Planning Astronomy Gives Me a Good Thump on the Head

My youngest son, age 14, has wanted to do a formal study of astronomy for a very long time. He dreams of space and draws elaborate space vehicles. His favorite Lego sets are Star Wars and other space related models. He reads loads of science fiction: H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Ray Bradbury, Eleanor Cameron, and Isaac Asimov. We often are outside looking at stars and moon together late into the evenings. Last summer the two of us slept outside on our deck for a complete week so we could watch the Perseid meteor showers in the night.

I have been very frustrated pulling together a hands-on, living books plan for his study of astronomy. I started off by ordering Signs and Season (Classical Astronomy) hoping it would fill his needs. I sat with the book and lab activities and just could not be excited. I have tried three or four different tries at sitting with the book, reading sections, trying desperately to put a plan on paper using this text written for homeschoolers. I just don't like the book. I don't like the type font, the style of the writing, and the lay-out of the material is so confusing and disjointed that it makes me cry...literally. I wanted this book to fill our need so badly that I was going to beat myself up just getting it planned.

Then it occurred to me that I was not following my own good advice:
Set some goals.

Why did I not think of it before? When I sat with a list of goals for our astronomy course it became evident that Signs and Seasons did not meet those goals. Talk about a good thump on the head.

So now with my list of goals I can pull together a plan for Mr. B that will fit his interests and needs.

I found a fabulous book on Amazon.
(You will need to click over to the actual blog entry to see the Amazon.com links.)


Ahhh...love the spiral binding, the page size, the sequence of the material. This is more like it for Mr. B and he is going to love this book and it will give him lots of room to read, ask his own questions, apply what he learns in our own backyard, and be inspired to learn more as he goes along. We are already using the sky charts to find the summer constellations and to glean information on how to use our binoculars better to view the night sky.

I also know that this particular child is fond of self-education. He loves a good stack of books on a favorite topic to be available at all times. I gleaned from my Bookmooch friends quite a number of great titles to have on hand for him to use as he sees the need.




Finally, there is something else that I have learned over the years. Finding a mentor or other passionate adult to share an interest with my boys is of great value.

• This time around we are going to be attending several of our local (very small) planetarium events to supplement our reading and star gazing.
• I also ordered from the Teaching Company their series titled, "My Favorite Universe". I have watched several of the lectures since receiving the DVDs and I know this will be another motivating experience for my son. He can watch and then look up more information on anything he finds interesting. (Note: There is some evolutionary material in most astronomy books and it is no different with this DVD series.)(Another Note: I purchased this earlier in the year when it was on super, super sale for $19.95...if you want to purchase it, wait until it goes on sale!)

I found this Star Gazing Journal at Borders the other day and it is perfect to record all of his star observations and to give us a record of his field work.


I have a giant list of astronomy websites for him to read and to look for current events. He loves reading about astronomy in the news so this will be a part of his astronomy time each day. We are also going to subscribe to Astronomy magazine so he will have that to keep him inspired as the year goes along.

Planning done....granted there is not a lot of shape to this astronomy course and what my son gets out of the material will greatly hinge on how much effort he puts into it. My aim is to expose him to lots of different interesting and compelling ideas from the books, experiences, DVDs, and internet links. He will be in the driver's seat and I will be watching to see where he takes his study.

I hope I don't get any more thumps on the head while planning the rest of our school year. I still have a creative writing plan to pull together for Mr. B. I am off to set some goals.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom