Science Changes for AO

Old Year 1:

James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot [also published as James Herriot's Treasury of Inspirational Stories for Children]
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess - Parents should choose 6 chapters per term based on season and which birds frequent their geographical region. fall/winter months: ch 36-45; early spring ch 3-32; spring/summer ch 3-35. SartorisSmiles has resources for each chapter.
Supplements for Bird Study: Online pictures and information for each chapter | More Bird Photos | Bird songs online | An online birdfeeder guide
For free coloring pages, go about halfway down this page. Also, Rod and Staff has bird pictures in their Nature to Color coloring book. There's a site to order from; calling them directly may be quicker. 1-606-522-4348

New Year 1: (no content change)

Natural History/Science

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, as scheduled in Nature Study (a 1911 version is online in various formats here.) You may find it helpful and fun to participate in the Outdoor Hour Challenge blog.
Supplies for Nature Study:
     Nature notebook and pencils or paint for each student
     Begin to build a library of regional field guides
     Plenty of time to allow Nature Study to be a fun learning experience for both parent and child

James Herriot's Treasury for Children by James Herriot [also published as James Herriot's Treasury of Inspirational Stories for Children]
The Burgess Bird Book for Children by Thornton Burgess - Choose 6 chapters per term based on season and which birds frequent their geographical region. fall/winter months: ch 36-45; early spring ch 3-32; spring/summer ch 3-35. See resources below.

Old Year 2:

* ** The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton Burgess See Kelly Kenar's taxonomy key to research more about the animals in the book
*** Pagoo by Holling C Holling

New Year 2: (no content change)

Natural History/Science

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, as scheduled in Nature Study (a 1911 version is online in various formats here.) You may find it helpful and fun to participate in the Outdoor Hour Challenge blog.
Supplies for Nature Study:
     Nature notebook and pencils or paint for each student
     Begin to build a library of regional field guides
     Plenty of time to allow Nature Study to be a fun learning experience for both parent and child

* ** The Burgess Animal Book for Children by Thornton Burgess See Kelly Kenar's taxonomy key to research more about the animals in the book
*** Pagoo by Holling C Holling

Old Year 3:

Natural History

Secrets of the Woods by William J. Long

Science

Science Lab in a Supermarket by Robert Friedhoffer (another Friedhoffer book, or even another book of science experiments can be substitued if the book is hard to find - this book isn't worth paying inflated prices!)
The Story of Inventions by Michael J. McHugh and Frank P. Bachman (online, except for the last 2 chapters, which were a later addition and still copyrighted, or purchase from Christian Liberty Press) Great Inventors and Their Inventions by Frank P. Bachman is an earlier version of the same book.OR, if you have a copy, you can substitute All About Famous Inventors and Their Inventions by Fletcher Pratt, which is very similar. Or, boys might enjoy War Inventions by Charles R. Gibson (the Advisory hasn't read this yet.)
OR, if you prefer, you can use any of the the Exploring Creation With . . . series by Jeannie Fulbright for science in Years 3-6, available here. A support group is available.

New Year 3: (Story of Inventions removed; Science Lab in a Supermarket only suggested, Ann Voskamp Explore His Earth added as an option)

Natural History/Science

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, as scheduled in Nature Study; online. You may find it helpful and fun to participate in the Outdoor Hour Challenge blog.
Supplies for Nature Study:
     Nature notebook and pencils or paint for each student
     Begin to build a library of regional field guides
     Plenty of time to allow Nature Study to be a fun learning experience for both parent and child

Secrets of the Woods by William J. Long
Optional: Explore His Earth by Ann Voskamp, available here.
Optional: Science Lab in a Supermarket by Robert Friedhoffer [note]

Those preferring a textbook option may use the Exploring Creation With . . . series by Jeannie Fulbright for science in Years 3-6, available here. A support group is available.

Old Year 4:

Natural History

Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley (see links to images and info on some chapters below) OR Explore His Earth by Ann Voskamp, available here.

Science

It Couldn't Just Happen by Lawrence Richards
Physics Lab in the Home by Robert Friedhoffer (another Friedhoffer book, or even another book of science experiments can be substitued if the book is hard to find - this book isn't worth paying inflated prices!)
OR, if you prefer, you can use any of the the Exploring Creation With . . . series by Jeannie Fulbright for science in Years 3-6, available here. A support group is available.

New Year 4: (It Couldn't Just Happen removed, Physics Lab in the Home only suggested; Ann Voskamp Explore His Earth removed as an option; only half of Madame How used, Fabre's Story Book of Science added)

Natural History/Science

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, as scheduled in Nature Study (a 1911 version is online in various formats here.) You may find it helpful and fun to participate in the Outdoor Hour Challenge blog.
Supplies for Nature Study:
     Nature notebook and pencils or paint for each student
     Begin to build a library of regional field guides
     Plenty of time to allow Nature Study to be a fun learning experience for both parent and child

Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley (see resources below), first half:
     * The Glen, Earthquakes;
     ** Volcanos, Transformations of a Grain of Soil
     *** The Ice-Plough, The True Fairy-Tale, The Chalk Carts
The Storybook of Science by Jean-Henri Fabre
Note: Physics Lab in the Home or other in the series by Robert Friedhoffer is a great resource, but is out of print; don't spend more than $10 on a used copy.

Those preferring a textbook option may use the Exploring Creation With . . . series by Jeannie Fulbright for science in Years 3-6, available here. A support group is available.

Old Year 5:

Natural History

* Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton

Science

Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 5 by Worthington Hooker, edited by Michael J. McHugh [either the 1992 edition, or the 2002 edition, which is organized slightly differently]
The Fairy-land of Science by Arabella Buckley view page images or download text or purchase
Physics Lab in a Housewares Store by Robert Friedhoffer (another Friedhoffer book, or even another book of science experiments can be substitued if the book is hard to find - this book isn't worth paying inflated prices!)
OR, if you prefer, you can use any of the the Exploring Creation With . . . series by Jeannie Fulbright for science in Years 3-6, available here. A support group is available.

Science Biography

* biography of Isaac Newton there is a chapter about him in R. S. Ball's Great Astronomers
** biography of Alexander Graham Bell, like Always Inventing by Tom L. Matthews, or Talking Wire by O.J. Stevenson
*** biography of George Washington Carver

New Year 5: (Fairyland Science removed; Physics Lab in a Housewares only suggested; half of Madame How added, Story of Inventions added)

Natural History/Science

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, as scheduled in Nature Study; online. You may find it helpful and fun to participate in the Outdoor Hour Challenge blog.
Supplies for Nature Study:
     Nature notebook and pencils or paint for each student
     Begin to build a library of regional field guides
     Plenty of time to allow Nature Study to be a fun learning experience for both parent and child

* Wild Animals I Have Known by Ernest Thompson Seton
Christian Liberty Nature Reader, Book 5 by Worthington Hooker, edited by Michael J. McHugh [note]
Madam How and Lady Why by Charles Kingsley, second half of book:
     * Madam How's Two Grandsons, The Coral Reef
     ** Field and Wild, The World's End
     *** Homeward Bound
The Story of Inventions by Michael J. McHugh and Frank P. Bachman; purchase from CLP) [note]
Optional: Physics Lab in a Housewares Store by Robert Friedhoffer [note]

Those preferring a textbook option may use the Exploring Creation With . . . series by Jeannie Fulbright for science in Years 3-6, available here. A support group is available.

Science Biography

* biography of Isaac Newton there is a chapter about him in R. S. Ball's Great Astronomers
** biography of Alexander Graham Bell, like Always Inventing by Tom L. Matthews, or Talking Wire by O.J. Stevenson
*** biography of George Washington Carver

Old Year 6:

Natural History

* ** School of the Woods by William J. Long
** *** The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson (we recommend the Young Readers Edition if you can find it.)

Science

Secrets of the Universe: Discovering the Universal Laws of Science by Paul Fleisher; originally published in 1987 by Atheneum, ISBN number 0689312660. In 2002 Fleisher published five new books called the Secrets of the Universe series; each has a different title and is a separate chapter from the original book (see help in corresponding the books here). The original book has gone out of print and seems to be difficult to find, although it does pop up; public libraries would be the obvious first place to look since the book isn't really that old. Please don't feel that the Advisory is asking anyone to go on a major quest for the only excellent book out there. That's not what was intended by leaving the book on the list, only that if you CAN get a copy, it's still our first choice for Year Six. If you are unable to access it, another option might be The Boy Scientist by John Bryan Lewellen, out of print, but more readily available at used book sources than Secrets of the Universe. Another option is The Sciences by Edward Holden, out of print, but online here for free. Charlotte Mason herself recommended Holden's book, so even simply taking a look at it will give an idea of the kind of science text she would have used. (We don't usually recommend out of print books, or very expensive books. All of these books are good, and if you can obtain them, we suggest you use them. However, we are still seeking an alternative that fits our guidelines of excellence, availability, and affordability.)
OR, if you prefer, you can use any of the the Exploring Creation With . . . series by Jeannie Fulbright for science in Years 3-6, available here. A support group is available.

Science Biography

* Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik OR Ordinary Genius by Stephanie McPherson
** Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
*** Galileo and the Magic Numbers by Sidney Rosen (available as a reasonably priced eBook, but there are copyright rules about using it; it must be read off your computer.)

New Year 6: (It Couldn't Just Happen added)

Natural History/Science

The Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock, as scheduled in Nature Study; online. You may find it helpful and fun to participate in the Outdoor Hour Challenge blog.
Supplies for Nature Study:
     Nature notebook and pencils or paint for each student
     Begin to build a library of regional field guides
     Plenty of time to allow Nature Study to be a fun learning experience for both parent and child

* ** School of the Woods by William J. Long
** *** The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson (we recommend the Young Readers Edition if you can find it.)
It Couldn't Just Happen by Lawrence Richards

Secrets of the Universe: Discovering the Universal Laws of Science by Paul Fleisher; republished as five separate books:
     Liquids and Gases: Principles of Fluid Mechanics
     Objects in Motion: Principles of Classical Mechanics
     Waves: Principles of Light, Electricity, and Magnetism
     Matter and Energy: Principles of Matter and Thermodynamics
     Relativity and Quantum Mechanics: Principles of Modern Physics; see help in corresponding the books here. Hover for more information here

Those preferring a textbook option may use the Exploring Creation With . . . series by Jeannie Fulbright for science in Years 3-6, available here. A support group is available.

Science Biography

* Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity by Robert Cwiklik OR Ordinary Genius by Stephanie McPherson
** Archimedes and the Door of Science by Jeanne Bendick
*** Galileo and the Magic Numbers by Sidney Rosen (available as a reasonably priced eBook, but there are copyright rules about using it; it must be read off your computer.)