in it doesn’t go out of style or become stale. It’s not a textbook; it’s a real book and worth hanging on to.

And 5 stars! No one has given this book a 4-star rating yet; it’s that good! Go on … go read about it and see what others are saying. I’m surprised some “homeschooling expert” somewhere isn’t already extolling the virtues of this book … and hawking it. Be the first homeschooler on your block to have your own copy!

And if I can’t figure out who squirrelled away our copy, I’ll have to buy another!

UPDATE: Hey, look at this … a professor at St. Andrews (Prince William’s alma mater) uses some material from Thinking Physics in his optics lectures (passing mention in syllabus). Interesting.

My husband pointed me to this blog entry over at Healthbolt about cognitive bias and how it affects our decision-making abilities. I guess a lot of the time we’re just deluding ourselves, which is probably not really surprising if I really think about it.

I thought I had a lot of decision-making stuff taken care of with Logic and critical thinking curricula. I was wrong. I should have covered this with my son. I can still cover it with my daughter, but I’ve never heard of most of this stuff so teaching it won’t really be all that easy. Drats.

Here’s an excerpt to pique (not peak) your interest:

A cognitive bias is something that our minds commonly do to distort our own view of reality. Here are the 26 most studied and widely accepted cognitive biases.

1. Bandwagon effect - the tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. Related to groupthink, herd behaviour, and manias. Carl Jung pioneered the idea of the collective unconscious which is considered by Jungian psychologists to be responsible for this cognitive bias.
2. Confirmation bias - the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one’s preconceptions.
3. Disconfirmation bias - the tendency for people to extend critical scrutiny to information which contradicts their prior beliefs and uncritically accept information that is congruent with their prior beliefs.
4. Endowment effect - the tendency for people to value something more as soon as they own it.

See? They’re rather in depth — or at least unfamiliar to me for the most part.

You know, we only did the first semester of Memoria Press’s Logic and maybe that’s why we missed some of this stuff. But my son quickly perused the Book 2, thinking it would look like Book 1, and promptly rejected it, I believe, because it had a bit of a different look to the content. That’s fine with me … you can lead a horse to water, etc. Book 1 was quite good; in fact, it was what I’d been looking for for a number a years. Book 2’s likely good also, but I no longer have it to comment upon. Easy come, easy go.

Anyway, I digress as usual. The list of 26 cognitive biases is well worth covering in this homeschool since how we make decisions in life is so important.

Oh, yeah, and my son did use the instructional DVDs for Logic 1 a little. I think it depends on the student if they can stand the repetitive nature of reading the lesson and then listening to it all over again on the DVDs. A younger student would probably want the instructional DVDs.

I have no idea how to teach plant care. And there are no tutors. But I wouldn’t pay for one anyway because it’s cheaper to just go out and buy new plants every two months.

I really liked my polka dot plant. It was pretty and pink, but not in a Molly Ringwald sort of way. I bought it last November. Now I pity it. I’m distressed every time I see it and wonder if I should Kevorkian it.

Problem: I torture plants unto death.

Solution: Unknown.

Question: Who do I blame this problem on?

Answer: My K-12 education at the hands of classroom schools paid for by the taxpayer because, of course, this is a skill that someone should have taught me. They should teach plant care starting at age 6. Every classroom could have 10-20 houseplants, you know.

Additional Problem: I am incompetent at teaching houseplant care to my homeschool students. Failed one already and am focusing all my energy on remaining student by modeling desperate plant-torturing behaviors while calling it “feeding and watering.”

Solution: Unknown.

What should lovely polka dot plant (hypoestes) look like? Here’s a bunch of flickr photos for you. The ones with the pink dots on the leaves … that’s the kind I have. Isn’t it the happiest-looking little plant?

Where’s the homeschooling curriculum that teaches plant care? Hmm?

Additionally, why are there no 12-step programs anywhere for the plant torturers?

The local florist and plant store is awfully kind to me and gave me the recipe to get rid of spider mites — mites that they helpfully provide with each plant they sell, it seems. So I have learned that recipe and can pass on that knowledge to my students and can bask in the glow of that smallish sort of accomplishment. But at what cost? I killed eight English ivy plants in the process. One survives in my kitchen on my little shelf by the north window. It’s nearly reached the grand age of one year.

Anyway, if you’ve successfully grown a polka dot plant in your home, have got the time, and want to save a green life, please advise me.

Should I take a road trip using this map?

Well, I don’t think I will because it’s a little impractical since this is the new shower curtain in the guest room bathroom. Oh, I know you’re wonder why I buy such junk for the guest room … well, it’s because I ran out of money after buying the new sheets, blankets, and fluffy gi-normous towels. So while the shower curtain is cheap, at least it’s soap scum free.

But that map. How funny. Yeah, I’m always thinking, “Here I am in Sacramento, California. I’m thinking I’ll take a trip down to New York, New York.” That’s lucid.

I think the only thing correct on that map is that I-80 actually does connect Sacramento with New York. Chicago being located northwest of Des Moines (uncapitalized, btw)??? Yeah, something is definitely rotten in the state of Denmark.

So, geography. How to learn it? They say that most people are geographically illiterate. I’m not sure we’re properly filled with geographical genius, but I’ll share some of what we’ve done over the years in our homeschool - the stuff I can remember.

1. We’ve had maps, historical and current, on placemats and/or covered with contact paper and affixed to the tabletop.

2. Maps on the wall. Even in the living room.

3. A large framed map that can lean against the armoire during school hours. Two-sided, with the world on one side and the U.S. on the other.

4. A globe on a stand in the living room - great for spinning around and seeing where your finger lands. We’ve also had two different inflatable globes which means we can throw it around and not risk hurting each other or the furniture … too much.

5. When reading aloud, which we have done just about every day, we used one of the laser pointers to point out the places mentioned in the book. Examples: Around the World in 80 Days - we had a piece of posterboard tacked to the wall that listed all the locations visited and then we would use our laser pointer to point to each location as the other read the list and checked to make sure that the pointer was correctly placed. We also did this with Carry On, Mr. Bowditch (who went from the East Coast of the U.S. to Europe, around Africa and over to the Orient somewhere - I can’t remember where because it was probably 8 - 10 years ago) and also He Went With Vasco Da Gama. This method would work with any book with traveling characters, whether it be about Lewis & Clark, Marco Polo, Captain Cook, Henry Morgan, Mozart, Cyrus the Great, Hannibal, Richard the Lionhearted.

6. Make a salt dough map. Each of the kids did Mexico when we were reading one of Henty’s books. It was the one about Moctezuma. I do not recommend it for history class, though Hentys are fine for pleasure reading.

7. We draw on maps. Once when reading about the transcontinental railroad, the kids drew a train, tracks, and a golden spike. They placed the tracks on the map as we read through the book and the tracks met in northern Utah. Then they put the stake on the map. We kept the map up on the wall for a few more months.

8. Map puzzles. I bought 2 U.S. puzzles to facilitate races. We also have at least one world map.

9. Once before a road trip, I bought each child a AAA road atlas and a few highlighters so that they could trace our trip in the atlas. The road atlases were saved for following trips. They did lose interest in a year or two, but it was great fun while they enjoyed it.

10. We have traced the routes of the Amazing Race. I still enjoy looking up all the places in an atlas. It’s easier to do if you tape it and then do the map work the second time you watch it.

11. We use historical atlases. We have probably 6 or 7 of these. You can buy historical atlases for different areas of the world. It’s sometimes shocking to see how areas change over the decades or centuries. The names of countries and seas change, too, which baffles my mind at times. Like the Caspian Sea being previously called the Sea of Hyrcania, which we had to figure out on our own because the book we were reading didn’t give much of a clue where that sea was. It was a mystery. BookCloseOuts.com used to have some great deals on historical atlases.

12. We have used computer programs. We had a program from Torpedo Software that we used to use a lot. We bought it back before there was a Windows version of it - that old! We also used World Discovery Deluxe from Great Wave Software. I don’t think either are available anymore. We still use our GeoSafari LapTop now and then. It’s a bit fun. And it does help to learn all the capitals in Africa, etc. Some may wonder why that’s important - well, maybe it’s not important. I just want to be able to discuss stuff with my children. If I say, “Khartoum,” I want them to know that I’m talking about the Sudan or at least have a nebulous idea that it’s in the Sahara. I know at least one of my students is familiar with the Sahel. Maybe no so important to the average U.S. citizen, but still information that may come in handy someday.

Other ideas that could possibly be fun:

1. Take a world map to the zoo and mark where the flamingos, rhinos, camels, etc., are from. Usually the zoo has that info on the little sign next to each exhibit. I think this would only be fun if you go to the zoo once a month and you only dig out the map once in a while. But it depends on your students.

2. Stamp collection. I had one of these as a child and often looked up the places. You get stamps from around the world by buying them in cheap, large lots. You don’t have to have a pen pal to get stamps from all over the world.

3. Travel. Read a book about an event, say, the London Fire of 1666 and then visit Pudding Lane and climb all 311 steps of the Monument which commemorates the rebuilding of the City after the fire. Actual travel is probably the absolute best way to learn geography, although it’s probably not practical to expect to be able to visit more than a couple of hands full (how in the world do you write that?) of countries during your students’ school years.

Regrets: I was a little too “don’t mess that up” with our two big world atlases. They both sat in the living room, but I didn’t allow free access. I should have. Who cares if it gets ruined as long as it is used? We can buy/find another. That should have been my attitude from the beginning. Now, it’s too late; my students are no longer six years old and forming their habits. We had lots of little atlases, though, that they had access to through their early years. But if I had it to do over again, I’d probably get us all our own atlas and encourage treating them like atlases instead of crystal.

When we were studying Rome many eons ago (8? years), I ordered a coin for next to nothing off of eBay. I think I paid about $7 total, including shipping.

I’ve still got it. We never did clean it even though the seller sent instructions. It’s from Macedonia and has “Constantine” written on it. I believe it to be authentic. I imagine lots of folks are selling similar coins right now on eBay.

It’s not like the kids learned a whole lot from it, but it was a unique way, I thought, to enhance the time we spent learning about Rome. I think, though, if I had to do it all over again, I would buy two coins and give each child a coin of their own to keep instead of treating it like something precious and tucking it away in my desk. I think the kids would have enjoyed having their own Roman coin and carrying it around. Ah, regrets. (I think I need to make another category for entries and file this entry under “Regrets.”)

UPDATE: I went and searched eBay and posted links to auctions of Roman coins over at the bottom of the righthand column.