For our science lab notebook we used was a cheap spiral bound notebook from the cheap Target back-to-school sales. You could also use printer paper or regular notebook paper, because the lab notebook isn’t about the NOTEBOOK at all! The science lab notebook is about the kids recording what they did during the science lab. After reading the instructions from Apologia, I had my children draw a picture or graph of what they did, with a paragraph description. The picture had to have color, and the paragraph had to be an actual paragraph, not a sentence. To tell you the truth, I gave them a grade for the lab report based on how pleased or annoyed I felt when I saw it! After taking Biology, Chemistry, and Physics at home, using this lab write-up philosophy, my children were WELL prepared for college science labs.
Busy finalizing our e-book, The Easy Truth About Homeschool Transcripts. Trying to get it ready for Christmas! Here’s a sneak peak!
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Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
J W says:
Wanna know something really neat? If your zoo has a Nature Exchange (I know the Dallas Zoo, the Tulsa OK zoo, and the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle each have one), take your reports to the zoo! Nature-related reports exactly like Lee described are worth a LOT of points, which can then be spent on mineral specimens, polished rocks, shells, fossils, bones, plaster casts of animal tracks, and even (last I knew at the Dallas Zoo) a meteorite. We’ve been doing this since Kindergarten. The Nature Exchange staff go absolutely ape over the reports because practically nobody does them. Last time we went, the staff told us that all too often, kids bring in something dead that would have been better left alone where it was. Here’s some more information about Nature Exchanges: http://www.natureexchange.com/collect.html
November 21st, 2008 at 4:05 pm
J W says:
I finally found a list of Nature Exchanges!
http://sciencenorth.on.ca/enterprises/work/exhibits/natureexchange/index.html
November 21st, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Julie says:
Thanks, Lee! I was wondering how they were going to show that they had a lab science. Did you do this just for the ones you did at home, or for everything? Our Public Works department offers science lab workshops that I thought I’d take them to.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:22 am
Lee says:
Hi Julie,
I’ll answer your question in a regular blog post, so that everyone can benefit from the answer. Great question!
Blessings,
Lee
November 23rd, 2008 at 8:46 am
Juana Ruiz says:
Hi Lee, I was just wondering if this was all you did for your science lab? Or did they actually dissect any animals?
November 1st, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Lee says:
Hi Juana,
Yes, we did all the labs in each science book. All the critters, all the microscopes in biology – I loved it! Not the kids… they prefer chemistry and physics. Just fyi, there is no real definition of how much you have to do in order to call it a lab science:
http://www.thehomescholar.com/blog/homeschool-high-school-what-is-a-lab-science/2062/
Blessings,
Lee
November 1st, 2010 at 4:53 pm