Every once in a while, you’ll stumble across a real gem for curriculum. One of my finds was The Story of Science, a three-book series by Joy Hakim. It’s been an excellent addition to our homeschool curriculum, weaving science and history together. Hakim’s unique approach allows students to see the progression (or suppression) of scientific invention and achievement against the backdrop of world history.
Although you could easily get through all three books in a shorter time frame, I’ve been using them over the course of four or five grades. My kids each started with Aristotle Leads the Way in 8th grade.
Here’s how I suggest incorporating these books into your homeschooling:
- Use them as a break from traditional science courses or when your overall schedule is lighter.
- Cover one chapter at a time to fully absorb the material.
- Read the text first, then go back and read the sidebars.
(From Story of Science: Newton at the Center)
There’s so much information packed into these books, I think it’s helpful to move through them at a leisurely pace. Hakim has teaching and study guides to go along with these books, but I never pursued them so I can’t provide any info on their usefulness. We’ve enjoyed just reading the books – not adding in any required workbook type assignments. (That statement right there lets you know this isn’t a sponsored post.)
To be clear, these books are in addition to our regular science and history curriculum. If you frame them differently than I, you might be able to make them a larger part of either of those subjects. Or, like me, you can use them to venture into another area altogether. Often, topics of particular interest have inspired writing assignments for us that require further research.
I don’t work to do this, but occasionally the information in these books magically aligns with a topic we’re covering in science, history, or math (particularly geometry). I love it when things just happen like that with no effort on my part!
