Articles

Remember back when you were in school. Do you remember your teacher giving you a bunch of boring facts to memorize? Was looking at the pictures in the textbook the most fun you had in your science class?

This is probably how your child is feeling right now about his or her 2nd grade science. This is not because there is anything wrong with science or that science is boring. The problem is, that it is being introduced the wrong way.

Make Science Come Alive

A textbook works great as a guide to learning science, but should try and do more to make science really exciting. Science experiments are by far the best way to get a child interested in science.

One thing you can try is to have your child plant a seed in a cup with some soil and watch as it goes through the life cycle of growing and sprouting. My favorite 2nd grade science curriculum would have to be Apologia Science. I have found Apologia to be the best at really making science fun and engaging for children.

Children, especially 2nd graders, love interaction. If you feel up to it, let your child take of a chick that just hatched out of an egg. Let him or her care for it. This will not only help your child learn about science, but also about life itself.

Children Need to Be Allowed to Think for Themselves

When a child asks you how something works, your natural instinct is to explain it to just explain it all to them. While that's fine, you might want to try answering their question with a question. This way you can teach your child how to think for themselves and learn the answer at the same time.

For example, if your child is curious about what certain fish eat, you can ask a question like, 'Well, what kind of snack do you think this fish likes the best?' Show the child what that fish has in it's environment, and encourage them to give you their thoughts.