In my experience, the biggest challenge related to science lessons is doing the experiments. But we can do a few things to increase our motivation and eliminate obstacles. For example, we can gather all the supplies needed for the whole term (or the whole year) in advance. After all, when the baking soda is nowhere to be found, or mom forgot to order the magnets, the lesson is over before it starts!
I’ve invited Emily Kiser, my co-host on A Delectable Education Podcast and homeschool organizer extraordinaire, to share her method for gathering and storing supplies. She has four children and, therefore, will use these supplies repeatedly for several years. But beyond that, she has found a way to share the cost and the blessing with others.
Emily originally shared this tip with our ADE Patreons, where she often posts tips for organizing everything from her planning notebook to her kids’ paper stuff to her school cabinet. I hope her ideas here will help you prepare for the science experiments your kids will do in the upcoming school year.
A few years ago, Morgan Conner of @CMintheNaturalState made Science Supply boxes to go along with each of Nicole’s science guides, and she “checks them out” to the members of her CM Reading Group, just like we check out Five in a Row unit boxes to our library members! I thought at that time it was a brilliant idea and wanted to use her idea for my own Natural History Club. We keep our group pretty small since we all have 4 children, so there are just 4 families–20 people make a lot of noise walking down a trail, but that’s another story. As my eldest will be in Form 2 next year, and my sister’s eldest is in his second year of Form 2, I offered to gather the supplies and assemble the boxes this summer.
I thought this might be a helpful idea for some of you. Even with just another friend, you can share the cost of the supplies and have a handy place to gather all the materials for the term. I’ve made some labels, as well as some lists to show which supplies are included in each box and which you’ll need to gather from around the house. (Access the Form 2 Supply Lists here.)
I laminated these lists so I can mark off the materials with a permanent marker and erase as needed. I’ve taped these inside the lids of the corresponding boxes. There is a third category–items that are perishable and/or will be consumed by each person who uses the box, so need to be purchased every time that unit is used. Some of the items in the “Non-consumable” list are indeed going to get used up, but they will last for several uses at least. So far I only have these lists for Form 2, but I do intend to compile them for the upper forms Science as well.
I hope that this will not only help some of you share the financial cost of science supplies, but help make implementing experiments as they are such an important component of CM’s Natural History program!
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Emily Kiser lives with her husband and four young children in the southwestern Virginia mountains. For the past eleven years she has operated a private lending library for local families full of living books. In that capacity she became acquainted with the teaching methods of Charlotte Mason and has devoted herself to learning as much as possible about the philosophy and practice of that great educational pioneer. It has been her great delight to help families implement the Charlotte Mason model of education locally through the Living Books Library, regionally by teaching seminars, and beyond with her Picture Study Portfolios and A Delectable Education Podcast. A perpetual student herself, Emily can imagine no greater joy than to share in the educational journey of her own children as they enjoy the feast of ideas and build relationships in as many directions as possible under the ultimate guidance of the Holy Spirit–the Supreme Educator of Mankind.
I have thought often of this idea and I did try to do it this year to some degree. Next year, I’d like to have clear, stackable boxes and a checklist though, like she does. What size boxes are those in the picture? That would be helpful to know as I’m trying to organize my supplies for Form 2-4. I’m going to need bigger ones for my Form 3 & 4 supplies, but the Form 2 size is a good starting point. Thanks!
She uses the IRIS USA TB Clear Plastic Storage from Amazon.