Getting Them Involved: Life Science
While it is great to have a child that is interested in science, you need to find a way to keep your child involved in the subject. The butterfly project is one way to keep them well involved, but it may not be enough. Children have a tendency to become bored easily while waiting for results to appear. Remember that it will take weeks before you see butterflies.
So though starting projects with your child can get them really interested in science, in order to keep them interested, you have to get them involved. You can do this by starting other projects. Usually if a child has two or three projects that they can check up on regularly, they will stay involved when it comes to learning science. If having two or three long projects is too much for you and your child's schedule, you can try doing mini projects on weekends or doing quick experiments right before dinner (usually a good time because you will be working in the kitchen which is the best place for science experiments.)
Base your mini projects or quick experiments on what your child is learning in class or on what they learned in their science class the year before. Do this by checking your child's lesson plan or science notebook to see what they talked about that day or in the past. Find a way to incorporate it into what you and your child are doing for dinner. For example, your child learned about the food web or food chain, you can ask them to help you prepare food in the kitchen while discussing a human being's role in the food chain.
Another specific discussion on the food chain is to ask your child to identify what different foods various animals can eat. For example, cows eat grass. Do humans eat grass? Or what grass type things do humans eat? Not only will doing this activity keep your child involved in science, but it will also help them review what they learned for the day or what they learned in previous science classes. This makes sure that your child has truly learned the concept, which means they are less likely to forget it. Do this for many of the science topics your child has learned.
Life Science Parties
Another way to get your child interested and involved in life science is to throw a life science party. Getting your children's friends involved and interested in science is something other parents will appreciate, and it is also something your child will enjoy. Learning with friends is always fun, and your child will see that their love for science can be absolutely normal.
A good idea for a life science party in the second grade is to get all the children together and have them “create” a habitat in your backyard. Get them to agree on a certain habitat and have them work together to make sure that the chosen habitat has all its elements. An easy habitat to recreate in your backyard is a forest habitat or a grassland. Try it out and see what the children come up with. They are bound to surprise you!
Next Article: Second Grade Historical Experiments
