“What did we use?” (materials) “What
did we see?” (results) “What did we
learn?” (conclusion) Older children can
summarize an experiment in writing us-
ing the following categories:
• Purpose
• Hypothesis (What do we think will
happen?)
www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com
knowledge and as more authorita-
tive than religious knowledge. Pub-
lic schools have taught generations of
students that science and religion are
now at war with one another and al-
ways have been. However, in truth, the
modern scientific method was possible
only because of Christianity. Because
. . . A little bit of
knowledge is usually
fodder for more
curiosity.
they believed in a God of order, scientists sought evidence of that order
in the universe, and they made many
important discoveries because they
first believed in the Creator. For more
information about this issue, see Nancy
Pearcey’s book: The Soul of Science. She
tells how Kepler continued his search to
explain the planetary orbits and record
their movements down to the minute
because he believed that knowledge
and order emanated from God and
could be discovered by mankind.
If you train young students in three
skills—careful observation of nature,
memorization of key scientific facts, and
careful records of discoveries through
science and sketches—they will be well
prepared to tackle advanced sciences.
As they approach the high school years,
continue to focus your science studies on
the idea of making important discoveries
about God’s world rather than on check-
ing off credits in the order laid out by the
state. We need to remember that science
studies are placing our students in the
midst of a great conversation about the
workings of the universe. This conver-
sation has been going on since the days
of Creation when God instructed Adam
to name the animals. It is good to add
scientific discoverers to their history, as
well as art timelines, so that students see
the train of this great conversation. They
must also approach science knowing
that many contemporary theories will
fall away and be replaced by new ones.
Above all, we must model how to search
for truth and to respond to discoveries of
truth with praise. Let us continue to be
amazed by the works of His hands.
Leigh A. Bortins is author of the recently
published book The Core: Teaching Your
Child the Foundations of Classical Education. In addition, Ms. Bortins is the founder
and CEO of Classical Conversations, Inc.
and host of the weekly radio show, Leigh! At
Lunch. She lectures about the importance
of home education nationwide. She lives
with her family in West End, North Carolina. To learn more, visit her website, www
. classicalconversations.com, or her blog,
www.1SmartMama.com.
