Exploring Creation with Astronomy
At first I was a bit leery of spending an entire year on just one subject. What about the weather? The human body? Oceans? After I read Fulbright’s introduction though, I fell in love with the idea. Fulbright explains that by immersing the student in just one subject, they get to really plumb the depths and richness of that topic. It reminded me a lot of Charlotte Mason’s idea of narrating….letting the student explore and interact with their studies in ways that helped their brain to make connections that they might have otherwise missed.
Exploring Creation with Astronomy is for kids six to twelve, but I feel the text is geared toward the older child. In the notebook (sold separately) there is a suggested schedule, usually reading about 2 pages twice a week. However, I’ve discovered that although G6 is intensely interested in the subject, if I read more than a page his eyes gloss over. *lol*
So instead I’m reading about one section (or topic, depending) per day. For example, in chapter one there is a section called “Astronomers, Astronauts, and Satellites.” Even though it’s only about a page long, there is no way he could process all that information in one sitting. So today I only read him the small section about astronomers. Tomorrow it will be about NASA and astronauts, and Thursday will be about satellites. I’ve also brought home a bunch of picture books about space from the library, some non-fiction and some just fun, so that he can flip through them or have us read them to him at bedtime if he chooses.